Covering the period from Sir Francis Drake to World War Two, this is the first book to be written on this subject in over 100 years. During that period, thanks to naval power, Great Britain rose from an obscure island to a worldwide empire. The mean that controlled these fleets wielded enormous power and influence and produced victory after victory, but they were as individuals as diverse a collection of colourful characters as could be created. Often more at war with each other than the enemy not everything went to plan. The results were sometimes fatal, sometimes tragic, quite often unintentionally hilarious, but the resulting trials and their outcomes, from mutiny to dereliction of duty to plain stupidity, often had far-reaching effects on British social fabric and become woven into the legal system of the land.