Pen and Sword Books

Royal Navy Submarines, 1901 to the Present Day

Edition: 2008 (1st published 1982)

Format: Hardback

Author: Maurice Cocker

ISBN: 1844157334

Publishers: Pen & Sword Maritime

Publication Date: August 2008

Publisher's Title Information

Containing details of every submarine commissioned into the Royal Navy from the first Holland boat (1901) to the present day, this is a must-buy for all Royal Navy and Submarine enthusiasts. The author has gathered together a wealth of detail on each class including the very latest Astute submarines currently coming into service. Every entry contains the specification, launch dates of individual boats, details of evolving construction and armament and other salient service history information in a compact yet accessible form. All submarine losses in peace and war are listed.

The high quality of John Lambert's technical drawings of the majority of classes adds to the value of this work. The text is also enhanced by a strong selection of photographs. As a complete directory of Royal Navy submarines this book will be widely welcomed by all with an interest, professional or lay, in the subject. Works of, this comprehensive and authoritative nature are as a rule only available at prices unaffordable to the average reader.

Maurice Cocker is an Associate of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He served in the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service and, since retiring, has been professionally engaged in naval development and history. He is the author of a number of definitive works on naval subjects.

FOREWORD by Vice Admiral Sir Lancelot Bell Davies, KBE

The Observer's Directory of Royal Navy Submarines is published at the very moment that naval history has recorded a further significant change in naval warfare. The Falklands campaign will occupy historians for years to come. It contains many 'firsts' and many lessons. Single-ship successful actions always sparkle in the pages of history: but few mark a major turning point in naval warfare.

The sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano by HM S/M Conqueror marked such a turning point. It is the first time that a major surface combatant has been sunk by a dived submarine, capable of keeping up with its target indefinitely, and able to select the tactical moment to strike, under the operational command of a headquarters 8,000 miles away. The immediate effect was to deny the Argentine surface naval forces any further participation in the conflict. Few single-ship actions have had such a profound strategic result.

The full story of the Royal Navy submarines' contribution to that conflict will rightly remain undisclosed for some time to come; but the impact of their presence upon the imagination of their foes goes without saying. Imagination is also the spur of the student. Any serious researcher will welcome this directory, because it provides a convenient and comprehensive catalogue of British submarines from which he can check statistical data.

But it does more than this. Anyone whose imagination is inspired by warships probably finds that browsing through an old illustrated naval reference book is a very satisfying pastime. The older the copy the better. There is something magical about the photograph of an old warship that stimulates the storyteller in us all. It matters not that the picture is a formal one, nor that the statistics are ungarnished by historical narrativeimagination thrives best without such interference.

The snag with such an old book is that it freezes time in the year of its issue. In this new directory Mr Cocker gives us the luxury of daydreaming through time as well as checking up on facts.

The advent of nuclear propulsion has provided a dramatic change to capability, and a marked improvement in the submariner's lifestyle; but the make-up of the man is the same. His courage, forbearance and tolerance of his shipmates, and his dedicated professionalism, will continue to provide food for the historian, and inspiration for the imagination of those who dream of the sea.

Thank you Mr Cocker for providing such an invaluable help to both.

Plan Z - The Nazi Bid for Naval Dominance

Format: Hardback

Author: David Wragg

ISBN: 184415727X

Publishers: Pen & Sword Maritime

Publication Date: August 2008

Publisher's Title Information

Except for the strength of the U-boat fleet at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Navy; or Kriegsmarine, was never a match for the Royal Navy, even though the latter was overstretched and fighting in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and the Arctic. It was not meant to be that way. Hitler and his naval staff had a vision for a large and well-balanced fleet, including aircraft carriers. The U-boat arm was meant to be substantial before the outbreak of hostilities. Most of all, the Germans planned a knock-out victory in a major fleet engagement.

PLAN Z was the name given to this ambitious strategy which had one fatal flaw; the Plan relied on the outbreak of war not occurring at least until 1942. This book examines the way in which such a fleet could have influenced the major battles between the Royal Navy and the German Navy during the war years.

The book starts by looking at Germany's history and ambitions as a maritime power. The relationships between the three armed forces and, crucially, between them and the Fuhrer are also examined, along with the country's economic and industrial position.

PLAN Z considers whether the Nazis' ambitions could ever have been realised, even if the war had been delayed, due to the resource and manpower limitations. It also considers what the Royal Navy's response might have been. Thanks to groundbreaking research by

one of the foremost naval historians writing today, the result is a fascinating expose of Hitler's dream of challenging successfully the Royal Navy's mastery of the seas.

Born into a naval family in 1946, David Wragg was educated in England and Malta. He has worked in journalism and PR, writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Spectator and Scotsman. He retired as Head of Corporate Communications with the Royal Bank of Scotland to become a consultant and author. Since then he has published with Harper Collins and Weidenfeld and Nicolson amongst others. His titles with Pen and Sword include Malta - The Last Great Seige (2003), Second World War Carrier Campaigns (2004), Stringbag (2004), The Escort Carrier in World War 2 (2005), Sacrifice for Stalin (2005) and Sink The French (2007).

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Portsmouth

Format: Paperback

Author: Sarah Quail

ISBN: 1845630467

Publishers: Wharncliffe Books (Pen & Sword Books Ltd)

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

Gripping Account Of The Sinister Side Of Portsmouth's History

Murders, Conspiracies, Executions, Disappearances, Crimes Of Passion

Vivid Insight Into Criminal Acts And The Criminal Mind.

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around Portsmouth takes the reader on a sinister journey through centuries of local crime and conspiracy, meeting villains of all sorts along the way - cut-throats and poisoners, arsonists and assassins, mutineers, duellists and marauders, prostitutes and thieves, and the brawling seamen and common murderers who moved through the cruel underworld of this historic town.

Sarah Quail has selected over 20 notorious episodes that give a fascinating insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind. She recalls intriguing and shocking cases dating from medieval times to the present day. In the process she uncovers an extraordinary variety of misdeeds, some motivated by brutal impulse or despair, others by malice, which taint the history of every age.

Most of the cases she recounts involve ill-fated individuals who are only known to us because they were caught up in crime, but she also reconsiders more famous episodes like the murder of the Duke of Buckingham and the disappearance of the Cold War frogman Buster Crabb. The human, dramas that are played out in these pages often take place in the most commonplace of circumstances, but others are so odd as to be stranger than 'fiction

Sarah Quail is a freelance consultant and writer in the museums, libraries and archives sectors. She worked for many years in local government and was Portsmouth City Council's Head of Arts, Libraries, Museums and. Records. She has written, edited and co-edited a number of books on the history of Portsmouth and Hampshire including Images of Portsmouth (with John Stedman), Portsmouth in the Twentieth Century, The Complete Photographic History of Portsmouth 1900-1999 (with John Stedman and others,) Southsea Past and Portsmouth - A History and Celebration.

Three factors have shaped the history of Portsmouth - for good and ill. They are the sea, geography and war. The great natural harbour has provided a safe anchorage and ship-repair facilities, and the deep-water channel which hugs the Coast of Portsea Island has brought ships safely to these shores on official business for almost a thousand years. Portsmouth's geographical position on the south coast, barely one hundred miles from the French coast, has also placed the town firmly on a natural line of communication between this country and continental Europe and, in due course, more faraway places. Thus, almost by default, Portsmouth has supplied this country for much of its history with what William Shakespeare described as the 'sinews of war': ships and men.

This role was recognised officially as early as the sixteenth century when the town was designated a royal dockyard and garrison town. What did all this mean for the people of the town? First and foremost it has meant that the history of Portsmouth is not just a local story, it is a regional, national and, often, an international story. This is reflected in many of the chapters in this book from the stories of Adam de Moleyns and Margaret Pole by way of George Byng and 'Jack the Painter' to the astonishing, and still topical, story of the life and death of Buster Crabb.

