Oscar Parkes
Born(1885-10-18)18 October 1885
Handsworth, Birmingham, England
Died24 June 1958(1958-06-24) (aged 72)
Craigavad, County Down, Northern Ireland
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
Occupation(s)Physician, naval artist, editor

Oscar Parkes OBE (8 October 1885 – 24 June 1958) was a Royal Navy surgeon, naval historian, marine artist, and editor of Jane's Fighting Ships from 1918 to 1935. He was an associate of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. The Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum have permanent collections of his artwork.[1] His book British Battleships: "Warrior", 1860 to "Vanguard", 1950. A History of Design, Construction and Armament is regarded as a definitive source.[2][3]

The World War I battleship SMS Bayern by Parkes

Early life

Parkes was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England on 18 October 1885, the son of physician W. E. Parkes.[1] He was educated at Rydal Mount, Colwyn Bay, and Berkhamsted, and Parkes attended the University of Birmingham, graduating M.B., Ch.B. in 1914.[4] As a boy, he became fascinated by warships from all nations, particularly with their design and appearance. At the age of four, a picture of the American cruiser Baltimore on a biscuit tin sparked his imagination.[5]: 1  In 1900, when he was 15 years old, Parkes first met Fred Jane, of Jane's Fighting Ships, and kept regular contact with him exchanging drawings and technical information till Jane's death in 1916.[5]

Parkes' inspiration, USS Baltimore (right) by Fred S. Cozzens

Early career

After residency as a surgeon at the Birmingham General Hospital,[1] Parkes joined the Royal Navy on 25 February 1915, on a temporary commission as a surgeon.[6] His talent for spotting ships sometimes from aircraft came to be recognized,[5] and towards the end of the First World War he served in the Naval Intelligence Division under Admiral Sir Reginald Hall at the Admiralty.[1] While there he worked on the design of Q-ships.[7] He was aboard the battleship Agincourt during Operation ZZ, and witnessed the internment of the Imperial German High Seas Fleet following the end of the war.[1][8]

Parkes was demobilised in 1919, became an official naval artist, and joined the Imperial War Museum as director of their naval photographic section.[9] He was awarded the Order of the British Empire for "valuable services in H.M. Hospital Ships during the War and at the R.N. Hospitals, Chatham and Plymouth" on 22 August 1919.[10]

Fighting ships

In 1918, Parkes was appointed an editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, a post he held till 1935.[11][12] At first, he was joint-editor with Maurice Prendergast,[13] and from 1922 to 1930 with Francis McMurtrie.[14][15] From 1930 to 1935 he was sole editor. The last edition of Jane's Fighting Ships he was involved with was the December 1934 issue.[16][11]

Parkes' book Ships of the Royal Navy was first published by Sampson Low, Marston & Company in 1922.[17][18] It would be reprinted in seven revised editions the next 15 years, and had a change of title to Ships of the Royal Navies (British Commonwealth of Nations) in 1935.[19] In 1929, Sampson Low published the first edition of Parkes' book The World's Warships.[20][21]

Also from 1935 to 1940, he was being widely quoted in American newspapers and the United States Congress, warning about Japanese naval development and expansion, pointing out, that is where the focus of world powers should lie. He was an advocate for western navies' future needs for smaller, faster vessels, aircraft carriers, and torpedo delivery.[22][23][24]

Between the wars, he set up a specialist practice in Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge,[25] acting between 1920 and 1924 as a neurological adviser to the Ministry of Pensions.[26] All the while he worked on Janes's Fighting Ships in the evenings from his home in Sunbury-on-Thames, with his wife Natalie acting as his assistant.[5][27] They moved to Ringwood, Hampshire in 1943, and he continued in general practice there, for a short time working at Fordingbridge Hospital.[4]

Oscar Parkes was one of the early members of the World Ship Society, founded by Michael Crowdy in 1946, as the Ships News Club, a way of distributing shipping information to correspondents. What started with some 50 correspondents quickly developed into 200–300 within a year. It is an international society devoted to maritime and naval history.

