Category: Small Craft, Trawlers, and Coastal Forces

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.

Called up in 1939 he joined the AMC Forfar but within six months was selected for a commission. That autumn he joined the AMC Letitia but almost immediately transferred to Coastal Forces. He stood by HDML 1007 and took her to Egypt then Haifa and in 1942 took over ML 353 but quickly resumed command of HDML 1007. In mid-year he took over ML 355 which worked hard from Tobruk to the Dodecanese. In October he transferred to ML 349 and that December took over the 42nd ML Flotilla based in Beirut and operating in the Aegean. In March 1944 he returned to the UK where he took over ML 490 in time for D-Day. That autumn the flotilla moved to Grimsby then Ostend where he was present when a disastrous fire destroyed many craft. In June they went to the Baltic but soon returned to the UK to pay off.

A largely derivative work consisting mainly of text, photos and factual appendices copied, often verbatim, from other authors and websites, apparently without permission.

The wartime autobiography of the poet. He served in trawlers. After training he joined Northern Dawn based at Belfast in 1940. On promotion to Lieutenant in 1941 he joined Gavotte as First on local convoy duty, but soon moved to Wastwater. Most of the book concerns her 20-month peregrination around the Atlantic from Iceland to New York, Brazil, and West Africa. A lively well-written memoir.

All but a few pages are devoted to the Bangor Class minesweeper, the second to bear the name. She took part in the Madagascar landings and was sunk in the Mediterranean in November 1942.

He volunteered for the RN in New Zealand in 1940 and after training at Ganges he joined Volunteer with other NZ ratings as a CW candidate. After training at King Alfred he joined Coastal Forces and was soon in command of ML 106 specialising in laying mines off the enemy coast. He ended the war as flotilla commander.

Macdonald was the most highly decorated New Zealand naval officer of World War II. After brief service as a DEMS gunner he went to King Alfred then joined Coastal Forces where he had a distinguished wartime career in MTBs.

CHAPMAN, A. J. The War of the Motor Gun Boats: One Man’s Personal War at Sea with the Coastal Forces, 1943-1945. 176p., illus. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2013. ISBN: 1783462248.

Tony Chapman was born in Southampton in 1924 and joined up as soon as he could. Within hours of being posted to his first Motor Gun Boat as a Telegraphist, he was involved in an epic Coastal Forces engagement when his flotilla took on a force of thirty E-boats. His flotilla operated in the Mediterranean and Aegean where the MGBs played a key role. Daily life is vividly described. They operated in the Levant and on combined operations in the Aegean with the Greek Sacred Regiment of Commandos. The culmination of their efforts was when his boat, ML838, took the surrender of the Island of Kos in 1945.

HOLLAND, Philip. Our Light Coastal Forces. 37p., illus. London: Rolls House,[1943]

From minesweepers to MTBs - a look at their work.

LUND, Paul, & LUDLAM, Harry. Trawlers Go to War: The Story of "Harry Tate's Navy." 271p., illus, index. London: Foulsham, 1971. ISBN: 057200768X.

The Royal Naval Patrol Service, which went to sea in trawlers on all the seas of the world. Largely based on the reminiscences of some surviving participants.

TOGHILL, Gerald. Royal Navy Trawlers. 2 vols., illus., index. Liskeard: Maritime Books, 2003-4. ISBN: 0907771955 (Vol. 1); 1904459021(Vol.2).

A comprehensive listing of hundreds of these vessels covering both world wars. Volume 1 covers Admiralty Built trawlers and volume two requisitioned trawlers. Brief details are given of origins, deployment and fate.

HERRIOT, Peter G. Steamers at War:The Story of the Clyde Steamers in the Second World War. 32p., illus. Glasgow: Clyde River Steamer Club, 2015.

The work of an enthusiast, this is a brief and well illustrated account of the role of the steamers in Europe from the Clyde to the Scheldt.

KONSTAM, Angus. Yangtze River Gunboats 1900-49 (New Vanguard, 181). 48p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2011. ISBN: 9781849084086.

A well-illustrated brief history covering all the major nations.

Probably a definitive account of these operations in the Mediterranean and Adriatic. Also includes an account of the MTB Flotilla in Hong Kong 1938–1941.

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.

LEVIN, Steven. Battlewagon Stoker 1938-1947. [2], 322p., illus. n.p., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. ISBN: 9781517299934.

A biography of his grandfather, Eric Levin. It is written in the first person, recreated from post-war memories and some written notes. He enlisted in 1938 then served on Malaya until 1941, Delhi until 1944, before joining Coastal Forces, notably in the Mediterranean.

GEROUX, William. The Ghost Ships of Archangel: The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis. 337p., illus. New York: Viking, 2019. ISBN: 9780525557463.

         A dramatic account of PQ17 based on personal accounts, which focuses on four of the ships in the convoy. During the height of the attacks on July 5, the armed trawler Ayrshire escorted the merchantmen Silver Sword, Ironclad and Troubadour, in a dash directly into the ice barrier. Once anchored, the ships’ crews painted their superstructures white to camouflage the vessels. Then, moving slowly along the ice edge and skirting the eastern extremes of the Barents Sea, the four ships eventually made port.

LAMBERT, John, & ROSS, Al. Allied Coastal Forces of World War II. 2 vols., illus. London: Conway, 1991–93; Annapolis: NIP, 1994. ISBN: 0851775195 (Vol.1); 0851776027 (Vol.2).