The town's naval and military history is therefore a thread which runs through almost all these chapters, not only those devoted exclusively to the naval and military but also those devoted to the 'ordinary' people of this town in the final section.

The last chapter is something of an exception to the rest of the book but I felt that it was worth celebrating the fact, little known outside the circle of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts, that the most famous fictional detective in the world was born here, in Portsmouth, and that his first case was penned in a small room at the top of a house in Elm Grove, Southsea by a local doctor hoping to supplement his modest income as a general practitioner.

This book is reviewed at “Royal Navy & Maritime Book Reviews”. Because of Portsmouth's long association with the Senior Service. As the author says, 'three facts have shaped the history of Portsmouth - for good or for ill. They are the sea, geography and war.' The book of course reflects this with chapters on, The Honourable John Byng, Admiral of the Blue, Commander (Special Branch) LKP Crabb RNVR GM OBE of HMS Vernon (the Diving School was within this establishment), the Spithead Mutiny of 1797 and Transportation and Prison Hulks.

In addition to naval matters Chapter 15 discusses Dr Arthur Conan Doyle, who in fact lived at Southsea and to whom I shall return later. The whole of the book is a delight to read, but I will concentrate mostly on matters naval and the great fictional detective.

Commander Crabb is buried in Milton Cemetery, but will we ever know the full truth -probably not and perhaps in our lifetime we never will. Use is made for reference to Marshall Pugh's book, which is worth reading, 'Commander Crabb the Amazing Story of a Remarkable Man', Mcmillan & Company Ltd 1956. Worth reading is also 'The Frogmen' Tom Waldron and James Gleeson, Evans Bros Ltd 1950. My 1970 paperback version contains a postscript written in 1970 which discusses the origins of the Cousteau - Gagnan demand valve, which allows a person to dive in safety to a depth of 300 feet and the wet as opposed to dry suit. To quote from that book:-

'The Russian cruiser Ordzhonikidze came to Portsmouth with Marshal Bulganin and Mr Khruschev on board. Naval Intelligence were interested 'in its bottom'. A junior Officer of the Department asked Crabbie to go and have a look. Crabbie, who had not been doing too well as a free-lance civilian diver, was delighted to go. He dived on oxygen in a frogman's suit which he hired from a London firm. He was not very fit, he was forty-six years old, and it was a long, cold swim. He never returned. The Russians claim to have had a glimpse of a frogman on the surface - he must have been dead then…. Nobody ever mentioned that every time a British ship went to Russia, the Russians had a good look underneath it is standard practice… Lieutenant-Commander L. K. P. Crabb, OBE, GM, is dead, his epitaph was spoken by a Prime Minister of England, the land that our old friend Crabbie loved and served so well may he rest in peace. Tom Waldron and James Gleeson.'

There are one or two issues, which I would wish to comment on. It is interesting to note that the book discusses articles by John Stretton in 'The News' 1974 where it is claimed Crabb dived from Kings Steps to reach the Russian ships berthed at South railway jetty. Kings Steps was a very busy place used regularly by boats of all sorts. I always dropped the Rear Admiral Submarines there when he came across by Barge from HMS Dolphin. It was always necessary to complete a full turn and use both engines with full power. The thought of a diver being about horrifies me.

Page 51 says that he was wearing 'a special breathing set which would leave no tell-tale bubbles'. Of course he was, these sets were used by all Royal Navy Divers up until 1959 and were standard issue until SABA came into use.

The Royal Navy had dived on 'closed-circuit' oxygen for obvious reasons, because oxygen was re-breathed via a container of CO2 absorbents, it gave off no bubbles. It did of course present problems.

A) Sometimes when going onto pure oxygen you tend to have a black-out.

B) You cannot dive below 33 feet because if you do you may get oxygen poisoning because the partial pressure of oxygen falls below one atmosphere.

C). If water got into the sodalime CO2 absorbent you could get an alkaline burn. We always carried vinegar in diving boats for that reason. The absorbent had to be changed after every dive. The Admiralty instruction had been distributed in 1934:

'The C02 absorbent granules must be renewed after use when the set is laid aside prior to further practice. Remember that breath on the granules starts the chemical reaction, which continues after breathing ceases, so that in a very short time all the granules are -useless. So remember that if you do breathe on the granules and leave them you might not be the one to wear that set in a case of emergency . . . you therefore might, perhaps, commit murder.'

My memory (not so good these days) tells me we had about 1. 5 hrs of oxygen. On Pager 57 it states that he was carrying sufficient for 2 hrs, so that could be correct. There are still many unanswered questions, but some remains high on my list - who authorised this and why didn't we do a professional job? Why use an unfit 46-year-old RNVR Officer with borrowed equipment and no back-up? If he did dive from Kings Steps he did so with authority.

Chapter 3 Executed on the Quarterdeck should whet your appetite for a fuller account such as 'At 12 Mr Byng was Shot' Dudley Pope, 1962, Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 'At 12 Mr Byng was shot dead by 6 Marines and put into his coffin…' Masters log of HMS Monarch, Monday March 14, 1757'

Chapter 15 relates the fact that Dr Arthur Conan Doyle lived in Portsmouth from 1882-1890 and during those years set up business at 1 Bush Villas, Elm Grove, which was destroyed on the nights of 10 and 11 January 1941 by German bombing.

Doyle was a very keen sportsman; he played bowls, he played cricket for North End Cricket Club and it seems certain he was a founder member of Portsmouth Football Club for whom he kept goal under the name of AC Smith. Much of the material can be found in 'A Study in Southsea - from Bush Villas to Baker Street - the Unrevealed Life of Dr Arthur Conan Doyle the Creator of Sherlock Holmes', Geoffrey Stavert, Milestone Publications, 1987.

As a person who spent his childhood in Portsmouth (Southsea) I tried, out of curiosity to find Doyle's address on an 1896 OS Map and just about succeeded. A map would have helped, but I enjoyed the experience of being young again and wandering around the streets of Southsea.

Chapter 14, 'The Blossom Alley Murder of 1923' refers at one point to a woman's harrowing experience of St Mary's Workhouse. When searching the Creed Registers at the Portsmouth Records Office (BG/W2 1879-1953) I discovered that my Great-Grandparents had spent very short periods in what I believe is the workhouse during the years 1905 to 1927, and later, one Great uncle had also been admitted for a period in 1901. When I questioned my father he said people went in to receive medical treatment and this is borne out by the entry stating, who admitted “self”. In fact my Great-Grandmother had died in St Mary's in 1941 when she had asked to go there to be with her friends; by then of course it was more like a hospital.

For those with an interest in Portsmouth this would be a good buy and it is the type of book that one can dip into at will.

The Royal Navy & The Defence of Great Britain April - October 1940

Format: Hardback

Author: Geoff Hewitt

ISBN: 1844157857

Publishers: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

Hitler's Armada is a fascinating study of Operation SEALION, the Nazi's codename for the invasion of Great Britain during the summer months following their victory in North West Europe in 1940.

The author's research has revealed not just the Germans' detailed operation plans and orders but the relative strengths and weaknesses of the opposing forces. He challenges the myths and legends that have long been accepted. These include the extent to which the outcome of the Battle of Britain was crucial to the abandonment of the plan. The importance of the Royal Navy is brought into sharp focus and the actual dispositions of naval forces are presented, possibly for the first time. The inadequacies of German resources and their heavy reliance on mine warfare are analysed and conclusions drawn. Of particular importance is the author's analysis of the airpower/seapower balance.

The findings in Hitler's Armada may be controversial but they are borne out by the facts so painstakingly unearthed during the author's research. The result is a fascinating, if provocative, work of military history.

Geoffrey Hewitt was born in Preston in 1953, the son of a wartime Gunner who saw action in North Africa and Italy. His fascination with Operation SEALION dates from his time at Manchester University, where he read History and developed a particular interest in the Second World War. His career has been in transport and distribution management, initially working for international companies before establishing his own business and consultancy. He is now in a position to devote more time to his hobbies, interest and family. Hitler's Armada is his first published work. He lives near Preston, Lancashire.

