David Bonner-Smith
British naval historian (1890-1950)
David Bonner-Smith (19 May 1890 – 10 December 1950), historian of the Royal Navy, served as Admiralty Librarian from March 1932 until May 1950.
Personal life
Bonner-Smith married Vlasta Eileen Done. At the time of his death, he resided at Uplands, Lyth Hill Road, Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
Professional career
Bonner-Smith entered civil service at the Admiralty on Trafalgar Day (21 October) 1909. After serving in the Admiralty's record office, he was appointed to the staff of the Admiralty Library in March 1911. During World War I, he held an honorary commission in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. From 1923 to 1925, he served as the secretary to the Naval Attaché in South America. he was appointed deputy librarian in 1931 on the death of W.G. Perrin and the appointment of J. Falkner Phillips, M.B.E., as Admiralty Library. Bonner-Smith was appointed Phillips's successor in March 1932 and served until his retirement at the age of 60 in 1950. A frequent contributor to the Mariner's Mirror, he served as its editor from 1932 to 1939.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “David Bonner-Smith” is british naval historian (1890-1950). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through David, Bonner-Smith and British, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “british naval historian (1890-1950)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q42555082. VIAF identifies the subject as 56995769. The Library of Congress control number is n80060850. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1890, 1950, 1932 and 1909.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “David Bonner-Smith”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow David Bonner-Smith primary sources, David Bonner-Smith archive and David research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “David Bonner-Smith”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “David Bonner-Smith” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.