British Naval Intelligence through the Twentieth Century

When published in 2020 it offered the first comprehensive account of how intelligence influenced and sustained British naval power from the mid nineteenth century through to the end of the Cold War. The book describes why and how intelligence was collected and assesses its real impact on policy and operations. It confirms that naval intelligence was critical to Britain's survival and ultimate victory in the two World Wars but significantly reappraises its role, highlighting the importance of communications intelligence to an effective blockade in the First, and according Ultra less dominance compared to other sources in the Second.

It reveals that coverage of Germany before 1914 and of the three Axis powers in the interwar period was more comprehensive and effective than previously suggested; and while British power declined rapidly after 1945, the book shows how intelligence helped the Royal Navy to remain a significant global force for the rest of the twentieth century, and in submarine warfare, especially in the second half of the Cold War.

This compelling history of naval intelligence, now in a new and revised paperback edition, will appeal to a wide body of naval historians and enthusiasts interested in the crucial part it played on naval policy and operations.

Praise for British Naval Intelligence through the Twentieth Century

Winner of the Mountbatten Maritime Literary Award, 2021

Highly Commended by the Society for Nautical Research in their award for the 2021 Anderson Medal

Named as the Naval Review's Book of the Quarter.

"British Naval Intelligence is an unprecendented and important addition to our knowledge."
   - Professor Gwythian Prins

"An original and masterful history of British naval intelligence. Remarkably valuable, and in many ways the definitive, addition to the serious study of naval history."
   - Captain Stephen Maffeo

"A remarkable book which for the first time puts intelligence in its place and tells us what happened and why. For any modern naval officer, gives a systematic picture of naval warfare in a way not done by anybody else."
   - Rear Admiral James Goldrick

About the Author

Andrew Boyd CMG, OBE, DPhil was educated at Britannia Royal Naval College and St Johns College, Oxford. He served as a submariner in the Royal Navy before joining the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1980. He has had a long standing interest in 20th-century naval history and was awarded a research fellowship to undertake a DPhil. This was the basis of his first book, The Royal Navy in Eastern Waters, which was followed by the critically-acclaimed British Naval Intelligence through the Twentieth Century. His most recent book, Arms for Russia and the Naval War in the Arctic 1941–1945, is a fascinating reassessment of Allied support for the Soviets.