Part of the Preface

Hitler's Armada is the culmination of many years of personal interest in the Second World War, and more specifically in the early war years of 1940 and 1941. Its conclusions have been reached following considerable research, involving the study of literally hundreds of books, articles and documents relevant to the period. As a result of this analysis, it has become apparent that the conclusion drawn at the time, and largely still accepted to the present day that the victory of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain made a German invasion impossible cannot be justified.

Numerous books discuss the summer and autumn of 1940 purely in terms of aircraft losses, in some cases on a day-by-day basis, the understanding being that German success in the Battle of Britain would have made an invasion inevitable, with the invading troops being ferried across the Channel under a vast air umbrella, against which no defending force could prevail. By and large, the possibility that air superiority was not the only, or even the crucial, factor governing the success or failure of this operation was not even considered. The major events leading up to the Battle of Britain, the collapse of the Anglo-French armies in May 1940 and the subsequent evacuation of most of the British Expeditionary Force were portrayed as a military disaster followed by, at least from the British viewpoint, a miraculous deliverance brought about by a combination of German error (the order to halt on 24 May) and the valiant efforts of the Little Ships. The fact that Dunkirk, and the now largely forgotten post-Dunkirk evacuations, were successes achieved by a Royal Navy operating in the face of heavy air attack, with at best intermittent support from Fighter Command, has been largely ignored, presumably because it did not fit the myth.

Dönitz's Last Gamble, The Inshore U-Boat Campaign 1944-45

Format: Hardback

Author: Lawrence Paterson

ISBN: 978 1844157143

Publishers: Seaforth Publishing (Pen & Sword Publishing Ltd)

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

By the end of 1943 the German submarine war on Atlantic convoys was all but defeated, beaten by superior technology, code-breaking and air power. With losses mounting, Dönitz withdrew the wolf packs, but in a surprise change of strategy, following the D-Day landings in June 1944, he sent his U-boats into coastal waters, closer to home, where they could harass the crucial Allied supply lines to the new European bridgehead.

Caught unawares, the British and American navies struggled to cope with a novel predicament - in shallow waters submarines could lie undetectable on the bottom, and given operational freedom, they rarely needed to make signals, so neutralising the Allied advantages of decryption and radio direction-finding. Behind this unpleasant shock lay an even greater threat, of radically new submarine types known to be nearing service. Dönitz saw these as war-winning weapons, and gambled that his inshore campaign would hold up the Allied advance long enough to allow these faster and quieter boats to be deployed in large numbers.

This offensive was perhaps Germany's last chance to turn the tide, yet, surprisingly, such an important story has never been told in detail before. That it did not succeed masks its full significance: the threat of quiet submarines, operating singly in shallow water, was never really mastered, and in the Cold War that followed the massive Soviet submarine fleet, built on captured German technology and tactical experience, became a very real menace to Western sea power. In this way, Dönitz last gamble set the course of post-war anti-submarine warfare development.

Lawrence Paterson was born in New Zealand and has a long-standing interest in the Kriegsmarine, initially inspired by his time scuba diving on World War II wreck-sites. He also lived for some years near the Brest submarine pens, which turned his attention specifically to U-boats, and since then his research has led to the publication of many books on various aspects of German submarine history, this being his ninth.

His first two books were First U-Boat Flotilla and Second U-Boat Flotilla, followed by Hitler's Grey Wolves, U-boat War Patrol (later reprinted in paperback), Hunt & Kill (co-authored) and most recently Weapons of Desperation, U-Boats in the Mediterranean and U-Boat Combat Missions.

In the Shadow of Nelson - The Life of Admiral Lord Collingwood

Format: Hardback

Author: Denis Orde

ISBN: 1844157822

Publishers: Pen & Sword Maritime

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

Vice Admiral Cuthbert (Cuddy) Collingwood's reputation was hard won in battles such as Cape St Vincent (1797) and The Glorious First of June (1794). His career had to survive reverses that might well have been fatal to others less competent. He was court-martialled in 1777 by a commander for whom he had no respect, only to be acquitted.

Although ten years older than Horatio Nelson, circumstances dictated that these two rising stars' careers were so closely linked for over 30 years and, more than that, they were close friends and confidants. The relationship was all the stranger as their temperaments greatly differed. Collingwood was as reserved, austere and shy as Nelson was warm and extrovert. Indeed Collingwood was a major influence on the younger man and it was only at Trafalgar that Nelson was the superior officer.

Collingwood's role during and after that historic battle was pivotal. He led the lee column in The Royal Sovereign and Nelson is recorded as saying 'See how that noble fellow Collingwood takes his ship into action. How I envy him'. On Nelson's demise, he assumed command of the Fleet and wrote the famous Trafalgar Despatch that carried the first news of the historic victory and its cost back to the Nation. He later became Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet but was never to return home dying at sea in 1810. Fittingly he was buried beside Nelson in St Paul's Cathedral. Remarkably, this major naval figure has been the subject of very little authoritative biography M the past two hundred years. Thanks to the research and literary skills of Denis Orde, this omission is, redressed in fine style by 'In the Shadow of Nelson.'

Denis Orde served as an Army Officer during National Service and then in the Territorial Army. He read Law at Oxford University and was called to the Bar in 1956 as a prizeman of the Inner Temple and then spent twenty-three years in practice as a Barrister. There followed twenty-two years as a Crown Court Judge, fifteen of them as the Presiding Judge of a Crown Court. He remains a Master of the Bench at the Inner Temple.

He is the author of the acclaimed Nelson's Mediterranean Command (1997) and a contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography.

Denis Orde lives in his native Northumberland and in Oxford. He has enjoyed, a, life-long interest in cricket as well as naval history and biography.

In many respects 'In the Shadow of Nelson' sums up what is still a fact all these years later and it was brought home to your Reviewer when reviewing the book. I was at the home of an old navy colleague discussing the book, when a taxi driver arrived to take his wife somewhere and on spotting the book he said “Admiral Lord Collingwood - what's that about then?” I said “He was second in command at Trafalgar” to which he replied, “Never heard of him, but I know who Nelson was”.

Cuthbert Collingwood was from all accounts very different from Nelson and one factor, which stands out is his concern for his crew. 'Cherish your men, and take care of your stores, and then your ship will be serviceable'.

Unlike many naval officers of his time, including Nelson, he had a good education and wrote well. One can only speculate how Nelson's report would have read after Trafalgar had he lived. He liked publicity and fame so it may have inclined more to, “didn't I do well?”

Part of Collingwood's report read, 'The ever-to-be lamented death of Lord Viscount Nelson, Duke of Bronte, the Commander-in-Chief, who fell in the action of the 21st, in the arms of Victory, covered with glory - whose name will be ever dear to the British Navy and the British Nation, whose zeal for the honour of his King, and for the interest of his Country, will be ever held up as a shining example for a British seaman - leaves me a duty to return my thanks to the Right Honourable Rear-Admiral, the Captains, Officers, Seamen and Detachments of Royal Marines, serving on board His Majesty's squadron, now under my command, for their conduct on that day.

But where can I find language to express my sentiments of the valour and skill, which were displayed by the Officers, the Seamen and Marines, in the battle with the enemy, where every individual appeared a hero on whom the glory of his Country depended? The attack was irresistible, and the issue of it adds to the page of naval annals a brilliant instance of what Britons can do, when their King and Country need their service....'

Collingwood's report so impressed the King that he wrote, 'where did this Sea-Captain get his admirable English?' Colin White tells us in 'Nelson the New Letters', The Boydell Press, 2005 'Nelson for instance seldom used a full stop, let alone a colon or semi-colon, and question and exclamation marks were foreign to him. He occasionally underlined, but his favourite way of emphasising words was to capitalise the first letters'.

