Category: Support Services

Mainly concerned with the post-war history of the Marine Salvage Department of the Admiralty, it nevertheless gives a good brief account of the war years.

Her father kept the Bon Portage light in Nova Scotia and this is an account, based on her diary and memories, of the sea war as seen from the lighthouse.

A popular account of the wartime activity in this key convoy port.

A full account of these deterrent defences with a detailed account of the sinking of U 853 on 6 May 1945.

Gives a very compressed version of events.

Thirty pages are devoted to Gibraltar's key role in WWII.

A beautifully illustrated record of the strong link with the RN. Although most of the pictures are of ships all have Malta as a backdrop.

A reference book arranged by each individual airbase and sub-organised by every squadron which served on the base.

A detailed account of the 2,000 or so ships which entered Dublin during the war, recording their cargoes and voyages.

Calais was one of the major trooping ports at the end of the war. The author was a key figure in this and here concentrates on the individual vessels involved.

The Royal Mail steamer Niagara was mined and sunk on 19 June 1940 off the New Zealand coast while carrying bullion. This is the story of its secret recovery during the war at then record diving depths.

The memoirs of an American salvage expert who spent 1942 overcoming fearsome odds to restore the port of Massawa to something approaching working order.

An atmospheric photographic recollection

Over two hundred vessels and cargoes were salved by this little known organisation which helped to keep the sea lanes clear. Tales of shipwreck, salvage, and marine towing.

A popularised but interesting account of a less well-known aspect of the war at sea.

A freelance journalist has interviewed survivors and used official records to give a fresh account of the tale.

The story of the Canadian Atlantic salvage tugs, especially Foundation Franklin from 1930 to 1948, much of it to do with the hazards of the Atlantic War.

He first went to sea in 1910 and eventually set up his own salvage company which raised the gold from the steamer Niagara. During WWII he ran the Australian Government Salvage Board and after the war became Chairman of the Australian Coastal Shipping Board.

Briefly illustrates the work of this busy company.

A brief account of the wartime service of the naval and merchant ships built and repaired at Henry Robb's Victoria shipyard.

Some firsthand tales of the wartime adventures of 17 Hawthorn Leslie ships, from Kelly to Triumph, some tales of merchantmen and of the yard itself.

A largely photographic record of the wartime activities of Alexander Stephen of Linthouse.

A full history which gives brief details of the war service of all their ships. The previous edition was published in 1920.

Immediately after the war, the wartime experience of ship designers was summarised in a series of papers in the Transactions of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects for 1947. These are reprinted in this volume.

A brief illustrated account to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the attacks.

An interesting record.

The report is the first in a proposed series on Auckland's coast defences in WW2. It has much esoteric information and good detailed plans.

The Fort Stikine, carrying explosives, blew up in Bombay harbour on 14 April 1944, killing at least 500 people and destroying 35,000 tons of shipping. US title: The Great Bombay Explosion.

A short detailed and technical account.

Sketches and 17 photographs showing Darwin at war, including the Japanese air raids and their aftermath.

A comprehensive and definitive work. As well as detailed descriptions of the defences, this former gunner describes the command and control systems.

The dockyard operated from the 1850s to 1991 and this workmanlike history gives a full account of wartime activities.

Two local Australian authors describe the city's role in supporting Pacific submarine operations. Republished in 2011 by Boolarong Press. ISBN: 9781921555893.

A good scientific study covering the six remaining wrecks.

A very detailed chronology with much of RAN interest and covering an important area for the Southwest Pacific campaign.

The first two of seven planned volumes. These cover Naval and Merchant Shipping Movements (1939-1943) and record port visits. A good reference work.

The Newport News Shipbuilding Company's most famous ships were probably carriers like Yorktown and Essex. In World War II it did some repair work for the RN and some of the four-stackers it built joined the RN as Town Class destroyers under Lend-Lease.

