Quiet Heroes: British Merchant Seamen at War, 1939-1945 by Bernard Edwards

Quiet Heroes: British Merchant Seamen at War, 1939-1945 by Bernard Edwards

The men of Britain's Merchant Navy, although unarmed civilians going about their lawful business were the first to be involved with the enemy in the Second World War. Less than nine hours after the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, the Donaldson liner Athenia was sunk without warning by a German U-boat off the west coast of Ireland. From that moment onwards, British merchant seamen were constantly in the front line in all quarters of the globe. For almost six years they faced, without flinching, their own private hell of torpedoes, bombs, shells and mines, all the while fending off their old arch-enemy, the sea. Sorely pressed, and often tired near to death, they kept open Britain's tenuous lifelines, bringing millions of tons of raw materials, food, oil, arms and ammunition, without which the country could not have survived. As always, their spirit was indomitable, their professionalism unchallenged. The price they paid for their bravery and dedication was horrendous: 2,246 ships lost, 29,180 men killed, and countless hundreds maimed and wounded. This book tells the story of just a few of these quiet heroes.Captain Bernard Edwards spent 37 years at sea with the Merchant Navy commanding ships trading worldwide. On retirement he settled in South West Wales to pursue his second career as a Naval historian. His knowledge of the sea and ships has enabled him to write a series of internationally recognised works, the majority of which are in print with Pen & Sword.

Edwards, Bernard: - Bernard Edwards is an established writer in the maritime field. He saw service in British merchant ships as a young cadet during the Second World War, and later, as a navigating officer and captain-in-command, voyaged extensively to all corners of the globe. The years have left him with a wealth of experience of ships and the sea, on which he draws when creating with painstaking attention to detail this struggle for supremacy on the high seas in wartime.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781848842908
ISBN 10	1848842902
Title	Quiet Heroes: British Merchant Seamen at War, 1939-1945
Author	Bernard Edwards
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Year published	2010-08-20
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.