Collingwood, who hailed from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne became a Lieutenant in 1775 after he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill and then as the title suggests began some of the moves in a career following Nelson as he succeeded Nelson as Commander of HMS Badger and then Captain of HMS Hinchinbrook, a small frigate. Collingwood was promoted to a 64 gun ship of the line HMS Sampson and in 1783 he was appointed to HMS Mediator and posted to the West Indies where he remained until the end of 1786, again with Nelson enforcing the Navigation Acts.

This is a very erudite account of the life of Vice-Admiral Collingwood which takes a critical look at the difference between Nelson and the man who it has been said remained in his shadow. However you get the impression, quite correctly in my opinion that the author is pushing the case that Collingwood was not in any way inferior - just different in many ways. He was modest, yet his contribution was immense. His ship the 100 gun Royal Sovereign fired the first shot at Trafalgar and he took command after the death of Lord Nelson.

He was a man who never lost his admiration for Nelson a man ten years his junior, who was given command of the fleet, albeit it could be said he was more experienced and in Royal Sovereign he had a fine ship, which had only just been re-coppered.

A very informative book, which will take its place alongside about thirty on Nelson, which I suppose, emphasises the point. I learnt a lot from reading it, however I would like to raise some issues.

The Nelson memorial on top of Portsdown Hill is on the road to Boarhunt. On the 1810 OS Map it stands at the crossroads, on the road always known to me in childhood as the road along the top of the South Downs (Portsdown Hill). Boarhunt is north of it. It is a magnificent view - Nelson would have enjoyed it rather than looking out over a mass of buildings in London. He would surely have approved because it bears the legend '…by the zealous attachment of all those who fought at Trafalgar to perpetuate his triumph and their regret 1805'.

The author claims that HMS Excellent, the Gunnery School at Whale Island was so named in recognition (Page 261) of the skills displayed by Collingwood's ship at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. I cannot find any other reference to this claim that HMS Excellent was chosen for the reason given. My research indicates that she was chosen because she just happened to be moored off the north-west corner of the Dockyard her port broadside facing towards Fareham Creek. After HMS Excellent was broken up in 1834 the Boyne and then Charlotte were used (both renamed Excellent). See, 'Whaley The Story of HMS Excellent 1830-1980, John G Wells'

The official badge of HMS Collingwood bears a holly tree, which seems rather inappropriate for a man who walked about with a pocketful of acorns because he was concerned that we wouldn't have sufficient oaks to build a navy. Ewart Brookes must have had him in mind when he wrote in 'Proud Waters' 1954 Jarrolds 'Only Englishmen have the faith to plant acorns'. I wonder if any of Collingwood's mighty oaks are still standing in his native north?

At Trafalgar to amuse the Fleet Nelson signalled '253,269,863,261,471,958,220,370,4,21,19,24' (England expects that every man will do his duty). This was only logged in some ships, many never received it. Collingwood said to his officers “Now gentlemen let us do something today which the world may talk of hereafter”. He observed that he wished Nelson would stop signalling as “Everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to do”. The motto for the ship named for Collingwood was 'I shall carry on regardless'. I hope this books helps to place him where perhaps he should be, alongside Nelson.

Slaughter At Sea: The Story of Japan's Naval War Crimes

Format: Hardback

Author: Mark Felton

ISBN: 9781844156474

Publishers: Pen & Sword Books Limited

Publication Date: 2007

Publisher's Title information

The Japanese Army's barbaric treatment of its victims have been recorded in a number of fine but inevitably grim accounts but, strangely, their war crimes at sea have been largely overlooked. As this book reveals, tragically this cannot have been through lack of material. The author, who is establishing himself as a leading authority on maritime issues with a Far Eastern bias, has unearthed a plethora of outrages against both servicemen and civilians which make chilling and shocking reading.

Ironically, while the Japanese Navy followed many of the Royal Navy's traditions and structures, it had a totally different approach to the treatment of its foes. There appears to have been a widespread lack of chivalry or respect for those at their mercy, even when their defeated adversaries had shown outstanding courage and resolve.

Atrocities recalled in this superbly researched work range from the cold-blooded torture and execution of POWs, the abandonment of survivors to the elements and certain starvation. The author who lives in the Far East is well placed to examine the different culture that led to these appalling incidents.

While inevitably disturbing, Slaughter At Sea is a serious study of a dark chapter in Naval warfare history.

Born in Colchester in 1974, Dr Mark Felton gained a BA in History and English at Anglia University, Cambridge. He holds an MA and PhD in American History, both at the

University of Essex. He currently lives and works in China with his wife and son, where he teaches at Shanghai University.

He has contributed to many historical periodicals and is the author of Yanagi: The Secret Underwater Trade Between Germany and Japan, 1942-1945 and The Fujita Plan: Japanese Attacks on the United States and Australia during the Second World War (both published by Pen & Sword Books).

No book can do justice to the inhumanity of Imperial Japan towards the peoples it conquered or captured because of the scale of their brutality was so vast. It is not an easy book to read, in fact I started to read it and decided I couldn't cope with it. However because the truth needs to be told I felt I had a duty to read it. After all, what is that compared to the suffering inflicted by this cruel nation and moreover their war crimes at sea have been largely overlooked.

What is so terrible is the fact that so many perpetrators were never brought to trial as the author explains in the after-words, some of which I repeat here.

'Many nameless members of the IJN who were not investigated or prosecuted for war crimes after the war, even though witnesses named particular vessels involved in massacres perpetrated at sea, or other sources named naval units and individuals involved in crimes committed on land. Several reasons can be introduced that go some way to explaining why so many Japanese were able to commit awful crimes during the war and escape any punishment. One reason….a lack of resources to have enabled some of the Allied nations to hunt down and prosecute suspected war criminals….Associated with translation that made any investigations and trials long-winded affairs, as the Allied powers went through the motions of granting the Japanese defendants transparent trials under the rule of law….Japan would become an ally of the United States and other countries she had so recently warred against, the idea being that a strong demilitarized Japan would become an important block against the spread of Soviet-inspired communism throughout Asia. The attention of the victorious Allied powers was soon diverted away from chasing down war criminals in a friendly country trying hard to forget its imperialist past by the Korean War, which broke out in 1950. Japan was an important base for American and Allied military forces fighting North Korea and China, and the Japanese economy benefited immeasurably from this association. Geopolitical considerations rendered the search for Japanese war criminals embarrassing and best forgotten….But the 'Tokyo Trial' was not on the scale of its German cousin. It might be argued that 'war weariness' by the end of 1945 meant that there was little appetite amongst those whose job it was to make sure the guilty were punished to actually do so comprehensively. Instead, a series of prominenti were hanged or imprisoned, and the job of catching the men who actually murdered was left to individual nations, many of whom, Britain in particular, were near bankrupt after years of war.'

Very little though has been made of the devastation wrought by the Japanese armed forces against the indigenous peoples of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Burma or a

Many of the Japanese sailors who appear on the pages of this book, and who committed such terrible deeds over sixty years ago are still alive today.

It is difficult to select one crime from those listed to demonstrate the need to remind the world of what a barbaric nation the Japanese were. However on Page 90 we read of the treatment given to forty German Catholic nuns, twenty civilians and two young Chinese children aboard the ship Akikaze. This is the précis of what happened.

'The prisoners were herded out onto the deck in small groups under a heavy armed guard. One by one, beginning with the men, they were firstly asked some polite questions by an officer, including their name, nationality, marital status and age. This information was then entered on legal notepads, which subsequently disappeared. One by one, the victims, following a calm questioning, were led behind the curtain to their fate.

Once behind the curtain, each prisoner was blindfolded and ropes were attached to each of his/her wrists. Several Japanese sailors then pulled on the ropes in unison, which were all attached to the wooden scaffold, and struggling in agony the prisoner was bodily hauled off the ground and suspended ready for execution. At a given signal the destroyer would suddenly increase speed, the noise of the engines used by the Japanese to disguise the shots coming from behind the curtain. A four-man firing squad then took aim and dispatched the victim with a single volley, along with a burst from Lieutenant Takeo's machine gun. Afterwards, the body was dropped to the deck, untied and pitched over the stern of the ship as she continued on her way. Whether intentional or not, the nature of the prisoners' deaths, suspended as if crucified, was the final indignity to their beliefs.