An alphabetical listing of and guide to all the ships drydocked at the graving dock since the early 1900's, all of whom left their badges adorning the walls. Much information on the use of the dockyard in WW2. A limited edition of 500 copies.

Scapa is a wreck divers mecca and this describes the wrecks and their sinkings, including Royal Oak.

The port is Halifax and this pamphlet tells of the power company's war work, much of it related to shipping through degaussing or other electrical work.

Trinidad was one of the bases ceded to the Americans under Lend-Lease. This loving and detailed portrait of the island at war is largely reconstructed from newspaper archives.

Prince Rupert lies on the West Coast of Canada near the mouth of the Skeena River. It grew in importance as a wartime base and this almost entirely photographic record vividly shows its changing role.

A collection of the drawings of the inimitable artist of the Halifax Herald showing the different faces of a port at war.

A short, detailed account of the creation of the bases and their defences.

Based on eyewitness accounts, this wartime history describes Halifax at war and the build up to the infamous VE-Day riots of 1945.

A revised and updated version of the fortieth anniversary publication. A whole series of anecdotes and memories celebrate the club where weary officers from the Atlantic battleground could relax between convoys.

A book of photographs, interviews, and anecdotes from Canada's major frontline port.

A collection of photographs covering the history of the base which was an important component of the Battle of the Atlantic.

HARDY, Clive. Hull at War. 172p., illus. Derby: Breedon Books, 1993. ISBN: 1873626533.

A mainly photographic account of life in a frontline port. Much naval interest from blockade runners to shipbuilding.

A company history. The firm built mainly motor minesweepers in WWII and this is briefly recorded. Well-illustrated.

A monumental history of the development of naval engineering, comprehensive in range, but fascinating in detail, although somewhat confusing in its bibliography and index.

A history of the armaments firm. Their shipbuilding interests during rearmament and the war are covered in 20 pages.

Has a substantial section on shipbuilding, fitting out, and ship repair in WWII. A second impression appeared in 1947 and a revised edition in 1953.

A controversial work which caustically criticises the design record of the RN. Some 40 pages on WWII vessels.

A single-volume guide to the companies and state yards which built the worlds warships. Arranged geographically, the book gives a brief biography and in the case of major yards a map and lists the major ships built. An excellent reference work.

KEEBLE, Peter. Ordeal by Water. viii, 216p., illus. London: Longmans, 1957; Garden City: Doubleday, 1958.

Commander Keeble worked for the Fleet Salvage Officer in the Mediterranean. This is his autobiography from the Italian chariot attack on Alexandria to war's end. Provides an interesting contrast to Ellsberg's account, of the salvage operations at Massawa.

SCOTT, Vernon. An Experience Shared 1939–1945. vi, 298p., bibliog., il-lus., index. Pembroke Dock: Laleham Publications, 1992. ISBN: 0952038803.

An autobiographical view of the interaction of home front and battlefront as seen from Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock where the air-sea war took place. Gives a detailed account of the ships, aircraft and men based at or passing through Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock during WW II. A second edition was published in 1993.

RADDALL, Thomas H. Halifax, Warden of the North. xviii, 348p., bibliog., illus., index. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1948; London: Dent, 1950.

A straightforward, mainly social, history with 40 pages covering WWII. A revised edition was published by Doubleday in 1965 taking the story up to 1964 and there are various subsequent editions.

GOODMAN, Sydney V. C. Baseport Devonport. Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service. Part IV. 32p., illus. Plymouth: [author], 1995.

 A photographic record of these unsung vessels.   

HADWEN, Phil. Felixstowe at War: A Military History. 192p., bibliog., illus., index. Felixstowe: Neil Wylie, 2001. ISBN: 0953654613.

A heavily illustrated history with a substantial section on WW2.

Canada built more than a thousand warships and cargo vessels and this book gives a strategic overview of the challenges faced.

DOUST, W. A. The Ocean on a Plank. xiv, 161p., illus. London: Seeley Service, 1976. ISBN: 0854220887.

