Category: Autobiography

SADLER, John. D-Day: The British Beach Landings. 256p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Amberley, 2019. ISBN: 9781445644578.

Based on personal recollections, this focuses on the morning of the landings on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches.

READ, Charles Herbert. Memoirs of the Flight Surgeon of HMS Nabob. [vi], 173p. Coaldale, Alberta: Lammi Publishing, 2018. ISBN: 9780995006089.

The memoirs of a young Canadian who joined the RCN straight from medical school in 1944. He served on Nabob during her brief career. An excellent description of training, monotony, adventure and action until her near sinking off Norway during an attack on the Tirpitz.

HALL, James S. Sea Surgeon. 205p., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1960.

The memoirs of a local doctor who worked with the Walmer lifeboat in tending to injured and sick seaman in the Downs area. Concentrates on the 1939–40 period. The book went through several editions and was finally republished in paperback by the author in 1968 as a Pain Pocket Edition.         

OGDEN, Graeme. My Sea Lady: The Story of HMS Lady Madeleine from February 1941 to February 1943. 201p., illus. London: Hutchinson, 1963.

The autobiographical memoir of the RNVR Captain of an ocean- going A/S trawler. She was attached to the 4th Clyde Escort Force, and after escorting North Atlantic convoys the ship moved to the Arctic. She escorted PQ16 and returned with QP13, getting caught in the fringes of the PQ17 disaster. After more convoys, the author was hospitalised in Belfast in February 1943.

IVESON, Tony & MILTON, Brian. The Lancaster and the Tirpitz 256p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Andre Deutsch, 2014. ISBN: 9780233004303

Written by a former Squadron Leader of the 617 'Dam Busters' Squadron, who took part in the Lancaster-bomber raid that finally sank the Tirpitz in November 1944, this was published to commemorate the raid's 70th anniversary. Full of first-hand memories that make this a very vivid account of the action.

PARR, Claude. A Seemingly Ordinary Man. 160p. Cardiff: Candy Jar Books, 2016. ISBN: 9780993519253.

An autobiography. Aged seventeen he joined the Merchant Navy in 1939. He was sunk on Laconia in September 1942 but survived and was captured and imprisoned by the Vichy French. A good account of a far from ordinary life.

JUBELIN, Andre. The Flying Sailor. 276p., illus., index. London: Hurst & Blackett, 1953.

Translated from the 1951 French original, Marin de Metier – Pilote de Fortune. The author left his ship in the Far East to join the Free French forces. He reached England in 1941 and took command of the depot ship Courbet. When she was laid up, he took command of the First French Naval Air Squadron which fitted out with Spitfires and was operational in the South of England. He moved briefly to night-fighters before taking command of the sloop Savorgnan de Brazza in late 1942. The book ends with the sloop’s first voyage to Gibraltar, but a publisher’s note describes the rest of his career

HOBSON, Lucia. Land Girl to Leading Wren: A Second World War Coming of Age, edited by Kate Hobson. 128p. [kindle], Hobson Books, 2015. ISBN: 0957530803.

Starting as a 14-year old Land Girl in Yorkshire, she joined the WRNS in 1943 and served for four years first on boats and then as a car and lorry driver. Edited by her daughter.

SCHOFIELD, B.B. With the Royal Navy in War and Peace: O’er the Deep Blue Sea. xviii, 270p. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2018. ISBN: 9781526736475.

An excellent memoir, edited by his daughter. After serving as a midshipman in the First World War, Schofield qualified as a navigator and interpreter in French and Italian. At the outbreak of WW2 he was Naval Attache in The Hague and Brussels before becoming Director of Trade Division (Convoys) during 1941-1943. While commanding King George V he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in August 1945. After the war he wrote several notable works on WW2 RN actions.

JAHANS, Vera. My World War II: A Wren’s Story. 50p. [kindle e-book]. Woking: Peatmore Press, 2017. ISBN: 9780993467714.

She joined the WRNS in 1944 and served in London and Wales. A brief but interesting autobiography.

BEAN, Charles. The Life & Love of a Seafaring Man. [4], 136p., illus. Hobart, Tasmania: [author], c.2004.

         A very anecdotal autobiography and set of poems. He served on Honeysuckle in the Atlantic and Arctic and later as a frogman in the Indian Ocean and Pacific. Full of tall tales and exciting action.

BEALE, Richard. One Man’s War: An Actor’s Life at Sea 1940-45. 272p. London: Conway, 2015. ISBN: 9781844863334.

This book recounts with good humour the story of his wartime career. Joining the Royal Navy as a rating, he rose to a commission and the command of a series of coastal patrol craft, the last of which was ML 135, sailing from the UK to Malta and latterly covering the Royal Navy's campaign in Greek and Croatian waters.

ROUSSEL, Mike. Palembang and Beyond. 272p., bibliog., illus. Southampton: Little Knoll Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780993507885.

An account of the final stages of the Pacific War for the Royal Navy. In large part based on the recollections of three survivors of 849 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm.

SKEELS, Fred. Java Rabble: a Story of a Ship, Slavery and Survival. viii, 151p., illus. Carlisle, W.A. : Hesperian Press, 2008. ISBN 9780859054195.

The story of the sinking of HMAS Perth and its aftermath as experienced by one of the survivors.

WELSH, Robert. Through Salt Sprayed Eyes. vi, 248p., illus. [n.p.,c.1995]. ISBN: 9780956298508.

