The Mediterranean Fleet in the period between World War I and World War II produces memories of squadrons of imposing battleships accompanied by numerous cruisers and flotillas of destroyers. The Fleet strived for perfection in the appearance of ships and the precision of their handling. The very number of warships available is striking when compared to the present day. The annual cruises to varied and generally interesting ports provided ample subject matter for numerous letters home or entries in diaries. The social and sporting life at Malta, the main base of the Fleet for much of the time, was also noted. The Fleet regattas, sometimes at secluded bases along the Greek coast, were followed with great interest. Fortunately for the naval historian, there are numerous collections of private letters, diaries, midshipmen's journals and unpublished memoirs available in repositories such as the Imperial War Museum in London. There is understandably a rosy haze of nostalgia about the Mediterranean Fleet of this era, enhanced by the gruelling years of the war that followed. This memory of a golden age, however, can be deceiving. Much of the period between the wars was one of crisis or impending crisis. Financial problems loomed large even in the 1920s with, for example, restrictions on the expenditure of fuel. In the 1930s there was a growing sense of the potential vulnerability of the Fleet's aging ships to the growing threat of air power. Once-friendly states like italy were now potential enemies.

The documents reproduced in this volume cover the decade following World War I. For most of the first half of that decade the activities of the Mediterranean Fleet were concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean, Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea. The war had hardly ended before the Mediterranean Fleet found itself involved in actions against the Bolsheviks and intervention on the side of the White Russians. This was a situation of neither war nor peace, familiar by the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century. The political-diplomatic situation was confused, the policy of government at home seemed uncertain, and the on-again, off-again policies towards the White Russians frustrating to all concerned.