Much concerned with WWII when he was in the Admiralty Salvage Department and worked all over the world. A modest but interesting account.

ELLSBERG, Edward. No Banners, No Bugles. [vi], 370p. New York: Dodd Mead, 1949.

A blunt but enjoyable account of salvage operations in the North African ports in the wake of Torch. His memory is faulty at times but his views are unfailingly pungent. A sequel to Under the Red Sea Sun..

PUDDEFOOT, Geoff. Ready For Anything: The Royal Fleet Auxiliary 1905-1950. xiii, 224p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2010. ISBN: 9781848320741.

A solid, well written and well researched history of the first half century of the service.

CONE, Philip J. 100 Years of Parkeston Quay and Its Ships. 93p., illus., index. [Ramsey: author, 1983].

Of limited value but has factual details of WWII traffic.

BENADY, Tito. The Royal Navy at Gibraltar. xvi, 271p., bibliog., illus., index. Grendon: Gibraltar Books, 1992. ISBN: 0948466286.

A well known local historian gives an excellent detailed view of the long link between the RN and "The Rock". Has a full account of WW2 matters. A second edition was published in 1993.

HITCH, G. The Pacific War 1941-1945 and Norfolk Island. viii, 104p., bibliog., illus., index. Norfolk Island, author, 1992. ISBN: 0646106775.

Norfolk Island was mainly used as an air base but this work has some marginal naval interest. Regularly reprinted in at least four editions.

MACLEOD, John. River of Fire: The Clydebank Blitz. xiii, 338p., bibliog., illus., index. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2010. ISBN: 9781843410492.

1941 brought one of the most savage wartime air raids when Clydebank and the surrounding towns and their shipyards were devastated by the Luftwaffe. A detailed account. A revised edition was published in 2011, ISBN: 9781841589688.        

KNOTT, Richard. Flying Boats of the Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Ships of the Sky.272p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Hale, 2011. ISBN: 9780709087595.

Some forty-two Empire Flying Boats were built for Imperial Airways and this is their story. Almost 100 pages cover their war service. Rather like the Merchant Navy, they served in all theatres and suffered heavy casualties. There is also a brief account of how these developed into the Sunderland flying boat. A fascinating and well told tale.

LANE, Frederick C. Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the US Maritime Commission in World War II (Historical Reports on War Administration. United States Maritime Commission, no. 1). xxii, 881p., illus. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1951.

A comprehensive official history of the commission. Reprinted in paperback in 2001, ISBN:  9780801867521. 

TAYLOR, James. Gold from the Sea: The Epic Story of the Niagara's Bullion. 200p., illus. London: Harrap, 1943; Sydney: Australasian Publishing, 1947.

Perhaps the best account of the salvage operation to raise the gold from this ship mined off the New Zealand coast. The Australian edition was reprinted in 1947.

CHADWICK, Steve. Loch Ewe During World War II. [ii], 40p., illus., index. North Kessock: Wilderness Guides, 1996. ISBN: 0952813408.

A local historian describes the base, its activities and defences, the Home Fleet and Arctic convoys and the wrecking of a Liberty ship. Some personal reminiscences are included. A second edition was published by Wilderness Guides in 2014.

A section on technological development is followed by an autobiographical account of his work as an apprentice electrician mainly at Pickersgill's Yard on Wearside.

A centenary celebration of Thorneycroft's, one of the leading firms of naval builders and designers in the country. This fairly bland history devotes 30 pages to their wartime construction.

The war years are briefly covered in half a dozen pages.

A mine of useful information, although only about 50 pages specifically concern WWII. An excellent history.

The volumes cover respectively major surface vessels from destroyers upward; the second submarines, escorts, and coastal forces and the third amphibious warfare vessels and auxiliaries. The work consists of a series of immediately post-war essays by the staff of the Directorate of Naval Construction, recording their work and experience. These have been annotated by an excellent editor.

