Away Seaboat

Book excerpt: Charles Wickham Malins was destined for a life at sea from an early age; joining the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in 1927 at the age of thirteen he was already a Commissioned Officer of His Majesty's Royal Navy before the outbreak of War in 1939. He was, what the Navy calls a "e;Salthorse"e; officer, he did not specialise but went on to become a hugely experienced sea officer, and then commander, of small ships, rising from minesweepers to destroyers. It was in destroyers that he took part in some of the key actions involving these dynamic, much-admired ships. In between taking part in the famous "e;Pedestal"e; convoy that saved Malta in 1942 "e;Ticky"e;, as he was always known, Malins participated in the sinking of numerous enemy submarines and the Arctic convoys to supply Soviet Russia winning a DSO, a DSC and bars in the process. His story, written in early retirement, modestly recounts the life of an outstanding Naval Officer from an era when the Royal Navy symbolised all that was best and greatest about Great Britain. The transition from the pre-War peacetime cruise of HMS Enterprise to the sudden and often violent demands of dramatic sea-service which he experienced throughout almost the full length of the War need to be read to be believed. The quiet, matter-of-fact narrative of his memoir provides both an intimate and affectionate insight to the "e;Old Navy"e; and its people.The book is copiously illustrated with the author's own photos.