Frank Watson Wood began painting as a Royal Navy officer in Portsmouth. It would appear the present work was painted to celebrate that, in July 1910, for first time, there were seven Dreadnought battelships in the home fleet. Considered to be the at the forefront of battleship

innovation, the Dreadnoughts were a crucial symbol in race for global naval supremacy.

The central ship is HMS Dreadnought herself, Flagship of the C-in-C Home Fleet (Nore), from April 1907 to March, 1912.

On the left is Indomitable, Flagship, First Cruiser Squadron. Her two sisterships, Inflexible and Invincible, are probably following in her wake. They are battle cruisers, all completed in 1908, and assigned to the Home Fleet, (aside from individual special trips to New York and to Quebec). They became the First Cruiser Squadron in 1909 (renamed Battle Cruiser Squadron in 1913).

The ship on the right is the St Vincent. There were six dreadnought battleships of the Bellerophon and St Vincent classes completed before 1910. All of them initially joined the First Division, Home Fleet, with St Vincent as the Flagship from June 1910. In 1912 they became the First Battle Squadron. Further dreadnought battleships were completed in 1911, together with further battle cruisers.

Another known painting by Alma Claude Burton Cull (1880-1931) also marks this event.

We are grateful to Ian Marshall for his assistance in cataloguing this work.