A record of all the ships built by the naval dockyard in this period with leading details and brief histories of each vessel.

About 10 pages on the wartime efforts of the yard and some of its products.

The managing director of the firm records the work of the repair yard in some detail.

A history based on company records with half a dozen pages on the yard in wartime and a list of ships built.

Lists merchant vessels over 1,000 tons gross, built during the war and still in existence, with notes on their career. An incomplete first edition was published in 1950.

Published to mark the centenary of the submarine service, this is a class list of the 70% of British submarines built at Barrow. Although accurate this is a weak and limited work.

Du Cane was research Director of Vospers and associated with the development of the wartime MTBs. He had a brief spell in the FAA.

First published in 1991 as Plymouth Blitz, this is a much enlarged and heavily illustrated account of the 1941 bombardments and the post-war rebuilding.

A small shipyard whose wartime work consisted mainly of building motor minesweepers. This is covered in a few pages. Note the 1956 history of the company by L. E. Richards.

A straightforward captioned photographic record. The pictures were largely taken by the Goodman family and record warships which visited the port.

War work at Clydebank is covered in five pages.

The shipyards in wartime. Text written by V. S. Pritchett.

The linked story of the Bristol City Line and the shipyard of Charles Hill & Sons. The war is covered in a dozen pages, with tales of shipping losses and building successes. A revised and enlarged edition was published in 1983.

A limited edition of 750 copies.

Describes the careers of the 21 corvettes and frigates built at Hill's Albion Yard.

A list by yard number, and therefore broadly chronological, of all ships built by Denny's. Where available a plan, usually the rigging plan, is shown followed by details of the ship. Volume 4 lists the warships and merchantmen built before and during the war.

A chronological list with notes of service careers. Chatham built many of the submarines and cruisers which served in WWII.

A company by company glossy puff of achievements. Some of them built or repaired British ships.

A solid history of the yard, with 30 pages on WWII during which they built everything from corvettes to carriers.

Fox served in the little known Docks Operating Royal Engineers, drawn from the Territorial Army. He describes recruitment, training and service in the UK and Mediterranean.

The last 50 pages are concerned with a routine retelling of some of the events of WWII.

A local history. Over five hundred assault craft and barges used the river before D-Day, while an assortment of miscellaneous units had bases there, from scientists to SOE.

Londonderry at War. The port played a key role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

In and around this major base.

A narrative chronological history by a local historian of a town at war and one with some naval connections.

A heavily illustrated view of naval life in the West Country around the Tamar in the first half of the twentieth century.

An illustrated guide to the RAF station, used for flying boats during the war. Regularly reprinted.

Looks at the changing face of a dockyard town in the twentieth century. Heavily illustrated.

A heavily illustrated account which covers their wartime role.

Limited naval material

Dover was in the front line for much of the war and this book considers various aspects of its contribution to the war effort.

Sixty illustrations and an accompanying text describe the response to the Royal Oak tragedy.

Good local history which shows Brightlingsea as a microcosm of the East Coast war.

A well-illustrated local study based on original material.

A reprint of a work first published in 1948. It looks at the war as it affected the people of Caithness as well as the county and includes a roll of honour. Although a small underpopulated area it suffered all the horrors of war from being bombed, to losing nine men on Jervis Bay and having bodies from Exmouth washed up on her shores. An excellent amateur history.

A brief account of the wartime home of the Royal Naval Patrol Service.

A photographic record of the trials of the town.

A largely photographic record of the history of the base with limited information on World War II.

A photographic record of wartime life, including a section on Grimsby trawlers at war.

Over two hundred photographs cover war in the north-east of Scotland, although surprisingly few are of naval relevance. Reprinted by Lomond Books in 1995 as Aberdeen & the North East at War (ISBN: 8215958729) .

Some excellent atmospheric photographs, many of naval and merchant relevance and a solid accompanying text.

