Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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Pelican
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Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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FROM NAVY NEWS
Looking for the perfect Pusser’s present for Christmas?
We can offer you a 25 percent discount (£15) on the latest edition of Royal Navy Day by Day thanks to The History Press, who will also post you this (very heavy) volume to you free of charge. That’s no postage or packing costs.
A mainstay on most matelot’s book shelves alongside Jackspeak and Ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Navy Day by Day is the reading matter you MUST have if you want to know what has happened in the long proud history of the Senior Service, er, day by day.
It is seven years since the fourth edition rolled off the presses – a gap which encompasses the end of operations in Afghanistan, the end of the Sea King and Lynx, the end of military SAR, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s arrival on the world stage, the Type 45s all becoming operational, the Arab Spring and operations in Libya, the ongoing Mediterranean migrant problem and a resurgent Russian threat.
Author Lt Cdr Lawrie Phillips takes as his starting point 1588 and the defeat of the Armada. In the 530 years since, there is not one of the 366 days in the calendar which is not etched in some annals of the RN: glory, tragedy, ceremony, bureaucracy.
To order phone Macmillan Distribution on 01256 302699 or email macmillandirect@macmillan.co.uk, and quote the offer code ‘RA3’. It is valid until January 31 2019.
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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FATHER'S DAY

Suggestion: "Here's a tip to all Dad's who fancy a really good read, share this post to your son's and daughters FB page and put this on your wish list for Father's Day. You will also be helping the Veterans Lifeline Charity to help raise funds to make Veterans life a little more easier and to help them and their families."

See - http://www.pjredriley.co.uk/p-j-s-book. ... LqU0opKqDE
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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Savetheroyalnavy.org

Some recommended e-book reading

Totally Steaming: A year on HMS Fearless [£2.95 Kindle]

Not entirely politically correct but a very funny view from the lower deck written at the time of the transition between old and new navy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Totally-Steami ... 6dz9hpYzo4
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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Goliath: Why The West Doesn’t Win Wars. And What We Need to Do About It by Sean McFate

I have not read this book but thought that Max Hastings' review of it may be of interest?
Please see attached pdf.
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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The Last Days of the High Seas Fleet (Nicholas Jellicoe)

On 21 June 1919 the ships of the German High Seas Fleet – interned at Scapa Flow since the Armistice – began to founder, taking their British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself, in a well-planned operation that consigned nearly half a million tons, and 54 of 72 ships, to the bottom of the sheltered anchorage in a gesture of Wagnerian proportions.

This much is well-known, but even a century after the ‘Grand Scuttle’ many questions remain. Was von Reuter, the fleet’s commander, acting under orders or was it his own initiative? Why was 21 June chosen? Did the British connive in, or even encourage the action? Could more have been done to save the ships? Was it legally justified? And what were the international ramifications?

This new book analyses all these issues, beginning with the fleet mutiny in the last months of the War that precipitated a social revolution in Germany and the eventual collapse of the will to fight. The Armistice terms imposed the humiliation of virtual surrender on the High Seas Fleet, and the conditions under which it was interned are described in detail. Meanwhile the victorious Allies wrangled over the fate of the ships, an issue that threatened the whole peace process.
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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HMS HERMES

Now available , £6+ postage, email me if interested george_mcdonald@hotmail.co.uk
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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Under Pressure – Book Review
£9.38 (Hardback) £9.99 (Kindle)


Another illuminating modern submarine memoir was published this year. Several recent books have documented the Cold War-era submarine service but this is the first to focus purely on the unique experience of serving onboard a deterrent boat.

Richard Humphries was a Royal Navy submarine rating, serving between 1985 -1990 and did patrols on just one boat, HMS Resolution. He also served at a time when the service was at it post-war zenith with more than 30 boats, more than half of them nuclear powered. Much of the Humphries experience would be instantly recognised by today’s submariners and in the year the RN celebrated 50 years of CASD, the book provides a timely reminder of the sacrifices involved.

Inspired to write the book in the wake of the loss of Argentine submarine ARA San Juan in 2017, Humphries describes submarine life as “lived at the extremes, living underwater in what is effectively an elongated – if beautifully streamlined – steel tin can”. The byline “Living life and avoiding death on a nuclear submarine” encapsulates the spirit of the book which is very much about the human experience, more than the operational side.

Ineligible to join the French Foreign Legion, Humphreys saw a career in submarines as an alternative way to challenge himself. His journey through basic training, security vetting and the intense period qualifying for his Dolphins as a baby submariner is described in a direct style without over embellishment. The submarine layout and design itself is described in some detail in perhaps the most intimate unclassified portrait of a British SSBN available. “Although the biggest submarine ever built for the RN at that time [HMS Resolution] was hellishly cramped in terms of living space and moving around its tiny passageways required all manner of contortions”.
Continues at - https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/under- ... LbG-s4UBPE

Attached unconnected - An older image from Reddit shows nuclear submarines HMS Spartan, HMS Sovereign, HMS Splendid and HMS Sceptre on the approach to HMNB Clyde.
To enlarge go to - https://preview.redd.it/dgo7ax8cx3541.j ... 11f133e5be
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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QUARTERDECK

"The Winter 2020 edition of Quarterdeck, hosted by McBooks, is out. If you like nautical fiction, the quarterly e-journal edited by George Jepson is a treasure.

The Winter 2020 edition features an interview with Alaric Bond and a review of the Hellfire Corner; the first book in the Coastal Forces series, due out in February. Additionally, Chris Durbin has an article, The First Landing Craft, Purpose-built for British amphibious operations, as well as a feature on his latest novel, Perilous Shore. Antoine Vanner‘s new novel Britannia’s Innocent is also featured. Articles by Kathy Stockwin, Kydd’s Portsmouth, and Kim Reeman, When Heroes Die, are fascinating."
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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Review by an American of Hellfire Corner by Alaric Bond, The First of His Coastal Force Series

The Strait of Dover, only 18 nautical miles wide between Britain and France, dividing the English Channel from the North Sea, is one of the world’s busiest seaways. While requiring careful navigation today, during World War II it was a very treacherous stretch of water indeed. German and British artillery on either shore pounded coastal towns and military bases, as well as ships passing through the strait. Fighter planes filled the skies and high-speed gunboats from both sides dashed across the waters, either attacking or defending convoys. The narrow straight was also a likely German invasion route into England. The town of Dover and the nearby waters quickly earned the nickname of Hellfire Corner.

This is the setting for Alaric Bond‘s latest novel, Hellfire Corner, which follows the officers and crew of a motor gunboat based in Dover in 1941. Bond, best known for his Fighting Sail series, brings to life the often-overlooked history of the British Coastal Forces in the darkest days of the Second World War. Manned by volunteers with a mix of old-time Royal Navy and reserve officers, the Coastal Force was made up of fast, heavily armed but lightly built wooden gasoline-powered motor gunboats and motor torpedo boats.

As in Bond’s Fighting Sail series, he doesn’t tell his story solely through the eyes of a single heroic captain but uses multiple points of view to capture the perspective of both officers and crew, from the commander to the gunners, to the engineers on the small but lethal boats. He vividly captures the life at sea in the small craft while also giving the reader a glimpse of life ashore in Dover for the crews, the women in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens), and for civilians living under relentless bombardment.

Lieutenant Robert Harris, a career naval officer, is still adjusting to the disparate demands of commanding the gunboat. His first officer, Sub-Lieutenant Ian Anderson, has just replaced a previous officer, who was killed in combat. Anderson, a reserve officer, attempts to learn the ways of the gunboat and to avoid his predecessor’s fate, against long odds.

Along with gunners, engineers, and the rest of the crew, they wage war in MGB 95, a 63-foot wooden gunboat powered by supercharged Rolls Royce Merlin engines that can drive the boat at almost forty knots. Speed and maneuverability will prove crucial for survival when facing the larger and even more heavily armed German E-boats. As the gunboat lacks torpedoes, they balance innovation, initiative, and desperation, using depth charges, meant to attack submarines, against surface ships in daring close-range attacks, often with devastating results.

Hellfire Alley is a gripping tale of often-overlooked history. The action is intense and the characters are fascinating. I am looking forward to the next installment of Bond’s new Coastal Force series. Highly recommended.

See:
https://www.amazon.com/Hellfire-Corner- ... ext&sr=1-1
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: Notifications of New Books, Etc.,

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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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