R. H. B. Hammond-Chambers served on the H.M.S. Royal Arthur, H.M.S. Plyades, H.M.S. Blake, and H.M.S. Duke of Wellington in the region of Australia and New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He kept these logbooks, dated November 4, 1897 to February 15, 1900 and February 15, 1901 to August 15, 1901 during his service. In them he writes of routine duties including cleaning the ship, taking leave, inspection, regular prayer, and distribution of payroll. He also noted the ships' coordinates and locations, uniform changes, squalls and other weather events, passage through the Suez Canal, and his arrival in Sydney on the H.M.S. Royal Arthur. Less frequent activities, including pistol practice, the drilling of small arm companies, and sightings of foreign ships, especially French and German, are also mentioned. The logbooks include several hand drawn and colored maps, some of which show the ships' route around various regions, including the coast of Australia, the Mediterannean, the coasts of Spain and France, Northern Africa, and the Indian Ocean.