{"title":"Tony Mccrum","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the thrilling crime fiction of Tony McCrum. Perfect for fans of gritty police procedurals and complex characters, McCrum's novels offer a gripping glimpse into the dark side of the city. Start browsing now!\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"abandon-ship-the-post-war-memoirs-of-captain-tony-mccrum-rn-book-tony-mccrum-9781848846661","title":"Abandon Ship!: The Post-War Memoirs of Captain Tony McCrum RN","description":"Captain Tony McCrum's naval career started in 1932. He survived the sinking of HMS Skipjack at Dunkirk and went on to serve on minesweepers and at sea during the landings at Salerno. His wartime experiences were recently published as Sunk by Stukas.This book covers the second part of his naval career between 1945 and 1963. Having arrived back in Plymouth from Trincomlee as a lieutenant aboard the destroyer Tarter in November 1945, his first appointment was as senior instructor at the RN Signals School in Devonport. There then followed two appointments as Flag Lieutenant; first to Admiral Pridham-Wippell, CinC Plymouth Command and then Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor, CinC Home Fleet, where he was also Deputy Fleet Communications Officer. He was based on the admiral's flagship, the battleship HMS Duke of York which he joined in 1947. The fleet exercised in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and 'showed the flag' in various ports in the USA, Caribbean Islands and the Baltic. In May 1948 he was promoted Lt. Commander. In 1950 he instructed at the main Naval Signals School at Leyedene House near Petersfield.Promoted Commander, now 32 years of age, he was surprised to be appointed to accompany King George VI on a state visit to Australia and New Zealand. This was to be aboard the liner SS Gothic as there was no Royal Yacht at that time. However after months of preparation the voyage was cancelled because of the King's terminal illness and the coronation of Britain's new Queen.In November 1954 he took his first command, HMS Concord, a destroyer in the 8th Destroyer Squadron based in Hong Kong. During his eighteen month captaincy of this ship he saw action off the coast of Malaya and a lengthy visit to Australia to assist in the aftermath of a hurricane. After a spell ashore as Training Commander at HMS Ganges and after promotion to Captain in 1958, he was sent to Norway on the staff of the CinC Northern European Command. In November 1960 he was again given a seagoing command. He was to skipper HMS Meon and responsibility for the Amphibious Warfare Squadron in the Persian Gulf. The squadron composed of Meon, two tank-landing ships, four tank-landing craft and a Rhino (a pontoon-like vessel for the shallow-water landing of tanks). He was ordered to cover an area extending from the East African coast, the Red Sea and to the Persian Gulf. Having worked-up this mixed bunch of vessels and their crews, plus army personnel he was confronted with the defence of Kuwait when it was threatened by the Iraqi dictator General Kassem in 1961. He was charged with landing the twelve tanks in his squadron to defend Kuwait's main port of Shuwaikh. This was successfully carried out under difficult circumstances and the Iraqi invasion was defeated. After 42 years in the RN, Tony retired to be with his wife and young family","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49544954020113,"sku":"GOR007002426","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50392071143697,"sku":"CIN1848846665VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848846665.jpg?v=1751346718"},{"product_id":"sunk-by-stukas-survived-at-salerno-the-memoirs-of-captain-tony-mccrum-rn-book-tony-mccrum-9781848842519","title":"Sunk by Stukas, Survived at Salerno: The Memoirs of Captain Tony McCrum RN","description":"Tony McCrum was born in Portsmouth in 1919, the second son of a naval lieutenant and a mother who came from a line of naval officers that stretched back to and beyond Trafalgar. He entered the Naval College at Dartmouth in September 1932 and went on to complete his midshipman's time aboard HMS Royal Oak from 1936 to 1939.In January 1939 he 'shipped' his first stripe to become an Acting Sub Lieutenant and joined HMS Skipjack, a fast fleet minesweeper, as navigator. The ship was initially based at Harwich as part of the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla. Having worked-up to operational readiness the flotilla moved to their wartime station at Dover. In May 1940 Skipjack arrived off the Dunkirk beaches, one of the first ships to help the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. Having made several successful Channel crossings ferrying home troops, the French coast suddenly became even more dangerous as the Luftwaffe presence increased in support of their advancing army which had now reached the area. With a full load of troops aboard, Skipjack was suddenly attacked by ten Stukas and was mortally hit and sunk. Eventually rescue was at hand and McCrum was landed at Ramsgate. 19 of the crew and 294 troops went down with the ship. In June 1940 he was appointed First Lieutenant of HMS Bridlington, a new minesweeper of the same class as Skipjack. In June 1941 he joined HMS Mendip, a Hunt Class destroyer with the task of defending the east coast against e-boat attack. Then came a complete change when he was ordered to HMS Largs to become the Signals Officer in Charge. This was an ex West Indies banana boat that had been converted into a Landing Craft Headquarters Ship. Her task was to carry an admiral and general who would control all the forces in the early days of an assault. In April 1943, Largs arrived in North Africa and began preparations for the Sicily landings. Operation Husky started on 8 July and proved a complete success with a bridgehead being established within hours. The next step was Italy, the Salerno landing. McCrum was again heavily involved with the HQ planning staff and the US Navy and was in charge of the ULTRA operations within the area. Salerno proved to be a much harder battle and was well defended. Having spent eighteen months working in the Mediterranean theatre, and various landings in France, McCrum was ordered home and joined the destroyer HMS Tartar on 15 January 1945 as Staff Signals Officer, 8th Destroyer Flotilla. They were bound for the Far East and the war with Japan and it was there, in Trincomlee harbour that the end of WWII was celebrated.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49550823784721,"sku":"GOR005715037","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53056391119121,"sku":"GOR014718808","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848842511.jpg?v=1751281424"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-tony-mccrum.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}