The author served as a radio officer on a variety of merchant ships in the Battle of the Atlantic. He offers a mix of potted history and personal anecdote. Reprinted by the author in 2008, ISBN: 9780956298508.

LEVINE, Joshua. Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture. 255p., bibliog., illus., index. London: William Collins; New York: Harper Collins, 2017. ISBN: 9780008227876.

Originally published: as Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk in 2010. Although the same personal memories are used, they are completely reworked and the book is updated and an interview with the film director added. Republished in 2019 as Dunkirk & Operation Fortitude: Two Missions That Changed the Fate of World War II, published by William Collins (ISBN: 9780007978717.

HUGHES, William Henry. Master Mariner. 96p., bibliog., illus. Wrexham: Bridge Books, 2006. ISBN: 1844940306.

Born in 1886, he went to sea aged twelve. He saw service in both world wars on Irish Sea ferries and was on the RMS Scotia at Dunkirk, where he won a DSC. The book is based on his recorded recollections.

BURGHAM, Allen Russell. Wearing Wings: the War Memoir of Lt. Cmdr Allen Russell Burgham, DSC, MID, CD RNZNVR (Ret’d), RCNVR (Ret’d). e-book. 40p., illus. [n.p., c.2010].

The brief memoir of a New Zealander who joined up in 1941 and served with distinction on carriers in the Atlantic and Arctic.

KITCHINGHAM, William J. Bluenoses, Bears and Bandits: Sea Service to Commandos. An Account of Some Events in the Service Life of the Author. (Royal Marines Historical Society Special Publication No 43). [3], 125p., illus. Southsea: Royal Marines Historical Society, 2015. ISBN: 9781908123121.

Aged 17 he enlisted in the Marines in 1941. After training, in 1943 he was posted to a special detachment acting as orderlies for the Prime Minister and Chiefs of Staff. He visited Canada and the USA with Churchill. Now a Corporal he joined Jamaica at the start of 1944 and served on Arctic convoys. After almost a year he left the ship when she went to refit. Early in 1945 he formed part of the Marine detachment which accompanied and guarded Churchill at the Yalta Conference. In March he joined Duke of York and sailed with her for service in the Pacific. After the war he moved to the Royal Marine Commandos where he served out his active and happy career.

BIRNEY, Brenda. The Women’s Royal Naval Service: A World War Two Memoir, edited by Hazel Dakers. [iv], 84p., illus. Milton Keynes, Lightning Source, 2016. ISBN: 9781365315602.

A daughter has edited her mother’s wartime memories from stories, notes and computer files. She joined up in 1941 aged 24 and served in Dover, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Italy and Malta. An engaging tale.

UPTON, Bernard. On the Road to Normandy and a Little Beyond: A Sailor’s Life Story. xiv, 142p., illus., index. [n.p.], author, 2017. ISBN: 9781527213081.

An autobiography. Born in 1919, he volunteered in 1939 and trained as a signalman. After brief convoy service he trained at King Alfred and was commissioned in 1941. In February 1942 he joined the minesweeper Cromarty and slowly sailed via the Cape, convoy duty and the Madagascar assault to join the fleet at Alexandria that October. After a year of active duty Cromarty was sunk by a mine in October 1943 near Sardinia. He saw out the war in a succession of minesweepers, including action off the Normandy invasion coast, slowly rising in rank. He continued sailing until the age of 94 and died in 2016. The book can almost be described as a scrapbook, full of photographs, documents and recollections. The first half of the book is autobiographical, with the second half assembled from information supplied by family and friends.

STEPHENS, Ronald Bruce, PARLOUR, Sue & PARLOUR, Andy. HMS Tarana: In at the Deep End. x, 147p., illus. Darlington: Serendipity, 2007. ISBN: 9781843942320.

An engaging autobiography. It mainly describes life aboard a clandestine trawler, as part of SOE’s secret operations in the Mediterranean, retrieving airman, escapers and agents from the South of France. Stephens was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his part in the work. The later part of the book describes the trawlers more mundane work in 1944-45 carrying supplies and ammunition around the Mediterranean.

ATWILL, R. F. The Battle of the River Plate (Naval Historical Society of Australia. Monograph No. 5). 16p., illus. Garden Island, NSW: Naval Historical Society of Australia, 1970.

Ron Atwill was serving on Exeter and this is his eyewitness account of the action. Reprinted as Monograph No. 105 in 2001.

COGSWELL, Reginald. Exeter: A Cruiser of the Medium Size. viii, 344p., illus. Liskeard: Maritime Books, 2017. ISBN: 9781904459729.

Cogswell was the Warrant Officer in charge of the central electrical switchboard on Exeter at the Battle of the River Plate. This is an autobiographical account of his service on the ship.

DENNIS, J. A. J. In Action with Destroyers 1939-1945. The Wartime Memoirs of Commander J. A. J. Dennis, DSC, RN, edited by Anthony Cumming. 208p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books, 2017. ISBN: 9781526718495.

Dennis served in four destroyers; HMS Griffin and Savage initially before commanding Valorous and Tetcott. He was mentioned in Despatches three times (Norway, sinking the Scharnhorst and in the North Sea) and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Greece 1942). His war service also included the Madagascar operation, the Malta and Arctic convoys and D-Day.

COPEMAN, Harold. At War at Sea in the Med 1941-44: The Naval Diary of Harold Copeman transcribed and edited by Caroline and Chris Pond. 64p., illus. Loughton: The Alderton Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781905269310.

