reading

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Reading List

This page will primarily be of interest to Members in the UK, where nearly all of our County Libraries now have online catalogues of their stock. Here, books can be reserved online and then picked up from your local branch at a later date, if it is one held by them. If you find a MN related book, which you have read, and can recommend to another Member, please send me title's name, author and ISBN No. to the usual address by clicking on this link . If anyone has trouble finding the online catalogue of their County Library, drop me a line and I will try and locate it for you. It is now the practice for all libraries to issue Pin Numbers to go with your Membership Card No., before you can use this online facility. Some Libraries have copies of Roy's first book, "Vindicatrix" which is currently out of print.

"Title Flight Into Danger" ISBN 0 75411 501 1.Author Steven (Grey Farley). The story of the "TSS Eastgate",.a very good story about life at sea and ashore and the tragic and terrible collision at sea. Contributed by John McDermott

Richard Brown (Vindi '63 Deck) writes "I would like to recommend a book that my sister brought from a used book shop in Hythe Kent, and sent to me in Australia.

It is titled "A Merchant Fleet In War" 1939 -1945

The author is, Capt S.W.Roskill, R.N.

Printed by Collins, St James Place, London.

Year of publication is approx 1959.

This book is all about the Alfred Holt Fleet during the war years, and inside the front cover is a illustration map of the world indicating approx locations of all vessels lost, from which the story unfolds. An iteresting read.

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"Oceans of Time"

by Dave Share

A new addition the the growing list of Vindiboy authors. Dave lives in New Zealand and copies of his book can only be obtained through the website of Steele Roberts the book's publishers. Further details can also be obtained by e-mailing Dave at d.b.share@xtra.co.nz

In the UK, copies of the book can be obtained from

Warsash Nautical Bookshop
6 Dibles Road
Warsash
Southampton
SO31 9HZ
Tel: +44 (0)1489 572384
Fax: +44 (0)1489 885756

orders@nauticalbooks.co.uk

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Contributed by Jim Somerville

Title All Brave Sailors

Author J. Revell Carr

Publisher Hodder and Stoughton

ISBN 0 340 82578 2

The Story Briefly

The endurance of the human spirit following the sinking in mid Atlantic of the British freighter SS Anglo Saxon on 21 August 1940. Seven crew members escaped in the ship`s jolly boat and made landfall in the Bahamas having sailed 2700 miles in 71 days; there was two survivors. In comparison, Capt. Bligh sailed 3600 miles in his epic voyage following the mutiny on HMS Bounty but he was able to stop many times for food and water.

Here are three books, all written by Vindiboys.

John Williams
Member Vindicatrix Association South Australia Branch.

Skipper Tony Iles and other South Australian Branch members were among the
audience at the launch of The Fortunate Life of a Vindicatrix Boy.
Dr Michael Talbot of the State Library of South Australia described the book
as "A pacy, racy read.
"A quality book that has been well produced."
The book has had good media coverage in Australia and two new Vindi Boys
turned up at the launch.
There are still a large number of Vindi Boys in Australia who have not yet
made contact with the
Association and the book may turn up more.
For ordering into public libraries the ISBN number is 1-921019-21-2 and to
purchase online
www.vindicatrixboy.com www.amazon.com or amazon UK

The John Williams, above, isn't to be confused with the John Williams, below; both coming from Liverpool

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Many of you will have read the other John Williams "Tales from the Mouth of the Mersey" online, which are observations on life from a Scouse perspective, which have been on his own website for awhile. A collection of these have now been published in paperback form and are obtainable via this link. Woodfield Publishing

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The second is by John Mears of our NSW Branch 'From Both sides of the Periscope' . This is a Vindi Boy's story of being torpedoed twice, bombed once and surviving. At the end of the war, he searched out a number of the crew of one particular U-Boat and this is his and their story. A MUST read! Obtainable through John at Vind01@optusnet.com.au

Title	Author	ISBNo.
The Outlaw Sea	William Langwiesche	ISBN 0-965-42951-2

Subtitled 'A World of Freedom, Chaos and Crime' and published 2004 by North Point Press, New York.

This book tells the story of the origin of flags of convenience now flown by the majority of the Merchant ships of the world and the resultant unforeseen consequences especially now in this era of terrorism. The system began in the early days of WWII as an American invention as a way to circumvent its own neutrality laws. Ships were reflagged as Panamanian and used to deliver materials to Britain without concern that the action (or loss) would drag the US unintentionally into war.