When all the male prisoners had been killed, it was the turn of the nuns and other women, two of whom were holding small Chinese babies in their arms. Ignoring their desperate pleas of mercy for the infants, Japanese sailors wrenched the children from the nuns' arms and threw them overboard to drown. The women were then subjected to the same treatment as the men - after three hours all the neutral civilians had been shot and thrown overboard…On pain of severe punishment the officers and men of the Akikaze were sworn to secrecy concerning the massacre.'

Isn't it time the Japanese owned up to these crimes?

The author tells us that, 'the current position of the Japanese government is quite confusing and contradictory. It accepts the judgment and sentences set by the Trial as demands, but it does not accept the legal validity of the Tokyo war crimes tribunal. Put simply, the Tokyo Trials and other war crimes trials have no standing in Japanese law. The Japanese can allude to 'victor's justice', as Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration to end the war, and as a condition for acceptance it had to agree to a number of conditions including the incarceration and/or execution of those deemed responsible for the war.'

If you can bring yourself to read this book please do so. We owe it to the people who suffered so much. You should be warned that there are some very unpleasant photographs.

The Zeebrugge Raid

Edition: HB 2007, 1^st Published in 1978

Format: Hardback

Author: Philip Warner

ISBN: 184415677x

Publishers: Pen & Sword

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

On 23 April 1918 a force drawn from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines launched one of the most daring raids in history. The aim was to block the Zeebrugge Canal, thereby denying U-boat access, although this meant assaulting a powerfully fortified German naval base.

The raid has long been recognised for its audacity and ingenuity but, owing to the fact that the official history took overmuch notice of the German version of events, has long been considered only a partial success. In this stirring account Philip Warner exposes the error of that interpretation by providing evidence from many sources that the raid achieved much more than it is traditionally credited with.

The raid is presented from a variety of viewpoints, from the airmen who took part in the preliminary bombing to the motor launches which picked up survivors. The crews of the launches and coastal motor boats were frequently 'amateur' sailors but their courage and skill were second to none. Indeed no less than nine Victoria Crosses were awarded for the action.

During his research Philip Warner talked with many of the survivors and corresponded with others. The Zeebrugge Raid is a sobering reminder of this outstanding feat of arms undertaken ninety years ago.

Philip Warner (1914-2000) enlisted in the Royal Corps of Signals after graduating from St Catherine's, Cambridge in 1939. He fought in Malaya and spent 1,100 days as 'a guest of the Emperor' in Changi and on the Railway of Death, an experience he never discussed. He was a legendary figure to generations of cadets during his thirty years as a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Yet he will arguably be best remembered for his contribution of more than 2,000 obituaries of prominent army figures to The Daily Telegraph.

In addition he wrote fifty-four books on all aspects of military history, ranging from castles and battlefields in Britain, to biographies of prominent military figures (such as Kitchener: The Man Behind The Legend, Field Marshal Earl Haig; Horrocks: The General who Led from the Front and Auchinleck: The Lonely Soldier) to major histories of the SAS, the Special Boat Services and the Royal Corps of Signals. Pen and Sword Books ate proud to have re-published a number of Philip's works including The D Day Landings (selected by The Daily Telegraph as their official 60th Anniversary book); Special Poles of World War 2; Phantom, Passchendaele and Alamein.

Service Most Silent

Edition: 2^nd 2008 (1^st Published in 1955)

Format: Hardback

Author: John Frayn Turner

ISBN: 1844157261

Publishers: Pen & Sword

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

From the outset of war Nazi Germany sought to isolate the British Isles by the laying of mines in shipping lanes. Losses to both merchant ships and naval vessels became a Nervous factor. If supplies continued to be lost by a combination of U-Boat and mine attacks 'the-very survival of the nation was at risk.

Finding counter-measures to the German mine offensive became a top priority. The responsibility for this vital work rested with a small group of highly skilled and courageous naval specialists based at HMS Vernon, the RN's mine and torpedo shoreat Portsmouth.

Ranged against them was a growing and ingenious array of Weapons: magnetic, acoustic, oyster and booby-trap mines to name but four varieties. Some, were laid by boat, others dropped from the air.

The story of HMS Vernon's contribution led by men such as Commander JGD Ouvry DSO and Captain RL Lewis DSO has been written by John Frayn Turner, the distinguished historian who served with them. The author describes the near continuous struggle to detect, understand and master the best efforts of the German war machine.

Service Most Silent is a vivid and well-researched account of the desperate struggle to neutralise the deadly German naval mine threat which captures the tension, urgency and danger experienced by this small group of Royal Navy experts.

John Frayn Turner is the author of twenty-seven books, mostly modern history and biography. He is an authority on aviation and many of his books have aeronautical themes. He is the only living biographer of the legendary fighter pilot Douglas Bader with whom he worked closely on Fight For The Sky (reprinted by Pen and Sword Books in 2003) and The Bader Wing (Pen & Sword Books 2006). He was also the author of Heroic Flights (Pen & Sword Books) and his account of D-Day, Invasion '44, was acclaimed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic.

Closely connected with the Royal Air Force for many years, John Frayn Turner worked on RAF publicity, made numerous test flights of new aircraft, flew at twice the speed of sound as long ago as 1963 and accompanied the famous Red Arrows aerobatic team.

He has also been associated with all the arts, having been managing editor of five prestige magazines: Art & Artists, Dance & Dancers, Films & Filming, Music & Musicians and Plays & Players. He was also a critic for The Stage Newspaper.

ONE day during the War, on a wild, windswept foreshore of the Outer Orkneys, two naval officers trudged slowly over the mud towards an enemy mine that lay in the wash of the incoming tide. As they approached, while they were still some way off, a wave rolled the mine overand it exploded. The officers were injured; their wounds went untended; with no one near, they died. And the waves broke over their bodies, flattening for ever the footsteps in the sand. . . .

It is now ten years since the War was won. A decade divides us from those dramatic days. Time has flown by on jet-propelled wings, and memory become dulled of the men who matteredand matter still. So before the years crowd them aside, and their records are finally filed, the saga must be sung of the Navy's men of the mines, who on the beaches of Britain and far foreign shores dissected the deadliest weapons the enemy could devise, so that counter-measures could be conceived, the seas swept clear, our ships saved. Our lives too. For the Few of the Navy saved us as surely as did their namesakes above in the air. So many are their exploits that only a cross-section can be chronicled. To those of them who died, officers and men alike, this book is dedicated.

When this book arrived for review, my mind was cast back fifty-two years, because of all the naval books I have in my collection a First Edition of this book which was my First Prize Certificate for school HMS St Vincent, Duncan 97 Entry, 3 December 1957. http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/stv/stv.htm

If I said it was the reason I trained as a diver at HMS Vernon http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/vernon/vernon.htm it would not be strictly true, because I had already decided at age fourteen and was the reason for joining the Royal Navy. However it would be true perhaps, to say it set the seal on my thoughts about diving.

I saw recently on our local TV (Spotlight) that once more a mine (I nearly said 'enemy') had been found and blown up. In the Preface the author tells of two Officers blown up and killed by a mine in 1955 - he says of it then, '….time has flown by on jet-propelled wings, and memory become dulled of the men who mattered - and matter still'. They still matter and I recall meeting so many of them when I trained at HMS Vernon and Horsea Island http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/dive_site_uk_england_inland_horsea_island.html

in 1959 and qualified as a Shallow Water Diver and Free Diver in that year when still an Ordinary Seaman.

The last paragraph of the book says 'the last enemy mine had been rendered safe'. I wonder just how many have been found since 1945.