Published by the family to mark the centenary of his birth. Has some background contextual detail but basically transcribes the diary he kept on the coding sheets he used as a leading coder. Entries are short and sparse, typically a sentence for each day, but give a good picture of daily life on the lower deck. He served principally on the cruiser Cleopatra and Aurora  

HUGHES-HALLETT, John ‘Jock’. From Dieppe to D-Day: The Memoirs of Vice-Admiral John ‘Jock’ Hughes-Hallett, CB, DSO. 256p., illus. Barnsley, Frontline, 2023. ISBN: 9781399045575.

Hughes-Hallett was Deputy Director of the Local Defence Division at the Admiralty in 1940 and 1941, before becoming Naval Adviser at Combined Operations HQ. Along with the head of Combined Operations, Lord Louis Mountbatten, he orchestrated Commando raids from Norway to Normandy. He became Commodore commanding the Channel Assault Force (known as ‘J’ Force) and Naval Chief of Staff (X) from 1942 to 1943 but is perhaps best known for being the Naval Commander of the Dieppe Raid. The concept of Mulberry Harbours was his. It was in the planning for D-Day that his experience came to the fore. Hughes-Hallett retired from the Royal Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral, taking up a new career as MP for Croydon East and then Croydon North East. A long overdue record published for the first time.

ROBINSON, George W. A Slice of Life at Sea. [6],111p., illus. Broughty Ferry: Moira Brown, 2017. ISBN: 9781521471654.

He joined the Merchant Navy in 1924 and this autobiography covers his early years at sea up to 1931. There is then a final section on his survival in the North Atlantic when the s.s. Carlton was sunk in the North Atlantic by an Italian submarine in the North Atlantic in 1941.

SAXTON, Peter. Destroyers, Greyhounds of the Fleet: Memoirs of a Destroyer Gunner in the Second World War. 272p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2024. ISBN: 9781036112295.

From the North Sea to the Mediterranean and D-Day a modest but perceptive memoir.

BEEDIE, F. A. Acting Able Seaman – Hostilities Only: A Memoir. 299p., illus. [n.p., independently published], 2020. ISBN: 9781657954991.

A pleasant autobiography. Born in 1925, he lived through the Portsmouth Blitz. Aged 17 he volunteered for the RN and trained in HMS Collingwood, at Havant and at the HMS Excellent Gunnery School. In November 1943 he joined the old Hunt Class Minesweeper Alresford based in Portsmouth as a guard ship. She was decommissioned in early 1945 and he then joined the Bay Class frigate Whitesand Bay. Commissioned at the end of July 1945 she worked up at Tobermory then sailed to the Far East and Australasia, returning to the UK at the end of 1946.

MALLALIEU, J. P. W. On Larkhill. [iv], 211p., illus. London: Allison & Busby, 1983. ISBN: 0850315166.

A distinguished post-war politician and author of the excellent semi-autobiographical wartime novel A Very Ordinary Seaman, (q.v.), this autobiography covers his early life to 1945. There is a very brief section describing his wartime naval career and the writing of his novel about the Arctic convoys.

HICHENS, Robert Peverell. We Fought Them in Gunboats (HMS Beehive Edition). xxiv, 321p., notes, illus., index. Pleshey: Golden Duck, 2023. ISBN: 9781899262595.

A hugely expanded version of the original autobiography. It contains the full text of the original manuscript as opposed to the heavily censored and Admiralty approved version published in 1944, as well as many documents and details about the naval base HMS Beehive, where Hichens was based. In effect a new work.

PEYTON JONES, Loftus E. Wartime Wanderings 1939-1945. (6), 330p. bibliog., illus. [n.p.]: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2019. ISBN: 9781979816298.

        The memoir was first written for his family, but when he died in 2000, his son edited the memoir, adding photographs and archival documents from his father’s collection to pass round the family and friends. A corrected edition was then published in 2019. He joined the RN in 1936 and when war started was a sub-lieutenant on Penelope and served in the Norwegian campaign. In 1940 he commissioned the Hunt Class destroyer Brocklesby which served as a coastal convoy escort. He next joined Achates as her First Lieutenant and served in Arctic convoys until her loss in the Battle of the Barents Sea in 1942. He then transferred to submarines and sailed on his first patrol in Sahib in the Mediterranean incSpring 1943. It was his first and last patrol as she was sunk in action and he was rescued and became a POW in Italy. He escaped later that year and was soon appointed captain of the Hunt Class destroyer Easton operating in the Aegean, serving with her until war’s end. An astonishing tale.

CUNNINGHAM, A. B. A Sailor's Odyssey: The Autobiography of Admiral of the Fleet, Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope. [4], 715p., illus., index. London: Hutchinson; New York: Dutton, 1951.

A full autobiography, factual rather than critical, of one of Britain’s greatest admirals. He is perhaps best remembered for his total domination of the Mediterranean. A new edition was published by Seaforth in 2022, ISBN: 9781399092951.

MACDOUGALL, Ian. Voices of Scotswomen in Peace and War: Spoken Recollections of Home Life, Employment and 1939-45 War Service. ix,435p., bibliog., illus., index. Edinburgh: John Donald2019. ISBN: 9781910900321.

Transcribed recorded oral histories from some nineteen women who served in the ATS, WAAF, the Timber Corp and five in the WRNS. Each account is 5-10 pages long and is in Scots dialect so can be difficult to read. Covers a fascinating variety of experiences.

