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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

S-008 ADM Harold R. Stark Collection

S-008 Admiral Harold R. Stark Collection. Photos pertaining primarily to his career as an admiral, including as Chief of Naval Operations and World War II, but also some coverage of his early life and career. Largest portion of the collection is World War II photos, primarily from his service in Europe as Commander Naval Forces Europe. Many dignitaries, foreign leaders, and high ranking military officers seen. Ships of the US fleet from all periods of the first half of the 20th century. Family photos and images of houses and estates. Check credits – some of the images taken in Europe are marked copyright. Certificates and documents transferred to Operational Archives. Some photos are oversize and one is a 4’ panorama. Many of these photos have been assigned NH numbers. Approximately 4 boxes of material.
Title: ADM Harold R. Stark Collection
Caption: Collection photo number S-008.01: Admiral Harold Stark speaks at commissioning of USS North Carolina (BB-55) on 9 Apr 1941
Description: S-008 Admiral Harold R. Stark Collection. Photos pertaining primarily to his career as an admiral, including as Chief of Naval Operations and World War II, but also some coverage of his early life and career. Largest portion of the collection is World War II photos, primarily from his service in Europe as Commander Naval Forces Europe. Many dignitaries, foreign leaders, and high ranking military officers seen. Ships of the US fleet from all periods of the first half of the 20th century. Family photos and images of houses and estates. Check credits – some of the images taken in Europe are marked copyright. Certificates and documents transferred to Operational Archives. Some photos are oversize and one is a 4’ panorama. Many of these photos have been assigned NH numbers. Approximately 4 boxes of material.
Accession #: S File
Catalog #: S-008
Donor: Unknown
Copyright Owner: Naval History and Heritage Command
Related Content

 

S-008-A
Formal black and white posed photographs of Admiral Stark, from infancy through his early Navy career all the way through retirement age. Oversized portraits in S oversize box S-001 – S-045. A significant portion of these photos have been assigned NH numbers.

 

S-008-B
Scrapbook of photographs and postcards, disassembled. Also many loose prints. Admiral Stark’s early Navy career, through 1928. USS Lamson (DD-18), with various photos of Stark and other officers on board.  Also destroyers Stringham (DD-83), Patterson (DD-36), torpedo firing. Battleships and cruisers of the Atlantic Fleet, including USS Minnesota (BB 22), in the 1908 cruiser of the Great White Fleet. USS Georgia (BB-15), USS North Dakota (BB-29), damage to USS San Marcos (former USS Texas)  after being used as a gunnery target by USS New Hampshire (BB-25).  Many photos of ships during heavy seas, including what may be North Dakota or USS West Virginia (BB-48) Sailors on liberty in New York City, London, Paris, Asia, India/Middle East. Many photographs of USS West Virginia (BB-48), both of the ship and scenes on board, commissioning, as well as in formation with other battleships and moored near other warships. Captain Thomas J. Senn. Color and black and white postcards of various locations around England. Scenes of destruction from 29 June 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake. USS Nitro (AE-2). Omaha class cruiser. USS Lexington (CV-2) in a smoke screen laid by airplanes. USS V-4 (SS-166). USS Salt Lake City (CA-25). Aircraft operating around a destroyer smoke screen. Two oversized prints of United States Naval Academy Class of 1903, taken in 1928 and 1946, in S oversize box S-001 – S-045.

 

S-008-C
Prints of Admiral Stark’s career through 1939. Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Adams III tours USS Texas (BB-35) March 1931, also shown Admirals William Pratt and Frank Schofield. Stark on staff COMDESRONSBATFOR 1928-1930, commanding officer USS West Virginia, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance, COM CRU DIV 3, COM CRU DIV BAT FOR, also shown is Admiral David Sellers. HMS Nelson in the Panama Canal c.1931. Stark as aide to SECNAV Adams 1930-33, also seen is President Herbert Hoover. Materials related to silver tray presented to Adams. Group portrait of couples at a formal dinner in the 1930’s. Stark as aide to SECNAV Claude Swanson, 1933, also seen are Ernest King, William Standley, J. Richardson, H.R. Roosevelt. Visit of Swanson to MGM Studios with celebrities Bette Davis, Al Jolson, Paul Muni, Louis B. Mayer, Edward G. Robinson, William Powell, Mervin Leroy, Glenda Farrell. Officers shown William Standley, T.J. Senn. O3U-1 catapulting from a battleship. Some photos have been assigned NH numbers.

 

S-008-D
Loose prints of Admiral Stark’s term as Chief of Naval Operations 1939-42. Candid photos of Stark playing golf, driving a car, sitting at his desk, filming his wife, speaking on the radio. Stark relieving Admiral William Leahy as CNO.  Series of photos with Franklin Roosevelt, including Leahy receiving a medal, Stark receiving a medal, presentation of 1939 Schiff Aviation Trophy, Chester Nimitz, Oval Office, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Admiral Harry Yarnell receives an award. Newspaper clippings about Stark’s career. Secretaries of the Navy Charles Edison and Frank Knox, some photos taken along with Admiral Ernest King on board USS Texas 1941. Activities 1939-1942 including photo with Popeye, dinners, office, speeches, and plaque for Stark Field House at NAS San Pedro. Commissioning ceremony of USS North Carolina (BB 55) 9 April 1941 at New York Navy Yard. Marine Corps machine gun tanks painted with names of Stark family women. Some photos have been assigned NH numbers.