By the time I trained at HMS Vernon, mines were dealt with by clearance divers who were full-time divers, as opposed to the remainder of us, who, whilst we were trained retained our specialist qualifications eg I was Seaman and Radar. Whereas a Clearance Diver's badge was worn on the right arm, the Shallow Water Diver or Free Diver wore it at the bottom of the sleeve and it included the initials SW or F. In 1959 many of the Divers in HMS Deepwater the Diving School at HMS Vernon were in fact still Standard Divers or 'Steam Pudding Divers', however at about this time helmet diving was discontinued in the Royal Navy. I recall trials on SDDE in a small tank that was on the quay near Deepwater.

It is good to see this book in print again and I hope younger generations will learn the story of HMS Vernon, where the men who had the responsibility of finding counter measures to German mines worked. Mines came in all sorts including, contact, magnetic and acoustic with various booby-traps.

The book has 32 excellent black and white photographs and an Appendix to list the awards, although as it states, the list is not necessarily complete, nor were all the people listed based at HMS Vernon. Five of those listed were killed, two of whom were Ratings, Chief PO, CE Baldwin DSM and Able Seaman diver R Tawn DSM. The incident in which Tawn died is described on pages 138 to 144 and six lives were lost that day. As it says, 'Vernon paid the price, Vernon was proud of those who perished'.

Warships of the Royal Navy

Format: Hardback

Author: Iain Ballantyne

ISBN: 1844154068

Publishers: Pen & Sword

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher's Title Information

The Royal Navy battleship HMS Rodney was one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. Rodney and sister ship Nelson were, at the beginning of the conflict, the most modern battleships Britain possessed. As such, Winston Churchill referred to them as the country's 'Captains of the Gate'.

This book tells Rodney's story, from her inception in the 1920s, through the notorious Invergordon Mutiny to her key roles in many crucial naval engagements. In May 1941 Rodney turned Bismarck, the pride of Hitler's navy, into twisted metal. She also participated in hard-fought Malta convoys, and supported the D-Day landings.

Through the eyewitness accounts of her sailors and marines the reader discovers what it was like to serve in a battleship at war. We also learn of the many famous fighting admirals who served in, or commanded, Rodney, including Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and Admiral Sir John Tovey. Cunningham's harsh management style is highlighted as a possible cause of mutinous conduct by her sailors, which led to Rodney being unjustly branded 'The Red Ship'.
The stories of previous British warships to carry the name Rodney, dating back to the 1750s, are also covered, including the vessel that took on the batteries at Sevastopol during the Crimean War. As well as presenting a fresh perspective on Bismarck's destruction, the author provides new insights into a bomb hit on Rodney off Norway in 1940, which nearly made her the first British battleship lost to air attack.

The book also contains an account of how a group of the battleship's sailors took part in the first ever British commando raid. Rodney's vital role, through her formidable naval gunfire support, in breaking the morale of Waffen SS divisions during the battle for Normandy, is covered, including the remarkable part played by code-breakers in directing the ship's guns. It all makes for an exciting, epic account of naval warfare.

In his twenty-six year career as a journalist, Iain Ballantyne has written on naval and military matters for publications as varied as The Naval Architect, Evening Herald (Plymouth), Somerset County Gazette, Scotland on Sunday, Western Morning News, FOCUS (now BBC FOCUS), Maxim and ECDIS Today. In late 2007 he received a Special Recognition Award from the British Maritime Charitable Foundation for his continuing work as Editor of WARSHIPS International Fleet Review.

The Author

An established author of naval history books, Iain has written Warspite (2001), HMS London (2003), Strike From the Sea (2004) and HMS Victory (with Jonathan Eastland, 2005), all published by Pen & Sword Books.

He is also Editor of the Guide to the Royal Navy (HPC Publishing) and has written scripts for a number of multi-media projects, including a documentary on the Battle of the Atlantic (narrated by Lord Attenborough) and a chronicle of the Royal Navy's role in the 2003 Iraq War.

Foreword

Commander R.W. Morris OBE, Royal Navy (Retd), who served in

HMS Rodney as a Midshipman from September 1943 to December 1944.

As a boy I always knew that my destiny was a life at sea. This was nurtured by family holidays at Sennen Cove on the tip of England's Cornish peninsula. Fishing with my father, trolling for mackerel and then selling them to the fishermen's wives for a penny each to feed their visitors are among my most treasured memories. Our last holiday at Sennen was in August 1939, when war clouds were gathering and I vividly remember seeing the ships of the Home Fleet steaming northwards from their Channel ports in an endless stream. My father reluctantly said it was time to go home. What a sad day that was. Within a few days Britain was at war with Germany.

I was determined to join the Navy and, after three years training as a cadet, I was appointed to HMS Rodney. I was thrilled to be going to the battleship that had played such a key role in sinking the Bismarck just a few years earlier. I was seventeen and-three-quarter-years-old and a lowly Midshipman. It was all, of course, a huge adventure, starting, in September 1943, with myself sailing in an escort ship, riding shotgun on a troop convoy to Algiers, then on to Malta, to join the mighty battleship. I was not disappointed, the massive 16-inch guns looming over me were simply awe-inspiring in their majesty and menace; I first glimpsed them from a pinnace taking me to the ship.

The land campaign was still very much alive, but the war at sea in the Mediterranean was subsiding, the Italian Fleet having surrendered. Therefore, after a very brief period of time, we sailed for the UK. Soon Rodney was bombarding Normandy and, after a foray to the Channel Islands, accompanied a Russian convoy in a bid to draw Tirpitz, sister ship of Bismarck, out of a Norwegian fjord. These were the twilight days of Rodney's life but she was still very much a ship of war right to the end.

Now, more than sixty years on, we have this most absorbing and comprehensive telling of not only battleship Rodney' story but also that of her forebears. In recounting the amazing events of battleship Rodney's war career, the author has drawn on my own midshipman's journal. Reading quotes taken from it - in particular the amazing, almost cinematic, descriptions of action during the battle to break out from the Normandy beachhead in the summer of 1944 - I am struck by how lyrical my younger self could be. But, we lived very fast in those days; the teenager that I was back then was more often excited than afraid. The main achievement of this book is to bring alive the human experience in the mighty Rodney, and I am honoured to have played my part in helping breathe life into this epic yarn.

It is, above all else, a magnificent and detailed account of the fighting life of the huge dreadnought that displaced 42,000 tons at the peak of her powers. It is not a name that today seems likely to grace a warship, but in her day Rodney reigned supreme; she wasrespected by her own side and feared by the opposition.

The battleship's record in the Second World War was second to none. Rodney may have been broken up in the late 1940s, but the spirit of the men who sailed her did not vanish. The HMS Rodney Association was formed. Annual Meetings were invariably held in HMS Drake, the naval barracks at Devonport, followed by a dinner in the Chief and Petty Officers' mess, and there would be a church service the next day. The first President was Vice Admiral Sir William Crawford, who had been Rodney's gunnery officer during the Bismarck action. The Association disbanded several years ago, because of decreasing numbers, and no one was willing to take on the onerous task of Secretary. None of us was getting any younger. I was President for a couple of years, which was a great honour, and of which I am particularly proud. Too bad it had to finish; such ships are sadly gone forever, while those who manned them are fewer every day. This book means that Rodney, and the experiences of her men, live on.

Review

This is the story of a ship, but more importantly this is the narrative of those who served in that ship and perhaps it is best summed up in the words of Bill Myers (Fleet Air Arm), 'Its hard to explain to a civilian one's feelings for a ship in which one has served for several years. You forget the hardships, the discomforts, the monotonous food and the danger, but you remember the comradeship, the runs ashore, the lower deck, indestructible humour. How can you fall in love with a hunk of metal? But you do and you never forget'.

Matelots old and young will empathise with this, and it goes for big or small ships, as Commander Eric G Stearns said at the end of the first Commission of HMS Lion in 1962, 'One of the nicest things I have heard about us came from a small ship, Lion is the smallest big ship we have ever known.'

Iain Ballantyne's book on HMS Rodney will help to ensure many of those memories do not fade away.