Hospital ship HMHS Somali off Cape Helles in 1915 by Parkes

Aside from his role as editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, Parkes contributed many naval articles to the Navy League Magazine, the Society for Nautical Research's academic journal for maritime history, the Mariner's Mirror, and other journals.[28] As a physician, Parkes wrote medical articles on the control of disease, rheumatism, electro-therapy, ozone therapy, and other subjects.[5][29]

Later life

Parkes retired from medical practice in 1957, to take up a directorship in a publishing company in Northern Ireland.[4]

After 32 years of research, Parkes' definitive book British Battleships: "Warrior", 1860 to "Vanguard", 1950. A History of Design, Construction and Armament was published in 1957.[2][3] He had begun work on it in 1925,[16][30] completing it in June 1956.[31][32] British naval architect David K. Brown said about the book that it was "The first serious historical study of British capital ships, in great detail and showing real insight".[33]

Prior to his death, Parkes had been planning a new book listing the ships of the Royal Navy from 1820 to 1860, for which he had amassed much research.[34] However, he died just a few months after his wife, suddenly, at home in Craigavad, County Down, on 24 June 1958 aged 72.[1][4][35]

Parkes' marine artwork has often been on exhibit, including at the Royal Academy.[1] The Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum have permanent collections of his artwork.[1]

Private life

Parkes married Natalie Randall in Marylebone, London, in 1921.[27] Aside from playing rugby, football and cricket at university, he was an accomplished pianist, yachtsman, gardener, ship modeler, and avid photograph collector.[4][36]

He was a member of the Savage Club.[37]

Illustrations by Oscar Parkes

Selected publications

  • — (1922). Ships of the Royal Navy. S. Low, Marston & Company, Limited.
  • — (1929). The World's Warships. S. Low, Marston & Company, Limited. ISBN 9789070043520.
  • —; Perkins, Eric (1930). The Detection of Disease: A Study of the Electronic Reactions of Dr. Albert Abrams. Sampson Low, Marston. ISBN 1-68422-017-3.[38]
  • — (1936). Our Rheumatism. Sampson Low, Marston.[39]
  • —; Burma, L.M.M. (1956). British Battleships: "Warrior" 1860 to "Vanguard" 1950; A History of Design, Construction and Armament. Seeley.
  • Dann, john (2019). Struck by Lightning -The Story of HMS Lightning HMS Lightning (G55) 1941-1943. Upfront publishing Peterborough. ISBN 9781784566494.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "RMG biography". RMG NMM. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Rasor, E.L. (1990). British Naval History Since 1815: A Guide to Literature. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities. Garland Pub. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-8240-7735-8. Retrieved 28 June 2018. The standard account and most comprehensive treatment is that of Oscar Parkes, BRITISH BATTLESHIPS: "WARRIOR" 1860 TO "VANGUARD" 1950: A HISTORY OF DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND ARMAMENT
  3. 1 2 Parkes, Oscar (1956). British Battleships: Warrior, 1860 to Vanguard, 1950. A History of Design, Construction and Armament. Marine & Cannon Books. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Obituary: Occar Parkes, O.B.E., M.B., Ch.B". British Medical Journal. 2 (5087): 52. 5 July 1958. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5087.52-a. PMC 2025887.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Parton, Lemuel (23 September 1935). "Who's News Today". The Evening Sun, Baltimore. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29086. p. 2092. 2 March 1915.
  7. ↑ "Expert criticizes British Naval Vessels". Reno Evening Gazette. Syndicated news. 11 June 1935. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  8. ↑ Branfill-Cook, R. (2014). Torpedo: The Complete History of the World's Most Revolutionary Naval Weapon. Seaforth Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-4738-4270-0. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Burt, R.A. (2012). British Battleships of World War One: New Revised Edition. Pen & Sword Books Limited. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-84832-276-9. Retrieved 28 June 2018. Oscar Parkes went on to see active service with the Royal Navy in the First World War, and when demobilized in 1919 became the Editor of Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships and later Director of Naval Photographs at the Imperial War ... who became deeply interested in the Royal Navy's battleships after reading Parkes's famous book British Battleships ...
  10. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31516. p. 10632. 22 August 1919.
  11. 1 2 Khun Jr., Ferdinand (27 December 1934). "Japan's Warships Are Called Top-Heavy". The Daily Gleaner. New York Times. p. 56. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  12. ↑ United States Naval Institute (1956). United States Naval Institute Proceedings (in Estonian). U.S. Naval Institute. p. 777. Retrieved 30 June 2018. Dr. Parkes, a physician by profession, was from 1918–1935 the Editor of Janes All The World's Fighting Ships
  13. ↑ Sharpe, R.; Jane's Information Group (1997). Jane's fighting ships: 1997–98. Janes Fighting Ships. Jane's Information Group. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-7106-1546-6. Retrieved 30 June 2018. ... with the next edition of Fighting Ships far from completion. leaving an unenviable task for his 26 year old friend and successor Maurice Prendergast. ... It was fortunate that Dr Oscar Parkes OBE, a friend of Fred T and a maritime artist of distinction, became joint editor after completing his ...
  14. ↑ Honan, W.H. (1990). Bywater: The Man Who Invented the Pacific War. MacDonald (Publishers), Limited. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-356-19135-5. Retrieved 30 June 2018. Maurice Prendergast, who had been the editor of Jane's Fighting Ships since Jane's death in 1916, had been born deaf and now began to lose his eyesight. Consequently, McMurtrie and Oscar Parkes, a practising physician and gifted naval ...
  15. ↑ United States Naval Institute (1924). Naval Institute proceedings (in Estonian). The Institute. p. 1214. Retrieved 30 June 2018. It contains no radical departures from the lines laid down in last year's book. At the request of Dr. Oscar Parkes, editor of the 1922 edition, Mr. Francis E. McMurtrie has joined the editorial staff, and this year's volume is the result of their joint ..
  16. 1 2 "British Battleships". marinecannon.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Naval Society, London (1923). Naval Review (London). p. 185. Retrieved 28 June 2018. SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY, 1922.— By Oscar Parkes, O.B.E. Sampson Low. 6s. Dr. Oscar Parkes served as a Temporary Surgeon during the war. A handy form of guide to vessels of the post war fleet, their types and dimensions, with notes ...
  18. ↑ Parkes, Oscar (1922). Ships of the Royal Navy. Sampson Low, Marston and Co. ISBN 1-245-70763-9. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  19. ↑ Ships and Ship Models. 1936. p. 395. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  20. ↑ Publishers' Association (1929). The Publisher. p. 806. Retrieved 28 June 2018. The World's Warships, compiled by Oscar Parkes. (Sampson Lou) – A book that will prove helpful to the many who are interesting themselves in the world's naval affairs at the present time. Mr. Parkes has extracted from ...
  21. ↑ Parkes, Oscar (1935). The World's Warships. Sampson Low, Marston.
  22. ↑ "Estimating Navies". Oakland Tribune. Syndicated. 20 October 1935. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  23. ↑ "Editorial: Two Ships for One: Efficient Jap Ships". Daily News, New York. 21 October 1935. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  24. ↑ Pearse, Ben H. (18 February 1940). "Super-Battleship Controversy: Case for and against vessels double the size of our budgets". St. Louis Post. Syndicated. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  25. ↑ Annual Report. 1936. p. 59. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  26. ↑ Fairplay International Shipping Journal. Fairplay Publications Limited. 1958. p. 44. Retrieved 30 June 2018. The death has occurred of Dr. Oscar Parkes at the age of 72. He was Editor of Jane's Fighting Ships from ... From 1920 to 1924 he was neurologist to the Ministry of Pensions. Dr. Parkes. whose knowledge of naval ships was ...
  27. 1 2 "Natalie Dorothea Randall Parkes". Ancestry. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  28. ↑ "Articles by Oscar Parkes". The Society For Nautical Research. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  29. ↑ Annals of Internal Medicine. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1939. p. 1374. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  30. ↑ "British battleships..." abebooks.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  31. ↑ "Parkes (Dr Oscar)". AbeBooks.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  32. ↑ "au:Parkes, Oscar". OCLC WorldCat. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  33. ↑ Gardiner, R.; Brown, D.K. (2004). The Eclipse of the Big Gun: The Warship 1906–1945. Conway's history of the ship. Conway Maritime. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-85177-953-9. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  34. ↑ Simmonds, A. J. "The Archive of Dr Oscar Parkes ..." AbeBooks.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  35. ↑ Shipbuilding and Shipping Record. 1958. p. 19. Retrieved 30 June 2018. dr. oscar parkes died recently at Craigavad, Co. Durham, at the age of 72. After graduating in medicine at Birmingham he served as ...
  36. ↑ "HMS CENTURION running trials, 1914". www.maritimeprints.com. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  37. ↑ Parkes, Oscar (1922). Ships of the Royal Navy – foreword. Sampson Low, Marston and Co. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  38. ↑ British Museum. Dept. of Printed Books (1959). General Catalogue of Printed Books: Photolithographic Edition to 1955. General Catalogue of Printed Books: Photolithographic Edition to 1955. Trustees of the British Museum. p. 569. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  39. ↑ "Our Rheumatism". catalogue.nla.gov.au. Sampson Low. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  • "Dr. Oscar Parkes" (Obituaries). The Times. 26 June 1958. Issue 54187, pg. 12.
  • "Oscar Parkes" "Obituary". British Medical Journal (5 July 1958). (5087): pg. 52.
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