I read this as a tatty paperback years ago and thought it was great, so I decided to update my copy to digital with a download of the latest edition of Commander William Donald's autobiographical account of destroyer escort work on the East Coast Convoys. This really is one of the most riveting and absorbing first hand explanations of the battle against the enemy on the North Sea coastal convoy routes and, in particular, along 'E Boat Alley' during the early war years. Highly recommended, even if my digital copy doesn't feature the cracking artwork of my original tatty paperback version!
Interesting stuff. My father grew up in a village on the east Norfolk coast during the war and often heard the sounds of engines and occasional firing from out to sea of a night when the wind was in the east. His father was a sergeant in the Home Guard and taught him how to differentiate between the sounds of S-boats and British Naval MGBs and MTBs.
ReplyDeleteNow that is interesting. My Mum remembers Plymouth being blitzed and the glow on the horizon from all the fires. It's a shame all these memories will be lost with time.
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