Before we reach the last Rodney, which the book is really about, the author, donates three chapters to previous Rodneys and some information on George Brydges Rodney, whom the ships were named after (see 'Rodney and the Breaking of the Line' Peter Trew, Pen & Sword 2006).

In Chapter 4 the author discusses 'The Ship that Never Was'. Rodney would originally have been one of four 'Admiral Class' Battlecruisers, viz, Hood, Rodney, Anson and Howe, but construction on Rodney, Howe and Anson were cancelled during 1917 and 1918. Only Hood was completed and her weakness was her downfall as history tells us.

We learn that the last Rodney was a product of hard times and tough bargaining, brought about by the Officer who became Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield, who had been Captain of HMS Lion at Jutland. At the time of Rodney's construction he was Rear Admiral (Assistant Chief of Naval Staff) a post he took up in August 1920. This period is covered in his autobiography 'The Navy and Defence' Heinemann 1942. Lord Chatfield visited the new HMS Lion in 1960 and in the Commissioning Book he is photographed with Captain J Scotland DSC, RN. Lord Chatfield, like my Grandfather was born in Southsea in 1873.

By Chapter 5 the last Rodney made her entrance on 17 December 1925, 'A Union Jack flew proud from the Jackstaff of the battleship's prow'. The 'Union Flag' only becomes a 'Union Jack' when flown from the Jackstaff of one of Her Majesty's ships when not at sea. Rodney was a big ship, 1,314 men, sufficient electricity to light a small town, X-ray machine and a chapel. A friend of mine who's father was the Blacksmith was the first child to be christened in Rodney, but no his name isn't Rodney, but like his father he went on to join the Royal Navy and serve at Korea and later with the RFA in the Falklands War.

We learn that Rodney's men were well-nourished in 1925, whilst many in the country were near starvation, but isn't that why in this period many joined up? Personally, I still recall the thrill of being issued with so much kit when joining up, I had never owned so much and with three meals a day and pocket money as well! My abiding memory of Royal Navy food is generally 'no complains', certainly after the school dinners of the forties and fifties!

Chapter 6 'The Red Ship' covers a difficult period for Rodney and the Navy. Edward Harris tells us that Captain Cunningham, Rodney's third Captain (and later Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope) was the only Captain he ever knew booed down the gangway. Viscount Cunningham's own autobiography makes no mention of this at Page 148 where he merely states on December 15 he was relieved by Roger Bellairs.

Harris's statement is an indication of the feeling that came to a head during the Invergordon Mutiny which is discussed; and importantly, from the 'lower deck' point of view. I knew men; ex-Matelots in Portsmouth in the 1960s who were still very bitter about the way the Government had cut their pay. Rodney's part is discussed here, for the part Repulse played see 'Seven Seas, Nine Lives', Pen & Sword 2006. The impact of Admiralty Fleet Order 2239 was that a Lieutenant Commander would lose 3.7% whereas an Able Seaman 25%.

Commander Geoffrey Cooke joined 31 October 1931. He was described as tolerant and understanding, a good Commander who was later to lose his life along with hundreds of others including my Uncle when HMS Barham was lost 21 November 1941, sadly a naval relative I never knew. Geoffrey Cooke was Captain of Barham and the story of that ship can be read in 'Battleship Barham', Geoffrey P Jones, William Kimber, 1979.

Chapter 7 bears the title 'Send Fried Egg to Admiral', any non Naval person may have difficulty with this, but to one who was once asked to 'provide a kipper on the bridge' during Naval evolutions it comes as no surprise.

The story of Rodney continues down the years with contributions from those who served in her and her part in the sinking of Bismarck is covered in Chapter 12 'Avenge the Hood' and Rodney made history by hitting another Battleship with a torpedo, at least this was the claim of the torpedo Officer Lieutenant Commander Lewis.

Rodney went on to survive the war and gave great service at D-Day and after. She took part in operation 'Pedestal' , to save Malta, the biggest ever escort for a single convoy; but by the end of WWII was worn out and the end came when she was sold for scrap 26 March 1948.

This is an excellent book worth owning, well written with some very good photographs and perhaps more importantly it has a comprehensive Bibliography and Index. Appendix 1, 'Rodney's People', gives us details of careers of Officers and some of those who did not achieve exalted positions in the Royal Navy, thumbnail sketches really because how can you tell the full story of all those who must have served in such a famous ship? Appendix 3 is a summary of the career of HMS Nelson, which is another story.

Rob Jerrard

Battle of the River Plate: A Grand Delusion

Richard Woodman

Hardback

ISBN: 9781844156894

List Price: Ł19.99

Price: at Pen & Sword Ł15.99

Publisher's Title Information

The Battle of the River Plate was the first major naval confrontation of the Second World War, and it is one of the most famous. The dramatic sea fight between the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spec and the British cruisers Exeter, Ajax and Achilles off the coast of South America caught the imagination in December 1939. Over the last 60 years the episode has come to be seen as one of the classics of naval warfare. Yet the accepted interpretation of events has perhaps been taken for granted and is ripe for reassessment, and that is one of the aims of Richard Woodman's enthralling new study.

The battle was the culmination of a short but intense naval campaign, which he reconstructs in vivid detail. He describes the Graf Spee's menacing cruise through the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, her interception by the Royal Navy off the River Plate, the day-long engagement and pursuit, and the subsequent scuttling of the great ship off Montevideo, and the suicide of Langsdorff her captain.

As well as retelling the story, Richard Woodman questions common assumptions about the battle and looks again at aspects of the action that have been debated or misunderstood. German naval planning and the Royal Navy's strategy to counter the threat are analysed, as is Churchill's mistaken influence on naval thinking prior to the battle. The aftermath is also considered, in particular the fate of the other German surface raiders and the way the Battle of the River Plate has been portrayed, perhaps misleadingly, ever since.

Richard Woodman's graphic, authoritative and thought-provoking study of the battle makes compelling reading.

The Author

Richard Woodman is a distinguished and prolific maritime author and historian. He has sailed in a variety of ships, serving from midshipman to captain. He is a keen yachtsman and an Elder Brother of Trinity House. As an author he is perhaps best-known for his highly successful Nathaniel Drinkwater novels, but he has also published a number of other novels on maritime and naval subjects. His historical studies include Arctic Convoys 1941-1945, Malta Convoys 1940-1943 and The Real Cruel Sea: The Merchant Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1943.

Review

My first thoughts on reading the title was, 'Grand Delusion' on the part of whom? Each generation see events from a different perspective because as time moves on and technology improves more information comes to light, at least as far as modern history is concerned.

I find it hard to accept it is a 'Grand Delusion' on the part of the Royal Navy, even with the passing of the years. I must admit that I have seen it in a different light as I have grown up with first the film and then the various books, of which I own seven as well as others, which consider it along with other battles.

You will conclude of course that I am biased when I aver to the fact that at fifteen, shortly after I joined the Royal Navy in 1956 the entire Establishment of HMS St Vincent were marched through Gosport, Hampshire to see the film at the cinema. My Chief Petty Officer Instructor during the first year of my training had served in HMS Exeter during the battle. See www.rjerrard.co.uk\royalnavy\river\river.htm

In the film HMS Sheffield played Ajax, HMS Jamaica played Exeter and Achilles by that time INS Delhi played herself, as did Cumberland. Graf Spee was played by USS Salem, a heavy cruiser.

Something you often read is that Langsdorff was surprised that the cruisers came at him like destroyers. There have always been two obvious reasons for this. Firstly that it was essential to close the gap and engage the guns and secondly the traditions of the Royal Navy. No Royal Naval ship 'runs'. Its Officers and Men have been trained in a tradition forged on an assumption that they, whatever the odds have superior fighting qualities. Fighting, even against the odds usually meant winning. How could the German Navy understand that or as Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham said, “Finally to the end of my life I shall remain convinced that there is no service or profession to compare to the Royal Navy”.

