Ives was surgeon on the Kent under the command of Vice-Admiral Charles Watson, to whose son the work is dedicated. Following Watson’s death in 1757, Ives travelled home overland from Bassora [i.e. Basra] through Baghdad, Mosul and Aleppo, and then via Cyprus to Livorno and Venice. Ives produced a diary of his travels.
A Voyage From England to India, In The Year MDCCLIV. And An Historical Narrative Of The Operations of the Squadron and Army in India, under the Command of Vice-Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive, in the Years 1755, 1756, 1757; including a Correspondence between the Admiral and the Nabob Serajah Dowlah. Interspersed With Some interesting Passages relating to the Manners, Customs, &c. of several Nations in Indostan. Also, A Journey From Persia To England, By An Unusual Route. With An Appendix, ... Illustrated with a Chart, Maps, and other Copper-Plates. By Edward Ives, Esq; Formerly Surgeon of Admiral Watson’s Ship, and of his Majesty’s Hospital in the East Indies. London: Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly. MDCCLXXIII.