The Papers of Vice-Admiral Sir (Arthur) Francis Pridham

Arthur Francis Pridham was born on 3 June 1886. He was the second son of Edward Prideaux Brune Pridham. In 1911 he married Miriam Vidal Lewis (died 1969). They had three daughters.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1901 and served in the First World War, 1914-1919, as the Gunnery Officer of HMS Weymouth, HMS Shannon and HMS Marlborough, in the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, Africa, and Italy. He was promoted to Captain in 1926. He attended the Imperial Defence College in 1927. He commanded HMS Concord, HMS Calliope, HMS Curlew, HMS Excellent, and HMS Hood. In 1937 Pridham was Aide-de-Camp to the King. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral, 1938, and was Flag Officer on HMS Humber, 1939-1940, becoming Vice-Admiral (retired) in 1941. Pridham was President of the Ordnance Board, 1941-1945. He was awarded the Imperial Russian Order of St Stanislas (2nd Class with Swords), and the Commander Legion of Merit (USA), in 1946. Pridham died 27 January 1975 and was buried at sea off Portland from HMS Jupiter with the ashes of his wife.

Pridham wrote a book covering the rescue of the Russian Royal Family entitled "The Close of a Dynasty" (pub. 1956, reprint 1997).

The papers consist of 5 volumes of his First World War diaries and 4 files relating to his memoirs.

Pridham's draft memoirs (PRID 2) were deposited (in two accessions) in 1973. The five volumes of Pridham's war diaries (PRID 1) were deposited after his death in 1975 by his son-in-law.

Pridham had removed some maps and photographs from his diaries (PRID 1), and either inserted or affixed them to the pages of his memoirs (PRID 2) but left no note of where they had been taken from in the diaries or where they had been used in the memoirs.

This collection is owned by Churchill College.

This collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge. Churchill Archives Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. A prior appointment and two forms of identification are required.

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the collection must obtain prior permission from the copyright holders and should seek advice from Archives Centre staff.

Please cite as Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Vice-Admiral Sir (Arthur) Francis Pridham, PRID

Churchill Archives Centre also holds the papers of A. V. Hill which include correspondence with Pridham, 1945-1975 (ref. GBR/014/AVHL). Pridham's Midshipman's Journal of his time on HMS Jupiter (1903) was presented to a later HMS Jupiter after his death in 1975.

This catalogue of the collection is available for consultation in the reading room at Churchill Archives Centre and at the National Register of Archives in Kew. It is also available on the Janus website http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk.

This collection (fonds) level description and catalogue were prepared by Louise King at Churchill Archives Centre, August 2004. Biographical information was obtained from Pridham's entry in "Who Was Who" (A & C Black) and from the papers themselves.