This led to the situation today of total lack of any control or authority over the 'rust bucket' vessels carrying minimal and untrained crews working in wretched conditions. Contributed by Ron Kerr

Title	Author	ISBNo.
Eight Bells and Top Masts	Christopher Lee	0747274924.

Dairies from a tramp steamer in the 1950s. Published in 2001 by Headline. These are the dairies of a young lad from the Kent Marshes who went to sea via the Thames Barges, then going around the world on a tramp. Although not a Vindi boy his sea time must be like so many of us who went to sea as boys. Contributed by Bob Jupp.

No Place To Linger

John Holm

ISBN 0 473 00284 1

Reading a good yarn at the moment about a Kiwi merchant seaman who transferred to the RN during WW2. . I borrowed from the library. Alan Brinklow

In the Heart of the Sea

Nathaniel Philbrick

Unknown

Not a new publication (Published 2000) but a great account of Whaling out of Nantucket and survival at sea in an open boat. This the true story that inspired Moby Dick. (Contributed by Bill MacDonald)

The Merchant Seaman's War

Tom Lane

0-7190-2397-1, or as 1- 8725-6809-2

One to which I have been recommended by Douglas Allan, and which is available on several County Library catalogues I have searched. It is packed with facts and figures, as well as a lot of anecdotal evidence taken from seamen who sailed in those times. Some of it is rather 'dry reading' but it does highlight the conditions under which crews sailed in the between war years, when a basic working week was 62 hours, before overtime was paid. This was later reduced to 56 hours in 1943.

The Real Cruel Sea

John Murray

0-7195-6403-4

"The Merchant Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic,1939-1943". To which my attention has been drawn by Bill MacDonald. I have a copy on order from West Sussex Libraries, but is also known to be in those of Cornwall and Hampshire as well.

Five suggestions from Ron Kerr, which might be hard to find.

'The Outlaw Sea' by Willaim Langewiesche, published by North Point Press, New York, 2004. ISBN 0-965-42951-2

The subtitle of the book is 'A World of Freedom, Chaos and Crime' and it is about flags of convenience and the problems to seafarers (and others) caused by badly maintained and poorly manned ships.

I got my copy from Amazon in the US. It cost me $11.05 which comprised of $1.00 for the book and the balance for postage!! Still worth it.

Amazon have plenty more copies if anyone is interested. Mine is supposed to be secondhand but it looks brand new.

1.'Wet behind the Ears' by Peter Taylor. Published by Harper Collins (NZ) 2002 ISBN 1869504003.

The nearest book to a Vindi Boys experiences in print, I think, although Peter didn't have the 'honour' of attending our Alma Mater. It's actually been around the world though the passing of it from one VB to another. It started it's journey in NZ, went to the UK, last heard of in Canada and as far as I know is on its way back to a VB in Tasmania.

A good read and, if you can't wait until it turns up in your letter box, copies are available through Amazon in the USA. A second-hand one is yours for $US8.74 last time I looked.

2.'Where Giants Dwell. A Sailor's Tale' by Gerry Evans. Published by David Ling (NZ) 1999 ISBN 0-908990-60-X

Another NZ Book which might be difficult to obtain in the UK. This one is doing the rounds at the moment of Aust. and NZ but who knows where it might turn up! To be honest, I haven't read it yet but have had good reports.

According to the 'Intro', the author, a Welshman, couldn't wait for the 3 month course at Gravesend, so anxious was he to go to sea in 1953 so he went via the Outward Bound Sea School. After 6 years in the MN, he emigrated to NZ, and, to cut a long story short, became National Secretary of the NZ Seafarer's Union. The cover blurb claims 'Where Giants Dwell' is for anyone with a love of the sea or an interest in the political upheavals of the last half century - or who simply enjoys a good yarn.'

3. 'British Shipping' by R.H.Thornton. Cambridge University Press 1959.

No mention of an ISBN but there must be one I suppose. It's one of the English Institution Series. (You Vindi Boys didn't know we were part of an Institution, I bet!) Probably out of print but a good general history. A lot of interesting statistics such as, for example, 'The Registrar- General of Shipping and Seamen in 1956 gave a total of 160,000 as actually manning our ships on a given day in all departments.'

4. 'Supership' by Noel Mostert. Macmillan, London. 1974.

No ISBN I'm afraid. My copy is a reissue by Book Club Associates in 1975. Again well out of print I would think. A book about, obviously, superships and especially super tankers and the problems they have. It's full of personal anecdotes and is not just dull statistics.

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