Maher, Brendan A.,
A PASSAGE TO SWORD BEACH - Minesweeping in the Royal Navy.
Naval Insitute Press, Annapolis, USA, ND (copyright 1996), US edn., xviii, 246pp, half tone photo pictorial frontis, 10 pp half tone photo ills., maps in text, [ii] notes, brown cloth lettered in gilt at spine, decorative head and tail bands, photo pictorial dustwrapper, the experiences of a young naval officer who joined the Royal Navy as a rating at the age of 18 in 1942, after training at HMS Raleigh he was selected as a CW candidate and served as an Ordinary Seaman in the light cruiser HMS Cardiff until July 1943 when he went to HMS King Alfred for officer training, HMS Lochinvar for minesweeper training and then in January 1944 joined the Halcyon class minesweeper HMS Jason where, as a Midshipman, he was obliged to keep a journal which is a valuable source document for his book especially as he also quotes from his contemporaneous diary and the two accounts of identical events are revealing. Subsequently he was appointed to Coastal Forces as Sub-Lieut. in HM ML137 for shallow water minesweeping that led the way to Sword Beach for the Normandy invasion, sweeping the approaches to and the ports of Cherbourg and Brest (part only) of mines, escorting US Atlantic convoys in the English Channel, escort and patrol; of the war channel until sent minesweeping again, this time for pressure mines in the Rotterdam estuary after VE day when he was seriously wounded, at every stage recording the training and daily experiences in such detail that explains precisely what was involved, as a resident in USA since the mid-1950's and with a US publisher he has explained the background to many of the naval traditions and much of the naval terminology for a US readership, a valuable record and one which, for some unknown reason, does not seem to have been picked up by any publisher for a British edition, slightly cocked, lightly rubbed at tips, edges tanned, dustwrapper: lightly rubbed at tips, crease lower flap, very good in a very good plus dustwrapper,
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A Book for all Reasons
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Keywords: war ww2 navy rnps rncf hms cardiff king alfred midshipman sub-lt minesweeping mms84 fleet sweeper halycon jason 1st minesweeping hmml 137 fairmile 5th ML flotilla coastal forces lochinvar sword beach rotterdam estuary pressure oyster mines contact magneti