A large number of well chosen illustrations overshadow a banal text. About half of the book covers WW2.

Herbert was an MP for the University of Oxford. He was a law reformer, librettist, author, and public figure. Yet he still found time to enlist as a Petty Officer and take his six-ton boat Water Gipsy into the Navy. He spent six very active years combining his various careers with war service on the Thames, patrolling, towing, fetching, and carrying. Reprinted in 1970 by Howard Baker (ISBN: 0093088809).

There are over one hundred pages on WW2, covering the war experience of islanders in the armed forces, actions taking place around the islands and their role as a base for Coastal Forces and air-sea rescue.

A record of the 1940–41 "Blitz." Reprinted by Scouse Press in 1993 (ISBN: 0901367273) .

A profusely illustrated account of the port's contribution to victory. Attributed to T. J. Buckley. Reproduced by the publisher in 1988.

A largely photographic account of the heavy damage to this great naval centre.

Really of marginal interest in that Sunderland was an important shipbuilding port. Each page has a captioned photograph showing bomb damage to the town, largely in residential areas. Does give a good impression of the devastation caused.

Follows on their earlier work, below, to look at the social conditions as victory approached.

A local history describing the impact of war on this part of Cornwall. It was a major base area before D-Day.

Tyneside was a major industrial area and shipbuilding area, which suffered substantial bomb damage.

A good illustrated local history covering the entire war, although the major focus is 1944.

A good history including the raids on the docks, but with little naval material.

The Port of London at war.

Memories of a teenager in Oban who worked in the MacBrayne Office where she helped with the routine of sending convoys on their way.

The engagingly told tale of a frontline port. Coastal convoys, magnetic mines, Dunkirk, the Blitz and D-Day were all part of its war.

A short, partial and very personal account.

An autobiographical tale of a young barrister, who, as his contribution to the war effort, set up in business with a 40-foot cutter to transport material from the mainland for the reconstruction of Scapa Flow.

Very much Home Guard and air defence focused, but with some minimal naval information.

A collection of reminiscences, fairly equally divided between the two wars. Gives a good impression of life at the anchorage.

Over 40 pages look at a range of activities stretching from Dunkirk to D-Day.

A detailed view of their use and the deployment of all squadrons, including FAA and Coastal Command.

A detailed view of their use and the deployment of all squadrons, including FAA and Coastal Command.

A detailed view of their use and the deployment of all squadrons, including FAA and Coastal Command. Has a pronounced RAF bias.

A heavily illustrated account of wartime life in a town very much in the front line, from air raids to the assault on Europe.

A largely photographic record of the creation and operation of the base which supported the troops for the landings on Utah beach.

The small port of Deal opposite the Goodwin Sands was in the frontline from the start of the war. Some naval material of interest.

The important flying boat base at Pembroke Dock was attacked frequently in 1940-41. It is now in a 6th edition published by Paterchurch Publications of Pembroke.

The fort off New Brighton was part of a major defensive system. Some marginal information on WW2.

The story of how over one thousand Italian POWs were used to help construct the causeways – the so-called Churchill Barriers - protecting Scapa Flow.

Although there is a limited amount of material on World War Two itself, this gives an excellent background account of this major naval base. A revised second addition was published by Meresborough in 1987 (ISBN: 0948193301).

More concerned with the city than the port.

A good heavily illustrated account of how the community in and around the docks faced the war.

A popular and heavily illustrated work which covers both world wars.

Principally a photographic record with some excellent research.

A lyrical and rather literary account of the building of the chapel by the Italian POWs working on the defences of Scapa Flow.

A well illustrated chronological account of wartime life in the area. Some limited naval interest. Effectively a second edition of Wartime Teesside published by Dalesman in 1989 (ISBN: 0852069812) .

Liverpool was of great strategic importance and suffered badly from German air raids as a consequence. A good account of a seaport city in the thick of the war.

