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They Were Just Skulls - The Naval Career of Fred Henley, Last Survivor of HM Submarine Truculent (Paperback)
Loot Price: R482
Discovery Miles 4 820
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They Were Just Skulls - The Naval Career of Fred Henley, Last Survivor of HM Submarine Truculent (Paperback)
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List price R519
Loot Price R482
Discovery Miles 4 820
You Save R37 (7%)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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Foreword by Admiral Lord West of Spithead Few people, even in the
Navy, are even aware of this dreadful incident [the loss of
submarine HMS Truculent in the Thames] and certainly not the
details of human error that led to this huge loss of life. The
account is gripping, and explains the strange title of the book.
... John Johnson-Allen has put Fred Henley's personal accounts in
the context of world-changing events, and in particular provides a
wonderful snapshot of the Royal Navy of that era.
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This compelling story is the result of many hours spent recording
the memories of Fred Henley. His life at sea is at the centre of
his being and his own words are at the heart of the book. At the
age of 14 Fred worked on a Thames sailing barge, then after his
training at HMS Ganges, he joined his first ship which took him
from the icy Arctic Ocean to the heat of West Africa where the
Bismarck and her support ships were hunted. His experiences
included visiting Archangel, sailing on Arctic convoys, capturing
German supply ships, the failed attack on Oran, landings in
Piraeus, Salonika and the French Riviera and operating with special
forces in the Greek Islands. There is inevitably some humour when
Fred recounts his encounters with girls. The book then explores the
tragic loss of his last submarine, HMS Truculent. In the cold
January waters of the Thames Estuary, within sight of Southend,
over 60 men were lost in a major disaster, just five years after
the end of the war. The voices of the survivors are heard telling
how they stood in complete blackness in a sunken submarine, waiting
for the water to come in so that they could escape to the surface,
only for all but a few to drift away and die in the darkness. The
story concludes with happier times with Fred visiting ports in the
Mediterranean during peacetime as a married man.
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