Oscar Parkes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1885-10-18)18 October 1885 Handsworth,Birmingham, England |
| Died | 24 June 1958(1958-06-24) (aged 72) Craigavad,County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, naval artist, editor |
Oscar ParkesOBE (8 October 1885 – 24 June 1958) was aRoyal Navy surgeon, naval historian, marine artist, and editor ofJane's Fighting Ships from 1918 to 1935. He was an associate of theRoyal Institution of Naval Architects. TheImperial War Museum and theNational Maritime Museum have permanent collections of his artwork.[1] His bookBritish Battleships: "Warrior", 1860 to "Vanguard", 1950. A History of Design, Construction and Armament is regarded as a definitive source.[2][3]
Parkes was born inHandsworth,Birmingham, England on 18 October 1885, the son of physician W. E. Parkes.[1] He was educated atRydal Mount,Colwyn Bay, andBerkhamsted, and Parkes attended theUniversity 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 cruiserBaltimore on abiscuit tin sparked his imagination.[5]: 1 In 1900, when he was 15 years old, Parkes first metFred Jane, ofJane's Fighting Ships, and kept regular contact with him exchanging drawings and technical information till Jane's death in 1916.[5]
After residency as a surgeon at theBirmingham General Hospital,[1] Parkes joined theRoyal 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 theFirst World War he served in theNaval Intelligence Division under Admiral SirReginald Hall at theAdmiralty.[1] While there he worked on the design ofQ-ships.[7] He was aboard the battleshipAgincourt duringOperation ZZ, and witnessed the internment of the Imperial GermanHigh Seas Fleet following the end of the war.[1][8]
Parkes was demobilised in 1919, became an official naval artist, and joined theImperial War Museum as director of their naval photographic section.[9] He was awarded theOrder of the British Empire for "valuable services in H.M. Hospital Ships during the War and at the R.N. Hospitals,Chatham andPlymouth" on 22 August 1919.[10]
In 1918, Parkes was appointed an editor ofJane'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 ofJane's Fighting Ships he was involved with was the December 1934 issue.[16][11]
Parkes' bookShips of the Royal Navy was first published bySampson 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 toShips of the Royal Navies (British Commonwealth of Nations) in 1935.[19] In 1929, Sampson Low published the first edition of Parkes' bookThe World's Warships.[20][21]
Also from 1935 to 1940, he was being widely quoted in American newspapers and theUnited 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 aneurological adviser to theMinistry of Pensions.[26] All the while he worked onJanes's Fighting Ships in the evenings from his home inSunbury-on-Thames, with his wife Natalie acting as his assistant.[5][27] They moved toRingwood,Hampshire in 1943, and he continued in general practice there, for a short time working atFordingbridge Hospital.[4]
Oscar Parkes was one of the early members of theWorld 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.
Aside from his role as editor ofJane's Fighting Ships, Parkes contributed many naval articles to theNavy League Magazine, theSociety for Nautical Research's academic journal for maritime history, theMariner'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]
Parkes retired from medical practice in 1957, to take up a directorship in a publishing company inNorthern Ireland.[4]
After 32 years of research, Parkes' definitive bookBritish 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 architectDavid K. Brown said about the book that it was "The first serious historical study of Britishcapital 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 inCraigavad,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] TheImperial War Museum and theNational Maritime Museum have permanent collections of his artwork.[1]
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 theSavage Club.[37]
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
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 ...
Dr. Parkes, a physician by profession, was from 1918–1935 the Editor of Janes All The World's Fighting Ships
... 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 ...
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 ...
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 ..
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
dr. oscar parkes died recently at Craigavad, Co. Durham, at the age of 72. After graduating in medicine at Birmingham he served as ...
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
