This is a gripping new account of the career of Lieutenant Frank Abbott, Royal Navy (1854–86). It begins with his early naval service in the Far East and Pacific and his central role in the Perak Crisis of 1874, following his career through to the Egypt campaign of 1882 and his final service as an officer aboard the Royal Yacht. Central to the book is Abbott’s experiences aboard the powerful new frigate HMS Shah during her long deployment in the Pacific between 1876–79. This witnessed her famous ‘ship to ship’ action with the Peruvian warship Huáscar in 1877, when torpedoes were first used by the Royal Navy, followed by her unexpected deployment to South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War. After the disaster at Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 and the very real fear of a Zulu invasion of Natal, the sudden arrival at Durban of this impressive warship, carrying most of the garrison of St. Helena and landing a shore party of nearly 300 officers and men, came as a huge relief to the colony of Natal and was a major morale booster. The ship’s company played a prominent part in the operations for the relief of the besieged garrison at Eshowe in March and April 1879, including the major battle of Gingindlovu, and in the subsequent campaign served with the 1st Division under General Crealock as it slowly advanced northwards along the Zululand coast. Abbott himself played a significant role in the movement of troops, ammunition and equipment into Zululand via the pontoon across the Thukela and in the later advance to a new coastal landing site at Port Durnford. In an area of the Anglo-Zulu War not extensively covered in general accounts, Abbott’s letters and journals provide a fresh and interesting insight into the workings of the naval brigade and of one officer’s experiences during a difficult campaign.
