Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Following the account of his childhood and his early years aboard in A Steady Trade, Tristan Jones now looks back to his years below decks in the Royal Navy during World War II.
It is 1940; discharged from his sailing barge, Tristan is thrown among wartime recruits from all walks of life and after a period of instruction and a fair share of punishment on HMS Ganges, he goes to sea, first on transatlantic convoy duties, and later on the arduous Arctic runs to Russia. From the destroyer HMS Eclectic, Tristan witnesses the battle between HMS Hood and the Bismarck, as well as the battle in which the Scharnhorst was sunk in 1943. He is sunk three times himself before he is 18 years old.