CARNE, W.P. The Making of a Royal Naval Officer. 350p., illus., index. London: Uniform, 2021. ISBN: 9781913491598.

The story of a distinguished career, compiled by his grandson, from letters, diaries, memoirs and official documents, many of which are reproduced. Born in 1898, he joined the Navy in 1914 and served for over fifty years. He had an active First World War including the battle of Jutland and rose steadily in rank. By 1940 he was Fleet Torpedo Officer of the Mediterranean Fleet and it is on his service in the Mediterranean that the book largely then focusses. There are full accounts of the Battle of Calabria, the bombardment of Bardia, the battle of Matapan and the attack on Taranto and the capture of Tobruk. In May 1941 he was appointed Captain of the cruiser Coventry. Within ten days he saw dramatic action in the evacuation of Crete, including the rescue of many of the crew from Calcutta. The rest of his career is then briefly summarised. He left Coventry a few months later, served on the Admiralty Delegation in Washington for a year, then in mid-1943 took command of the escort carrier Striker serving in the Arctic then moving on to the Pacific.

LAMB, Christian. Beyond the Sea: A Wren at War. 304p., illus., index. London: Mardle Books, 2021. ISBN: 9781914451027.

A largely autobiographical work, much of it retelling the story of her war years, as in her earlier book I Only Joined for the Hat, q.v. This volume also gives a full account of her pre-war and post-war life.

MANN, A.J., One Jump Ahead: Escape on the Vyner Brooke. 18p., 150p., [n.p.], 2020. ISBN: 9788619517712.

Mann was Second Mate on the s.s. Vyner Brooke. This is his personal account of his escape from Singapore, the loss of his ship, and his subsequent flight through the Dutch East Indies.

ROBB, J. D. Only Survivors Tell Tales. vii, 167p. New York: Vantage Press, 1990. ISBN: 0533089034.

The story of a young man in Tank Landing Craft in the Royal Navy during the later part of WW2. A humorous tale of escapades, voyages to Australia, India, the East Indies and Japan; of sex and growing-up during wartime. Semi-autobiographical, but inspired by imagination and other's experiences.

PAGE, Gwendoline. We Kept the Secret: Now It Can Be Told. Some Memories of Pembroke V Wrens Collected and Edited by Gwendoline Page. xii, 169p., illus. Wymondham:, Reeve, 2002. ISBN: 0900616652.

A wonderful collection of memories from the Wrens who served at Bletchley Park and the various out stations at home and abroad.       

MCKAY, John R. Surviving the Arctic Convoys: The Wartime Memoir of Leading Seaman Charlie Erswell. 200p., illus. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2021. ISBN: 9781399013031.

He served from 1941 to 1946 then briefly in the merchant navy. Although he saw action in several theatres it is the tale of life on the Arctic convoys which lies at the heart of this memoir.

WELDON, H. E. C. Drama in Malta (A Personal Flash-back). 133p., illus. [n.p.: British Army of the Rhine, c.1946].

The siege as seen by an officer of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Another edition may have been published by Gale & Polden in 1947, but no copy has been traced. Republished in 2004 by Naval & Military Press (ISBN: 1845740246).

MILNER, Charles W., HAMILTON, M. I. Guy & SEDDON, Ronald F. H. M.  M. T. B. 718 “Something Special”: The Story of MTB 718. 156p., bibliog., illus., index. York: York, Publishing Services, 2015. ISBN: 9780993144509.

Milner was the Radio Operator on this MTB, which was in commission as part of the 15th MGB Flotilla in 1944-45. She operated with SIS landing and evacuating secret agents in Norway and France.

GAVED, A. E. School Days to Navy Days 1925-1946. 208p., illus. Wellington: Ryelands, 2009. ISBN: 9781906551223.

An autobiography. Aged seventeen he enlisted in 1943. He was an Asdic operator and served on Venus on Russian convoys and in the Far East.

KELLY, Terence. By Hellship to Hiroshima x, 244p., illus., index. Barnsley, Pen & Sword, 2006. ISBN: 1844154033.

The personal memoir of a RAF pilot captured in Java, which tells the story of his imprisonment as a POW, his transport to Japan and his work in the Hitachi shipyard in Innoshima. Published originally in 1997 as Living with Japanese, q.v.

KELLY, Terence. Living with Japanese. 228p., illus. Folkestone, Kellan Press, 1997. ISBN: 0953019306.

The personal memoir of a RAF pilot captured in Java, which tells the story of his imprisonment as a POW, his transport to Japan and his work in the Hitachi shipyard in Innoshima. Republished in 2006 by Pen & Sword Military as By Hellship to Hiroshima. ISBN: 1844154033.

FRASER, Ian. Personal Memories of World War II. 107p., [n.p.]: sifi publishing, 2012. ISBN: 9781480056749.

An autobiography. Aged 20 he joined the FAA in 1939. After training he was seconded to the RAF 252 Squadron in late 1940 where he flew Beaufighters. The squadron soon moved to Malta the Crete then Egypt where he was shot down. After almost six months in hospital he was sent to South Africa to recover before returning to the UK. He then returned to active service in Malta with 828/830 Squadron on night operations. Rising to command the squadron. In mid-1943 he was shot down over the Sicilian coast. After six days in a dinghy he was rescued by a German ship. He was transferred to Stalag Luft III as a POW and was imprisoned for the rest of the war.