 

S-008-E
Admiral Stark’s tenure as Commander in Chief, Naval Forces Europe, 1942-45.  Newspaper clippings of a soccer game in England. Photos sent home to his wife along with a note, showing his arrival in England April 1942 on board USS Wichita (CA-45). Generals George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower. Rear Admiral Alan Kirk. Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, RN. President Franklin Roosevelt and Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt at Yalta 1945. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. King Haakon of Norway. J.P. Morgan memorial service. Scenes in his office with staff members. President Harry Truman greeted on arrival in Europe circa 1945 on board USS August (CA-31) as well as Eisenhower, Leahy, King, and many others. Stark, Knox, and other visit HMS Victory and Portsmouth Dockyard. Inspection tours in England with Knox, circa September 1943. US ambassador to England John Winant. J Drexler Biddle, US Ambassador to Governments in Exile. Rear Admiral W.S. Delaney. Captain Stuart Ingersoll. Inspection of USS South Dakota (BB-57) 22 June 1943, including anti aircraft gunnery exercises, with First Sea Lord A.V. Alexander and Admiral Sir Bruce Frazier. USS Eamons (DD-457). HMS Mahratta. Tour of Mediterranean facilities June 1945, Capodachino Airfield (Naples), NOB Palermo (Sicily), Malta, Algiers, NAS Pt. Lyautey (Morocco). USS Memphis (CL-13). Scandinavian and German facility tours July 1945 including Copenhagen, Helsinger, Oslo. SS Europa. Sections of German submarines under construction. Stark visits patients at a military hospital. Normandy beachhead, Paris. PT boats. Graduation ceremony at Royal Naval College, Chester, England, 9 April 1945. Stark receives honorary degree. Admiral Mountbatten. Return to the United States at New York and presentation of silvery tray. Stark presents awards to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, as well as French and British personnel. Thanksgiving 1943 services at Westminster Abbey and dinner. Various dinners including one at Royal Naval College with the First Sea Lord. Check credits – some of these images are marked copyright. Some photos have been assigned NH numbers. Some photos have been assigned NH numbers.

 

S-008-F
Admiral Stark in retirement. Birthday party New York City Yacht Club 12 Nov. 1946. Photo with other CNO’s including Arleigh Burke, William Fechteler, Robert Carney,Louis Denfeid. Group photo with many senior military leaders including President Dwight Eisenhower. General Mark Clark. Rear Admiral Kenmore McManes. Photo and program for dedication of a plaque to Commander George F. Davis, Medal of Honor recipient. Photos taken on board Queen Mary and USS Mt. Olympus (AGC-8).

 

S-008-G
Autographed portraits. Included are Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Ernest King, William Standley, Adolph Menjou, various others. Portraits, photographs, and engravings of leaders such as John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt,  Admiral McClelland Barclay, the British Royal Family, many others. Holiday card from the Queen Mother transferred to Archives.

 

S-008-H
Ships in which Admiral Stark served: Severn, Newark (C #1), Minnesota (BB-22), Brooklyn (CA-3), Monterey, North Dakota (BB-29), Melville (AD-2), Omaha (CL-4), Concord (CL-10). PC-451 firing Mousetrap pattern ASW rockets. PC-449, Iowa (BB-61), Indianapolis (CA-35), Chicago (CA-29), ZP4K airship. Sailing vessels Constitution, Sea Cloud, Hartford. Several photos removed to NH collection. Interior photos of flag officer quarters on a battleship or cruiser, 1930’s. Photo album presented by Esso to Mrs. Harold Stark, sponsor at launch of USS Platte (AO-24) 9 July 1939 at Bethlehem Steel, Sparrows Point Yard, Baltimore, MD. Also photos of Mrs. Stark as sponsor of USS Snapper  (SS-185), 1937. 9 oversize photos, in S oversize box S-001 – S-045: VP-1 planes PN-11 over Kauai, HI, 1932; USS West Virginia, USS Honolulu (CL-48), USS PC-451).

 

S-008-I
Panoramic photo of Mulberry A and Gooseberry 2 at Normandy being broken up by storm 21 June 1944, moved to NH 99069. LCVP Unit 1 operations and training in Europe 1943-45, crossing rivers (possibly the Rhine), LCVP and LCM shown along with Sherman tanks, Jeeps;  public relations events. Dedication of a memorial to John Paul Jones at a church in his birth town of Kirkbean, Scotland. Interior, exterior and grounds photos of “Marshlands,” an old plantation house serving as officer’s quarters at Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, sent by 1941 occupant Captain Henry Pence. Miscellaneous topics: flag raising on Iwo Jima, paper prints of Roosevelt Base, London during the Blitz, stained glass window to be presented to Royal Naval College 1944, plaque presented to Venezuelan Naval Academy by United States Naval Academy 1941. 4 oversize photos, in S oversize box S-001 – S-045. Two issues of COMNAVIEW transferred to Archives. Some prints removed to NH collection.

 

S-008-J
Photos of places in the United States and around the world. Washington, DC, New York. Souvenir photo sets from England including Westminster Abbey and  Canterbury Cathedral. A home called “Romany.” France and Morocco. 3 oversize photos, in S oversize box S-001 – S-045.

 

S-008-K
Cartoon by Bruce Baimsfather to Admiral Stark, filed oversize box S-001 – S-045. Documents transferred to Archives. Includes holiday card from Queen Elizabeth, membership cards, certificates of appreciation with letter signed by James Forrestal, print of “Obed Gardner’s Will.”

 

S-008-L
Photos of unidentified individuals, including wedding photos for military personnel in Europe. Some may be Stark family members. Photos of interior and exterior of estates in England and Beverly Hills, California. Images of flowers. General John Stark.

 

S-008-M
5 oversize photos of unidentified people in S oversize box S-001 – S-045. One 4’ panorama in drawer, Army Ordnance Dinner, Willard Hotel, Washington, DC, 11 October 1939, attendees include General George C. Marshall and Admiral Stark.

 

For associated textual materials, please visit the donated personal papers collection of Harold R. Stark 

Topic
Document Type
  • Photograph
Wars & Conflicts
File Formats
  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials