Risdon Beazley by Roy Martin
The Risdon Beazley fleet of nineteen vessels were requisitioned in 1940, these were handed back to him to manage together with ten others. Seventeen newly built Admiralty salvage ships joined the fleet during the war, plus thirteen non-propelled lifting craft. The vessels were manned by civilian merchant seamen. Three ships and a barge were lost due to enemy action. The first new ships worked in the Mediterranean and as far east as Colombo, they entered newly occupied ports often before the bomb disposal teams had completed their work. Risdon Beazley were responsible for the whole salvage fleet employed in the D-Day landings and their ships went on to clear ports in Northern Europe. In his book 'The Ocean on a Plank' Captain Doust, the Deputy Director of Admiralty Salvage, says that Risdon Beazley salved over 3,500 ships and 3.5 million tons of cargo - a contribution of vital importance to the war effort beyond the reach of any other of the managers. He got no official recognition for it. While these figures overstate the number of operations, it is correct to say that their achievements were beyond the reach of other managers. After the war the company specialised in the recovery of metal cargoes, plus general salvage and wreck removal. When the Admiralty needed to recover the remains of the Comet airliner they sent a request to Mr Risdon Beazley, he sent men and equipment, for this he was made a CBE. An RB team re-floated Brunel's steamer 'Great Britain', which was transported to Bristol by Ulrich Harms. This book could not have been written without the help of people who worked for the company both during and after the war. The writers, both former employees, have uncovered much previously unpublished information.
Roy Martin joined the Merchant Navy in 1953, serving his four year apprenticeship on cargo ships. He then spent five years on the Baltic trade, gaining his Masters Certificate in 1962. From 1964 he was Chief Officer/Navigator of Risdon Beazley's recovery vessel Droxford, there he developed his interest in research. After gaining further experience he joined the Risdon Beazley management team, where his first job was to get salvage equipment to Brunel's Great Britain in the Falklands. By 1975 he was General Manager of the company, now a subsidiary of the Smit group; they transferred him to manage their Asian company in 1979. Having built that company into a World class salvor, he left Singapore in 1986 to resume recovery work with Lyle Craigie-Halkett. They found a Southern Sung wreck (Nan Hai No 1) off the Chinese coast and undertook a two year environmental clean-up of the whaling stations in South Georgia. Again with Lyle Craigie-Halkett he wrote, and self-published, Risdon Beazley, Marine Salvor. This book is now available through Amazon. He then wrote Ebb and Flow, Evacuations and Landings by Merchant Ships in World War Two. This was modified and republished as Merchantmen in Action. His next book told the largely unknown story of The Suffolk Golding Mission; when a team of four saved scientists, heavy water, diamonds and machine tools from the advancing Germans. He lives near Southampton with his wife, June; they have two children and five grown-up grandchildren.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780955744105 |
| ISBN 10 | 0955744105 |
| Title | Risdon Beazley |
| Author | Roy Martin |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Roy Martin & Lyle Craigie-Halkett |
| Year published | 2007-09-05 |
| Number of pages | 156 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |