Nautical Narratives

Books that share a naval/nautical theme...


A Bootnecks Footsteps

by Mike Pinnock
The author sets off on a nostalgic journey to retrace his father's movements with the Royal Marines 1921-45.

A Corkheads Chronicle

by David J. Lott
Experiences of a Royal Navy Clearance Diver 1955-76
A Diver in the Dark by Sydney Knowles

A Diver in the Dark

by Sydney Knowles BEM
Memoir of a WW2 Royal Navy Clearance Diver and diving partner of Commander Lionel 'Buster' Crabb

A Divers Escapades

by Glennys E Forrester-Brown
The wartime experiences of a lad from the Potteries who served in the Royal Navy as a diver during World War II

Adventures of a Flying Dutchman

by Rudolf J Idzerda
Autobiography of a WW2 pilot in the Netherlands Naval Air Service who went on to become a Rear Admiral and a Director of the World Wildlife Fund

An Ayrshire Shipbuilder

by Dougal McIntyre
Portrait of John McIntyre, a 19th/20th century Scottish shipbuilder.

Apprentice to the Red Ensign

by Mike Holmes
A Merchant Seaman's experiences in the the late 1940s with the Ellerman & Bucknell line.

Coastal Command Pilot

by Ted Rayner
WW2 experiences of an RAF Coastal Command pilot with 220 Squadron and 269 Squadron in Norway, Iceland and Greenland.

Crash Boats of Gorleston

by Tony Overill
The WW2 exploits of of No.24 Air Sea Rescue Unit of the RAF Marine Branch.
deep fried steak by richard barr

Deep Fried Steak, Vodka & Chai

by Richard Barr
A sailor-turned-entrepreneur’s experiences afloat and ashore in the UK and former Soviet Union.

Flying the Waves

by Richard Pike
Experiences of an air-sea rescue helicopter pilot around the Scottish coast in the 1980s/90s.

Goodhart : The Story of an Exceptional Man

by Richard Harris & Barrie Williams
A biography of Rear Admiral Nicholas Goodhart, CB, Legion of Merit, FRAeS, RN (1919–2011)

I Married a Princess

by Thomas Soars
The unusual story of an English RNVR officer who married a Persian princess during World War II and brought her home to a distinctly unglamorous life in England.

Inside and Out

by Robert Cosh
My  experiences as a sailor in the wartime Royal Navy (1939-46) and postwar career as a prison officer in HM Prison Service (1946-81)

Intercepted at Sea

by Leslie Howson
& John Nixon
An investigation into the human cost of insecure Royal Navy communications during two World Wars.
It Was Bill's Fault product shot

It Was Bills Fault - a fishermans tales

by Alf Sharpling
The comical adventures of two would-be sea anglers in Essex, Cornwall and Wales.
Staff Pick

Liverpool Tales from the Mersey Mouth

by John Williams
Entertaining stories from a talented Liverpudlian raconteur

On a Sailors Grave No Roses Grow – Maritime Disasters of World War II

by Mike Kemble
A respectful tribute to those who lost their lives in some of the worst Maritime Disasters of the Second World War.

Percys Piece of the War

by Percy Shipperbottom
Exploits of an RAF High Speed Launch Wireless Operator in the UK and Far East during World War 2.

Red Duster Recollections – A Merchant Seamans Life in the 1930s and 40s

by Ron Tubb
A former Merchant Seaman recalls his experiences before and during World War Two in the 1930s and 1940s

Ships and Stars and Isles

by G.A. Taylor RNVR
The letters and diaries of a sailor with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) during World War II.

Songs & Ditties of the Fleet

by Richard Barr & Bernie Bruen
A collection of song lyrics, poems and humorous observations  informed by the authors' combined experiences in the Royal Navy 1950s-1980s.

Swinging the Lamp

by Ted Bedwell
Nautical tales from a former skipper with the RAF Marine Branch

The Brats – a real-life Victorian nautical adventure

by Tony Paul
Four young stowaways from Greenock endure cruel mistreatment on a transatlantic voyage to Newfoundland in this real-life seafaring adventure set in 1868.

The World of a Latchkey Kid

by John Oliver
The eventful life of a London schoolboy during the Blitz, teenage merchant seaman, trumpeter, boxer, Royal Navy radio officer, television sound engineer and trophy-winning yachtsman 1931-2007

This is My Story, This is My Song

by Ray Oram
Experiences of a 20-year-old Landing Craft (Tank) Skipper on D-Day 6th June 1944 and elsewhere during World War II.

Tread Lightly into Danger

by Anthony Charlwood
A former Royal Navy  clearance diver and freelance bomb disposal expert recalls his many escapades in the world's trouble-spots.
Very Unable Seaman 3-D product shot

Very Unable Seaman

by Richard Barr
A Junior Rating’s experiences in the Royal Navy 1958-1961.