Harry’s story starts with him joining the Royal Navy as a trainee at the ‘Stone Frigate’ H.M.S. Ganges. The training regime that all new recruits had to endure was not only harsh but also rife with bullying and abuse. He recalls some incidents involving training methods that would not be acceptable today, but were common place then.
He completed training to qualify as a signal boy. Over the next few years he mastered his trade on various destroyers whilst travelling the world. One of the many experiences he recounts was during the Spanish uprising  in 1936. The cruiser, H.M.S. Devonshire, had been tasked to repatriate Clare Luce, a friend of Randolph Churchill. Being the youngest aboard he was sent with the landing party. Circumstances developed which involved him being left ashore in hostile conditions.
At the outbreak of world war two Harry was serving on H.M.S. Tarter. During the war he also served on H.M.S. Fernie and H.M.S. Wallace. He undertook countless highly dangerous Atlantic convoy escort duties interspersed with other combat missions. Whilst onboard HMS Wallace he served with a young Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten  - later to become the Duke of Edinburgh.

208 pages