The story starts with a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family in Portsmouth during the Blitz of World War Two. It follows him as he leaves school, finds work and eventually joins the Royal Navy. We find out about his tough upbringing in Portsmouth surviving hit-and-run bombings by German fighter planes; volunteering for the Royal Navy and enduring the rigour and discipline of training, preparing for D-Day and protecting shipping from pirates in the South China Seas. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always fascinating - this is the true story of a young man living in extraordinary times.