URQUHART, Alistair. The Forgotten Highlander: My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East. [v], 312p., illus., index. London: Little, Brown, 2010. ISBN: 9781408702116.

A somewhat bitter autobiography. He joined the Gordon Highlanders and went to Singapore on the troopship ss Andes. Captured at the fall of Singapore he worked as a POW on the Burma railroad then was shipped to Japan on one of the “Hellships” in late 1944. The Kachidoki Maru was sunk by an American submarine and he was only rescued after several days on a raft. He was then sent to Nagasaki where he saw out the war. As with many others he was denied financial support post-war because he could not produce documentation about his imprisonment!

BARNHAM, Denis. Malta Spitfire Pilot: Ten Weeks of Terror, April-June 1942. 208p., illus. London: Grub Street, 2013. ISBN:9781909166035.

He arrived in Malta as a fresh and inexperienced pilot and this journal records his first 200 operational hours in these bitterly fought months. First published in 1956 as One Man’s Window, q.v. Reprinted by Frontline in 2020, ISBN: 9781526766748.

BARNHAM, Denis. One Man’s Window: An Illustrated Account of Ten Weeks of War, Malta April 13th to June 21st, 1942.  201p., illus. London: Kimber, 1956.

He arrived in Malta as a fresh and inexperienced pilot and spent some two hundred operational hours at the height of the siege. A journal of his time on the island.

DOE, Mervyn Spencer. A Rough Passage. viii, 199p. Durham, Pentland, 1999. ISBN: 1858217288.

Memoir of man who started life in an orphanage aged 4. He joined the RN and was recruited as a cook, serving in RNB Chatham before being drafted to HMS Cumberland, in which he served in the South Atlantic during the early part of the war. She was involved in the Graf Spee operation) and the abortive Dakar operation when Cumberland was hit (12 killed). He transferred to the FAA as an Engine Mechanic.  He was drafted to 776 Squadron, HMS Blackcap at Speke Airport, Liverpool and later to the staff of Max Horton ( C-in-C Western Approaches) to maintain personal aircraft..  Later 776 Squadron moved to HMS Ringtail Woodvale where he was advanced to Leading Air Mechanic.  After VE Day he was drafted to HMS Waxwing Dunfermline for HMS Colossus which was fitting out at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead for service in the British Pacific Fleet.  After the atom bombs were dropped his draft to Colossus was cancelled and he was sent to HMS Merlin, Donibristle i/c the maintenance of Fireflies and Corsairs.  He was demobbed in 1946.

EDWARDS, Goronwy. Flying to Norway, Grounded in Burma. 208p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2008. ISBN: 1844158098.

An autobiography. It covers his service based in Scotland as described in an earlier work and continues with his service in the Far East after being grounded with short sightedness.

SHEEDY, Brian. The War at Sea. 371p., bibliog., illus., index.  Dromana, Vic.: B. Sheedy, [1998].   ISBN: 0646357239.

Life as a regular rating on the lower deck of the RAN in war and peace. The author was a signalman on Perth during operations in the Mediterranean in 1940-1941. The book consists very largely of his wartime diary.

CLARK, Chris. From Hitler’s U-Boats to Khruschev’s Spyflights. 288p., illus. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Aviation, 2013. ISBN: 9781781590546.

Tom Clark joined the RAF in June 1939 and trained as an Air Gunner and joined a flying boat Squadron based at Sullom Voe. He served on after the war.

RAEDER, Erich. My Life. 430p., illus. Annapolis: USNIP, 1960.

Raeder was one of the key figures in the Kriegsmarine. This is very much an attempt to put his career in the most favourable light.   

VOLKERSZ, Veronica. The Sky and I: Leaves from the Log Book of a British Airwoman in War & Peace including the first full story of the Air Transport Auxiliary. 200p., illus. London, W. H. Allen, 1956.

The author qualified as a pilot in the Civil Air Guard before the war and joined the ATA in 1940, flying with them throughout the war.   She flew inter alia naval aircraft, the characteristics of some of which are commented upon.   She later ferried Typhoons to Pakistan before flying for a charter company.

SINGLETON, Gordon. Singleton’s War. 64p., illus. Pembroke Dock: Paterchurch, 1998. ISBN: 1870745078.

An Australian pilot’s autobiography. After extensive training he joined the new 461 squadron, RAAF, at Plymouth before it moved to Pembroke Dock where he flew Sunderlands - and even landed one on an airfield in 1943.

SHOWELL, Jak P. Mallmann. Dönitz, U-Boats, Convoys: The British Version of His Memoirs from the Admiralty's Secret Anti-Submarine Reports. xvi, 208p., illus., Barnsley: Frontline, 2013. ISBN: 1848327013.

Combines Dönitz’s memoirs in a parallel text with the Admiralty’s secret Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports to give a novel view of the U-Boat war.

SHIPPERBOTTOM, Percy. Percy's Piece of the War: Exploits of an RAF High Speed Launch Wireless Operator in the UK and Far East During the Second World War. 75p. Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2010. ISBN: 1846831075.

He became a wireless operator with the RAF Marine Branch and served in 1940/41 aboard HSL 120, based in Ramsgate and engaged in air-sea rescue work in the Channel and North Sea, picking up Allied (and sometimes German) airmen whose aircraft had ditched. Later in the war he was posted to the Far East, where he served in the same capacity at No.226 Air Sea Rescue Unit (226 ASRU), based at Chittagong.