A comprehensive guide to the Fairmiles, Subchasers, Vospers, and Elcos. Reprinted by Seaforth with some new colour drawings in 2018-19. (ISBN: 152674449X, Vol.1, ISBN: 1526747553, Vol. 2).

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.

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.

FRIEDMAN, Norman (ed). British Naval Weapons of World War II. The John Lambert Collection edited with an introduction by Norman Friedman. 3 vols., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2019-20.

John Lambert died in 2016. He was a renowned draughtsman who specialised in smaller naval vessels and left some 850 sheets of drawings and plans, covering everything from turret guns to underwater weapons. These have now been published with excellent photographs added, edited with an introduction by an acknowledged expert in Norman Friedman. Volume I covers destroyer weapons (ISBN: 9781526747679); Volume II covers escort and minesweeper weapons (ISBN: 9781526750471); Volume III covers coastal forces weapons (ISBN: 9781526777102).

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.

GREAT BRITAIN. ADMIRALTY. NAVAL STAFF. TRAINING AND STAFF DUTIES DIVISION. Light Coastal Craft Operating in the North Sea and the English Channel September 1943 (B.R. 834.). 39p., illus. London: Admiralty, 1943.

A comparative study and recognition manual for British and German Coastal Forces.

DUNN, Steve R.  British Naval Trawlers and Drifters in Two World Wars: From The John Lambert Collection edited by Steve R. Dunn. 208p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2021. ISBN: 1526794861.

The fourth of a planned series of albums using John Lambert’s detailed drawings. In his accompanying text, the editor examines the ships themselves, their design, construction, arming, operations and development; and he also relates how the trawlermen and skippers, from the age-old fishing ports of Britain, came to be part of the Royal Navy, and describes the roles they played.

SPICER, Tim. A Dangerous Enterprise: Secret War at Sea. 312p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Barbreck Publishers, 2021. ISBN: 9781999589134.

A distinguished soldier turned author gives an excellent account of the service of the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla. Based in Dartmouth it specialised in ferrying secret agents to and from Brittany. Uses an extensive range of official documents such as SOE files and private papers as well as published and on-line sources.

FRIEDMAN, Norman. British Coastal Forces: Two World Wars and After. 432p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2023. ISBN: 9781399018586.

An experienced author, he connects the technical story of the coastal craft and their weapons and other innovations with the way they fought. Also includes an appendix on Air-Sea Rescue craft. Has a notable section on D-Day activities.  

A class-by-class list with leading details and notes on the fate of individual vessels. Well-illustrated.

After training he was posted in November 1943 to MTB 655 in the Mediterranean, where he spent the rest of the war. He was preparing his letters for publication at the time of his death in 2006. A lively tale.

The career and construction of one of the few surviving motor launches of this type. A revised edition was published in 1996.

The wartime career of a West of Scotland ferry converted to an antiaircraft ship.

Brown joined as a Telegraphist in 1943. He describes the setting up of HMS Europa - Sparrow's Nest - at Lowestoft and his own training there. He joined HMS Northern Isles at Durban and was based there until she ran aground and sank in early 1945. He then moved to HMS Le Tiger in Durban until she returned to the UK in late 1945. He was demobbed in March 1946. A pawky irreverent view.

Describes these most successful boats in some detail as well as the tactics of their employment.

A miscellaneous collection of pieces on the work of the Navy.

Assorted brief reminiscences.

More assorted brief reminiscences.

In praise of "the destroyer's poor relation" and their many workaday tasks. The author was Trevor Blore.

Faithfully records details of the ships and their loss. Some 100 were sunk in WWII from the Carolinas to the Mediterranean. Along with the natural hazards of storm and icebergs, mines, torpedoes, aircraft and surface ships exacted a heavy toll.

A series of more or less fictional vignettes of the work of the smaller units of the RN.

The history of the Insect Class river gunboats. Built in WWI, they served on the rivers of China in the 1920s and 1930s. In WWII they served with distinction in Hong Kong, the Persian Gulf and in the Mediterranean, notably in support of the 8th Army. A workmanlike history.

A report on the history of H.M.S. Deodar from the time she was ordered by the Admiralty in 1939 to her sale out of Royal Naval service and conversion for commercial use, and finally to her foundering in 1965.

The role of Coastal Forces described with patriotic gusto.

Records all the incidents involving Grimsby trawlers (both fishing and in RN service) and U-boats, along with notable escorting duties and rescue operations.

A photographic record, showing all aspects of life in, and the varied craft of, Coastal Forces.

A photographic record, with strong representation of the Insect Class which saw onerous service in WWII.

An excellent summary of their design, evolution and deployment.

A profusely illustrated nuts-and-bolts view.

Covers both world wars in which the ships owned by the railway companies saw service as troopships, minesweepers, hospital ships and a host of roles, with some distinction.

Technical data on all the classes of small boat that served with Coastal Forces.

A biography. Having served in the RNVR, he was mobilised as a signalman in 1939 and posted to Adventure. When she was mined in November 1939 he was next posted to a minesweeping trawler at Scapa. He soon became a CW candidate and spent the rest of the war as an officer in trawlers and travelling from Spitsbergen to the Caribbean. An enjoyable account.

A well-illustrated ragbag of information on their war activities, principally as minesweepers.

The author served on MGB 658 in the Mediterranean. A substantial addition to the fragmented official record on these powerful and hard-hitting boats. Contains much original material.

Completes the trilogy with possibly the definitive account of operations in the English Channel and North Sea. A chronological account of their actions.