In this new study, Richard Woodman questions common assumptions about the battle and looks again at aspects of the action, which have been debated or misunderstood. His main assertion, which is not really new, is that the battle has been portrayed misleadingly - something which one could say of any battle if you read different accounts and in this case there are many available including some other new books such as 'Langsdorff of the Graf Spee - Prince of Honor' by Joseph Gilbey 1999 ISBN 0968599400, where its author talks of ' Dialogue by necessity employs some poetic licence' and 'The Price of Disobedience - the Battle of the River Plate Reconsidered' by Eric J Grove, Sutton Publishing.

For my part I would recommend that as a prelude to reading modern books, readers should start with (if you can find copies) 'Grippo the Voyage of Ajax 1935-1937', which is a record of the first commission of HMS Ajax, April 1935 to August 1937 on the Mediterranean and America and West Indies Station' printed for private circulation. 'The Battle of the River Plate', Lord Strabolgi RN, Hutchinson 1940, and 'HMNZS Achilles' Jack S Harker, Collins 1980. This will help you to understand the relationship that had built up between the Officers and Men of the Royal Navy and the citizens of the South American countries that are also a part of this overall story, we were always “Showing the flag”. Grove questions in his book why Langsdorff entered Uruguay as opposed to Argentina, which was more Pro-Nazi. I am not sure this would have made any difference to the decision not to come out and fight.

The ships, lumps of metal to civilians but home to Matelots went the way of all ships, but the Officers and Men that survived, went on living and telling their stories. It is a pity that in most books I have, including this one, authors do not mention the names of the dead. Appendix IV to Lord Strabolgi's book reprinted all the names as per the Times Newspaper; it also lists in Appendix VII the names, ratings, and ships taken by Admiral Graf Spee. In this book a 'Roll of Honour' is given on page 156, it lists 61 wounded in Graf Spee, but none killed in action? Is this deliberate? I believe there were 36 or 37 killed, did they die without honour?

It is men that win battles not ships and Jack S Harker in his book HMNZS Achilles' as she became after the battle in September 1941, does give the names of the four in Achilles, Able Seaman Archie Shaw, Ordinary Seaman Ian Grant, Ordinary Telegraphist Nevil Milburn and Telegraphist Frank Stennett, who were committed to the deep at 1000 hrs 14 December 1939.

This new account takes its place amongst others. It is worth owning because of the good descriptions of all Graf Spee's victims and small diagrams illustrating each ship. There are good maps and in 'Aftermath' HMS Cossack and the 'Altmark' incident are considered.

So was Langsdorff a compassionate man or a Nazi? He never sunk a British warship but it has been written many times he never killed a single Merchant Seaman - but this was pure luck really, he fired on them and it was just bad shooting. He was not averse to flying flags of other countries, whilst he sneaked up 'Bow On'. I believe he genuinely had compassion and considering his orders did what he thought was right.

Why did the Royal Navy win? The answer lies more in one fact than in any other. As has been mentioned the Royal Navy trained its Officers and Seamen from boyhood. Those Officers had an understanding between themselves and their crew and that, given the right conditions is sufficient.

Why did he not come out and fight? In 'The Wake of the Raiders - The exploits and failure of the pocket battleships, and a subsequent account of events at sea' A D Devine, John Murray, 1940, the author says at page 115' Then at the end of March the Admiralty published a report on those last days :

On Saturday, December 16, it was anticipated that repairs, would be completed some time during Saturday night or early on Sunday morning. The Uruguayan officials were so confident that she would make a break some time during that night that they prohibited all Allied ships from leaving the port.

During the afternoon of December 16, however, a factor arose which the German command had not taken into account. The crew of the Admiral Graf Spee refused to take their ship to sea. Between 3 and 7.30p.m. the crew were mustered on deck at least eight times, and were harangued by one officer after another.

The final appeal to the men was made by Captain Langsdorff himself, but still the men refused to return to duty. During these musters the crew 'of the Admiral Graf Spee broke ranks, shouted and behaved in a disorderly manner verging on the mutinous', He continues, 'Again and again in stories of men who met them in Uruguay and the Argentine, we get reiterated a strange naďve astonishment at their need to fight. They had not expected to have to fight. They had been sent out to destroy commercea vast ship, the most expensive vessel of her size ever built, a sledge-hammer to crack a nutthey had expected to slaughter off the innocents, unscathed, unharried and unhunted. And they had failed. Somewhere, somehow, they had been let down'.

Perhaps the truth has been in print all these years and we simply haven't placed enough emphasis on it, in 'I Was Graf Spee's Prisoner', Captain Patrick Dove, Cherry Books, 1940 he claims the following conversation took place: 'Captain Langsdorf received me in the cabin.

There was no bitterness in his tone as he greeted me.

"Ah, Captain," he said, shaking his head, " I am sorry that you had to be in this action. I am glad that none of you are injured."

" But you are wounded, Captain," I said. " Oh, only a little," he shrugged.

" But weren't you under cover ? " I asked.

" It was impossible," he explained. " I had three British ships to watch, and I could not take my eyes off one of them."

Then his great admiration for the men of the Exeter bubbled over.

" They were magnificent, splendid fighters. With my salvoes I put out of action their forward guns. I smashed the bridge. But they turned to fight me with only one gun. Long after I thought I had put them out of action they came back at me. " When you fight brave men like that you cannot feel any enmity, you only want to shake hands with them.

You English are hard. You do not know when you are beaten. The Exeter was beaten, but would not know it ! " He went on " The Ajax and the Achilles came at me like destroyers. They got right in and tried to torpedo me. They fired ten torpedoes and one was very close. I sent out a big smoke screen and I zig-zagged, but still they came after me. I said to myself They would never do this unless they were supported by big ships.' " My intelligence tells me now that the Barham and the Dunquerque were in the vicinity. The British cruisers tried to cut me off from the shore and drive me out to sea.

" They would never have dared to do this unless they had some support or were trying to drive me out into the guns of bigger ships somewhere out at sea.

"At ten o'clock last night the Ajax was getting too close to me when I was near the land, and I fired a salvo to keep her off."

I leave that final word with Captain Langsdorf.

Rob Jerrard

Zeebrugge & Ostend Raids

Edition: 1st

Format: Paperback

Author: Stephen McGreal

ISBN: 1844156087

Publishers: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Price: Ł12.99

Publication Date: 2007

Publisher's Title Information

Author's Introduction

During the formative years of my childhood, my family moved from the terrace streets of Liverpool to the then semi-rural Wirral. In pre-car owner days this effectively severed our ties with our extended Liverpool family and visits to our relatives required a lengthy bus and ferry boat trip across the then bustling River Mersey. It was possibly on one such trip that I became aware of the role undertaken by two Wallasey ferries during the dark days of the First World War. My young imagination worked over-time as I tried to understand the task so bravely undertaken by such small vessels during the April 1918 raid on Zeebrugge.

In recognition of the naval exploits of Iris and Daffodil, King George V awarded both ferries a Royal prefix, hence Royal Daffodil and Royal Iris. Only three ferries now ply their trade across the river: two possess the names of their battle-scarred predecessors. Annually the Merseyside branch of the Royal Marine Association holds a memorial service and a mid-river church service aboard either the current Royal Iris or Royal Daffodil. In recent times, a stone block engraved with the Royal Navy and Royal Marine cap badges with suitable inscription, sited at Seacombe terminus, has become the focus point for the floral tributes and wreaths. Although the original Zeebrugge and Ostend participants have long passed on, several octogenarian members of the Royal Marines Association, [Merseyside] continue to commemorate their fallen comrades who fell at Zeebrugge 1918 and Walcheren 1944.

Almost nine decades later the raid's anniversary continues to be commemorated at Wallasey, Dover and Zeebrugge - such is its historical significance. It is an honour to be permitted the opportunity to write this small volume on an operation described thus.

'The raid on Zeebrugge may well rank as

"Royal Navy and Maritime Book Reviews" Provided by Rob Jerrard

Pen and Sword Books Reviewed in 2008