JACOBS, G. F. Prelude to the Monsoon. 247p., map. Cape Town: Purnell, 1965.

An autobiography describing the role of five Royal Marines dropped in Sumatra just before war’s end to take control of the island when the Japanese surrendered.

JACKSON, Bill. Air Sea Rescue During the Siege of Malta: An Eyewitness Account of Life with HSL107 1941-43. xx, 375p., bibliog., illus., index. Leicester: Matador, 2010. ISBN: 1848764723.

An autobiographical tale of life with the Air / Sea Rescue teams based in Malta. Focussing on High Speed Launch (HSL) 107 which rescued close to 100 pilots during the siege of Malta, he captures the spirit and camaraderie of this close knit group.

HIGGS, Geoffrey. Frontline and Experimental Flying with the Fleet Air Arm: “Purely By Chance”. 256p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2010. ISBN: 1848842627.

Higgs joined the navy at the beginning of 1944 under the 'Y' scheme.  After HMS St Vincent, his flying training was in Canada flying the Cornell and Harvard.  On return to the UK he was sent to the Fighter School at Yeovilton to fly Corsairs, with a short detachment to the Naval School of Air Warfare at St Merryn. His first operational appointment was to 891 Squadron at Eglinton flying the night fighter version of the Hellcat. With the end of the war in the Far East, a planned embarkation in Ocean was cancelled. Also covers his long and successful post-war career.

FRENCH, John. Catalina Over Arctic Oceans: Anti-Submarine and Rescue Flying in World War II. 180p., illus. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2013. ISBN: 1781590532.

A long and varied career is described with relish.

EDWARDS, Gron. Norwegian Patrol. iii, 176p., illus. Shrewsbury: Airlife, 1985.. ISBN: 0906393531.

The first year of the war seen from a maritime reconnaissance squadron based on the East Coast of Scotland. Gives an enjoyable account of a grim and relentless tour of duty in Hudsons.

BRAND, Stanley. Achtung! Swordfish!  Merchant Aircraft Carriers. 220p., illus. Leeds: AMS Educational, 2009. ISBN: 1860298052.

An autobiographical account of life as a Swordfish pilot on MAC ships. His war was full of danger if not action.

BOYD, George. Boyd’s War: the Story of a Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve fighter during the Second World War. 127p., illus., index. Newtonards: Colourpoint, 2002. ISBN: 1898392064.

After his pilot training in Canada and Scotland, Boyd served as a naval gun spotter on D-Day and later served in the Pacific. He was present in Tokyo Bay when McArthur took the Japanese surrender. Well produced but rather bland.

DU CROS, Rosemary. ATA Girl: Memoirs of a Wartime Ferry Pilot. 105p., illus. London: Muller, 1983. ISBN: 0946569002.

Entertaining although brief account of service in the Air Transport Auxiliary ferrying aircraft for the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.

COSH, Robert. Inside and Out: My Experiences in the Royal Navy (1939-46) and HM Prison Service (1948-81). Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2005. ISBN: 190395391X.

His wartime experiences included surviving PEDESTAL, in the course of which his ship Eagle was torpedoed and sunk. He served with both 801 and 809 Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm and had a lively war in the UK, Egypt and the Mediterranean before his eventual demobilisation in 1946.

CARTON de WIART, Adrian. Happy Odyssey: The Memoirs of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO. 287p., illus., index. London: Cape, 1950.

A fascinating life spanning both world wars. In WW2 he served in Poland, Norway, Yugoslavia and China. Has a good section on the Norwegian campaign.

BURKETT, Molly. Once Upon A Wartime VI. 96p., illus. Grantham: Barny Books, 1998. ISBN: 0948204699.

Wartime recollections. Pat Kingsmill was a FAA pilot and describes being shot down during the Channel Dash. Another chapter describes the experience of a merchant seaman sunk in convoy HX229.

DOUGLAS-HAMILTON, James. The Air Battle for Malta: The Diaries of a Spitfire Pilot. 208p., bibliog., illus., index. Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1981. ISBN: 0906391202.

Although an air force book it includes interesting material on the air cover for approaching convoys. A second edition was published by Airlife in 1990.

BRISTOW, Alan. Alan Bristow: Helicopter Pioneer. The Autobiography. 384p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation, 2010. ISBN: 1848842082.

He was sixteen the day war broke out. Despite winning a place at Cambridge he decided to cut short his schooling and join the Merchant Navy.  After twice having his ship sunk under him he applied and was accepted for pilot training with the FAA which he undertook in Canada.  At the conclusion of the course he was one of a group of 4 selected to train as helicopter pilots (in the R4 Hoverfly).  The war ended before he had the opportunity to fly on operations and he was demobilised in 1946.  Most of the book covers his hugely successful post-war career.

WALLIS, John. With God's Blessing and a Green Beret: A Pilgrimage. 112p., illus. Poole: Firebird, 1994. ISBN: 185314200X.

An autobiography. Wallis volunteered in 1941 and served as a chaplain with 41 Royal Marine Commando until in 1944 he transferred to the depot ship Tyne, serving with her at Scapa and in the Pacific. Very good on the unsung and unpleasant work of a non-combatant padre as medic and gravedigger at Sicily and Salerno.

BENTLEY-BUCKLE, A. Through Albert’s Eyes (The British Navy at War, Volume 2). viii, 152p., illus., index. Dunbeath: Whittles, 2013. ISBN: 9781849950664.