Not really a World War II volume, but gives an excellent account of the defences in the Portsmouth area, from the Hilsea Lines to Palmerston's Follies.

Set out as a diary this attempts to reconstruct the events which involved Dorset actively in the war, and the feel of life at the time, from murders to air raids and from convoy sinkings to the ploughing of public footpaths. Some relevant naval material. First published in 1986 by Wincanton Press as Dorset's War 1939–1945 (ISBN: 0948699027).

An illustrated history of the base.

Base Two was built at Rosneath in the Gareloch and housed US special forces and a squadron of submarines.

An expatriate French author recounts life in the port during the heavy German air raids.

Gives brief operational histories of the twenty-two airfields which contributed most notably to Coastal Command's part in the Battle of the Atlantic and to the defence of Plymouth.

The story of the building and use of the station just outside Arbroath when farm land was taken over for military use during World War II. Consists of lists, newspaper cuttings and photographs arranged by theme. Most recently used as a base for Royal Marine Commandos, Condor is set in one of the most beautiful places known to man. The bibliographer was however born there and may be biased.

A local historian gives a rather banal diary account of the effect of both world wars on Avonmouth and Shirehampton. Well-illustrated.

Although mainly concerned with Army and RAF, there is an interesting section on naval involvement in firing ranges.

A local journalist describes Plymouth at war: the air raids; the naval base, the heroics of civil defence.

Excellent photographic record of damage to the city, with lists of trawlers lost during the war.

An alphabetical list with brief annotations, followed by a gazetteer. A very useful reference work. A revised and enlarged edition was published in paperback in 2000 (ISBN: 0907771734).

A good local history.

Includes information on Dundee's role as a submarine base for the 9th Flotilla.

A concise, popular paperback account.

A comprehensive history by a local journalist covering 1,000 years. Almost 150 pages are devoted to WWII.

Hill's pleasure cruiser was used as a tender during the war and is at the centre of a lively description of the effect of the war on the town, from Luftwaffe attacks to U-boat surrenders.

A solid well researched local history.

Written as a diary/chronology apparently relying heavily on local newspapers. Also has a 20-page account of the naval base. A rather colourless account of the dangers and excitements visited on the town.

Cairnryan was created to provide additional secure port facilities on the West Coast. Later it was used for surrendered U–boats and as a breakers yard. Well-researched and produced local history.

An exhaustive and comprehensive local history, which concentrates on the May Blitz of 1941.

A photographic record which tells the tale of the local involvement in the bases and training areas for Navy, Air Force and Army.

A diary of events in a front line port. Concentrates on the town.

A mainly photographic record.

Deals mainly with Shetland people in WWII, and as many served in the Merchant Navy there is much about the ships they were on and their fates. Also covers enemy activity around the Shetland coast and ship casualties in the area.

A photographic account of Derry at War with the links to the RN emphasised prominently.

The weakest of the trilogy, with little on the role of the Navy beyond the early air raids on Rosyth.

War on the West Coast began with the landing of the Athenia's survivors. The horrendous blitz on the Clyde valley is described as is the role of a variety of training establishments for everything from Combined Operations to X-Craft.

A largely photographic record of Lowestoft at war, by its mayor. Many small craft were based there and they feature prominently.

A heavily illustrated chronological account of the raids on the city and its impact on the various naval establishments. Reprinted in 1992.

Has some very limited information on coastal traffic, lifeboat rescues and the Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich bases. A second revised edition was published in 1992 (ISBN: 0711705984) .

An anecdotal account, which includes material on the US Navy at Derry, and on preparations for D-Day.

A photographic collection on the men, the ships, and the port.

Describes the building and operation of the Short Brothers factory building Sunderlands in the Lake District, as well as some of the battles their products fought.

An important experimental station.

A heavily illustrated account of wartime life for the FAA and RAF crews who served in the Orkneys.

A competent work with a long section on World War Two and the role of Scotland in training, maintaining and manning the fleet.