Not to be Used for any Other Purpose: Recycling the Royal Navy

"OHMS: On His Majesty's Service"
1905-1906

If a genealogist is allowed to have one, my favourite ancestor has to be my Great Uncle John Bridges Eustace, known to the family as Jack. He kept everything (almost) and his fascinating archive will undoubtedly feature heavily in this blog.

By way of example, here are a few envelopes!

Having originally been designed to hold Royal Naval Service Certificates and associated service documents (gunnery and torpedo history sheets etc) the 'Envelopes for Parchment Certificates and History Sheets' were made of durable, thick paper. Well over a hundred years later, they are still in fairly good condition.

Waste is and was frowned upon in the Navy, whether it be ammunition or paper and Jack, regardless of the strictures on the front, happily re-used all types of envelopes for his private paperwork as seen below:

HMS c1901

"Not to be used for any other purpose"

HMS Alert c1901 

Wax seal of the Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies from the
back of above envelope addressed to the Commander of HMS Alert,
JB Eustace 

"Letter to HBM Minister at Caracas"