An autobiography, roughly half of which describes his wartime career. He joined the RN in early 1939 and was initially with Dunedin on the Northern Patrol and then in the Caribbean. In mid-1940 he moved to Edinburgh serving from the Arctic to Freetown. In mid-1941 he joined Revenge with the Eastern Fleet. After a spell ashore he trained as a beachmaster and served in Sicily and Italy. He moved into special operations and was captured, escaped and recaptured in Croatia. He spent the rest of the war as a POW, including helping with the famous escape of “Albert, R.N.”.

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.

TAYLOR, L. A. Growing Up In The Thirties. x, 84p. Bishop Auckland: Pentland Press, 1999. ISBN: 185821727X.

A short autobiography covering the period from his birth in 1925 to his calling up to the RN at the end of 1943. Gives a vivid account of the early war years on Tyneside.

BALME, David. Enigma: The Untold Story of the Secret Capture (The British Navy at War and Peace, Volume 3). x, 166p., bibliog., illus., index. Dunbeath: Whittles, 2016. ISBN: 9781849952262.

        A biography based on recordings made by Balme and assembled by the series editor Peter Hore. When war broke out in 1939 he was a midshipman on Ivanhoe. He saw the sinking of Courageous guarded convoys then took his Sub-Lieutenant’s course at Portsmouth. He joined Berwick in June 1940 and went to the Mediterranean with her. He saw action at Cape Spartivento and against Hipper when she attacked convoy WS5A. Early in 1941 he joined Bulldog, which served in the Atlantic. The book focuses on the battle for convoy OB318 and the capture of U 110. Balme led the boarding party which ransacked the submarine, took her in tow and captured her Enigma machine. In August 1941 he transferred to the Fleet Air Arm. After service in the Western Desert he trained as a Fighter Direction Officer. In 1943 he joined Renown. He served with her in the Pacific Fleet.

CAULFIELD, Michael. Voices of War: Stories from the Australians at War Film Archive. Xvii, 537p., illus, index. ISBN: 0733620507.

Extracts from some twenty-one interviews held in the archive. There is some marginal material of naval relevance.

HANDBURY-GRASSICK, George. Down by the Head. 223p., illus. [Stockport]: Lane Publishers, 2003. ISBN: 1987666399.

The author went to train as a DEMS gunner in 1940. This records his active wartime career.

TUBB, Ron. Red Duster Recollections: A Merchant Seaman’s Experiences in World War II. 112p.,  Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2004. ISBN: 1903953626.

Born in Bridgend in 1916, he rose from Apprentice to Master Mariner. In 1940 he joined the passenger liner Nestor, carrying evacuee children to Australia. Later he was assigned to the Euryades on which, in 1941, he was involved in a hazardous rescue at sea. He then served on the Antenor, a troop ship bound for the Far East. He next transferred to tankers, serving on the MV Cymbula. His seagoing career ended suddenly in 1944 when, whilst serving on the MV Amastra, he became unwell.

DANIEL, R. J. The End of an Era: The Memoirs of a Naval Constructor. 370p., illus. Penzance: Periscope, 2003. ISBN: 1904381189.

The author served in the Eastern and Pacific Fleets during World War Two. At the end of the war, he landed in Japan and prepared a report on the atomic bomb damage to Nagasaki and was seconded to the Manhattan Project for the Bikini A-bomb tests. Also covers his post-war career.

SKEELS, Fred. The Java Rabble: A Story of a Ship, Slavery and Survival. viii, 151p., illus. Perth: Hesperian, 2008. ISBN: 0859054195.

Skeels joined the navy in 1941 at the age of eighteen, and a year later was in the great battles of the Java Sea and Sunda Straits in which the Perth and its allies were sunk. Held in the Japanese death camps until the war’s end, he was shipped as a slave labourer from Java to Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and finally Japan.

EDNEY, W. P. Scuppers to Skipper: Life in the Royal Navy 1934-1958. c.105p., illus. [author: Kindle e-book, 2015]. ISBN: 9781508548669.

He joined the RN as a boy sailor aged fifteen in 1934 and retired as a Lieutenant Commander commanding a minesweeper based at Malta in 1958. This interesting but bland autobiography charts his steady rise through the ranks. About half concerns his wartime service, notably on the destroyer Vanoc in the Battle of the Atlantic. He later served with shore parties setting up communications in newly liberated ports.

YOUNG, Douglas. The Dangerous Sea and the Sky. 248p. London: Avon Books, 1994. ISBN: 1897960360.

The engaging biography of a young insurance clerk who volunteered for the RAF in 1940. After over two years of training in the UK and Canada first as a wireless operator then as a navigator he joined 489 New Zealand Squadron at Leuchars in November 1943 in the new Beaufighter Mark X. They operated in the North Sea on anti-shipping strikes. The squadron then moved to Norfolk and operated off the Dutch Coast during and after the Normandy invasion. After a brief spell based near the Moray Firth, promotion brought him a role as a navigation instructor based at East Fortune until demobbed in February 1946.

BERRYMAN, Nick. In the Nick of Time. 214p., illus. Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2000. ISBN: 190395312X.

An enjoyable autobiography focused on his RAF career in air sea rescue. He joined up in 1942, aged 18. He trained in the USA. In early 1943 he joined 276 Air Sea Rescue squadron in Dorset and became a Walrus pilot. In 1944 he moved to Egypt in the same role with 294 squadron. He returned to the UK at the end of the year and took up a role as a flying instructor in Scotland.

GAFFNEY, Patrick. Sons of the Seas: Royal Naval Stories and Tales of Foreign Seaports, from 1910-1966. iv, 205p., illus. Kibworth Beauchamp: Matador, 2016. ISBN: 9781784624347.

A rather curious book in which the author tries to describe the naval career of a father he never met thanks to the complicated domestic life of his parents. It covers his father’s service in World War I and his service in WW2 in paddle minesweepers and LSTs, the latter mainly in the Mediterranean. It then covers his brother’s war service in the FAA, while the second half of the book covers his own peacetime service in the RN. Poorly organised and edited, it does however give a real feeling for the impact of war on individuals and on family life and the strains this caused on relationships.

LEWIN, Terry. He Who Would Valiant Be: the Wartime Diary of Midshipman T. T. Lewin, HMS Valiant, 1940. [c 370p., illus. e-book]; London: Lewin of Greenwich Organisation Limited – Kindle edition, 2016. ISBN: 9781783018680.

An excellent example of such a journal is edited by Tim Lewin, the son of the author.  This journal describes his service as a midshipman aboard Valiant ranging from the bombardment at Mers-el Kebir to deck hockey tournaments. The events are described with some clarity.

BROOKS, Waite. The British Pacific Fleet in World War II: An Eyewitness Account as Seen From the Bridge Deck of the Flagship, HMS King George V. 277p., illus. Bloomington, IN; Authorhouse,2013. ISBN: 9781481740357.

He joined the RCN in 1942 aged seventeen and after officer training was sent to the RN as a midshipman in 1944. He was part of the air defence team on KGV, abaft the bridge and recorded all he saw in a journal.

JONES, John Charles. From the Fo'csle Messdeck to the Wardroom. iv, 120p., illus. Lewes: Book Guild, 1987. ISBN: 0863322050.

Jones served from 1917 to 1953, rising from Boy Seaman to Lieutenant. In WWII he served as "Guns" on Jupiter in the North Sea, then moved to Lively. After she was sunk in the Mediterranean, he became a Bomb Disposal Officer, mainly based in that theatre.

SANDBACH, Betsy, & EDGE, Geraldine. Prison Life on a Pacific Raider: The Adventures of Betsy Sandbach and Geraldine Edge, Nurse Escorts to the First Five Hundred Children Evacuated to Australia. 223p., illus. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1941.

The nurses sailed out on Batory but were captured on the way home when the Rangitane was sunk by the raiders Komet and Orion. Compare the account of Barley.

A merchant sailor who served in the USN in Subchasers in the Caribbean, DEs in the Pacific and Atlantic. Modestly interesting.

MELLIS, D. B. N. Mostly from the Bridge. v, 275 p., illus. Isle of Mull : CCC Design, 2003.. ISBN: 0954119215.

An autobiography it was first privately published in 2002.  His naval career began in 1929. He served throughout the war and notably took the destroyer Malcolm to Dunkirk eight times to evacuate troops. This book describes that action and events before and after it in many parts of the world.

JAMES, William. The Sky Was Always Blue. xiii, 271p., illus., index. London: Methuen, 1951.

The enjoyable autobiography of an important figure, with a distinguished career, notably at the start of World War II.

FERMOR, Patrick Leigh. Abducting a General: the Kreipe Operation and SOE in Crete. xxix, 206 p., illus. .London: Murray, 2014. ISBN: 9781444796582.

Fermor participated in this behind-the-lines mission to capture General Kreipe and spirit him back to Egypt. Originally written in the 1960's this has only just been published by his estate.

BROWN, Peter C. Voices From the Arctic Convoys. 219p., illus., index. Stroud: Fonthill Media, 2014. ISBN: 1781552843.

Some thirty brief oral reminiscences from a mixture of naval and merchant participants.

THOMPSON, Chester. The Long Day Wanes: A Memoir of Love and War. xiv, 202p., illus. New Smyrna Beach, FL: White Sound Press, 2004. ISBN: 0932265758.

An autobiography. He served on Beverley in the Battle of the Atlantic and with Landing Craft at D-Day.

PALMER, Ralph. A Shopkeeper at Sea. One of the Last Ships Out and Leading Them Back Home Again. 36p. St Peter Port, Guernsey: CIC, 1985.

Published to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the liberation of the islands. The brief autobiography of a Channel Islander who served in the Merchant Navy.

MURRAY, William. Atlantic Rendezvous. xviii, 317p., bibliog., illus. Lymington: Nautical Publishing, 1970. ISBN: 0245598944.

Murray was a radio operator on the Tribesman, which was sunk by Scheer in December 1940. He was transferred to Nordmark and eventually escaped from prison camp. An interesting autobiography.

ARNOTT, Robert H., & SMITH, Ronald L. Captain of the Queen. ii, 332p., illus. Sevenoaks: New English Library, 1982. ISBN: 0450048918.

The autobiography of a captain of the Queen Elizabeth II. He joined the Merchant Navy in 1940 and the first sixty pages describe his exuberant but relatively trouble-free wartime career as a midshipman and junior officer with the Blue Funnel Line.

JOUBERT DE LA FERTÉ, Philip. The Fated Sky: An Autobiography. 280p., illus., index. London: Hutchinson, 1952.

The author served from 1912 to 1945 and in 1941–43 led Coastal Command. Reprinted by  White Lion in 1977 (ISBN:  0727402498).