It is often mistakenly believed that it was the German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare that brought the USA into WW1 on 6 April 1917. Some even think it was the sinking of the Lusitania, but she was sunk on 7 May 1915. Few people are aware of the influence of the very canny Captain ‘Blinker’ Hall, the British Director of Naval Intelligence. Reginald Hall was the son of Captain William Hall, the Royal Navy’s first Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI). He was nickna

Today, 22 November in 1939, was the turning point of the war. Little did the British public know it, but Germany was winning the war and Churchill was briefed that unless there was a dramatic reverse in Britain’s misfortunes, within six weeks he would be forced to negotiate a surrender to Germany! Then, thanks to the incompetence of a Luftwaffe bomber crew and the suicidal courage of four Royal Navy men, Britain’s luck changed irreversibly. Within days of the outbreak of th

CHARACTERS OF WW1 One of the more interesting characters I had to research for my latest WW1 novel, The Suicide Club , was Frank Brock. Brock was a director of the famous, family firework manufacturing company, C T Brock and Company. Forever interested in chemistry and explosives, he is reported to have blown up a stove in an experiment at his school, Dulwich College. On the outbreak of WW1, he initially joined the Royal Artillery, but within a month was personally poached

In my novels I usually base my more significant characters on real people.  This was so in the case of my WW2 novel on the Royal Navy’s mine disposal teams, They Have No Graves as Yet .  In it one of my hero’s two best friends is a USN officer I have called, Johnny ‘Red’ Johnson.  Johnson’s character was inspired by the USN officer, Draper Kauffmann.   Kauffmann did serve with the RN after being refused a commission by the USN on the grounds of poor eyesight (he wore glasses)

Publication of my latest WW2 novel is fast approaching and will be done in time for Christmas. Accordingly, I am offering TWO GIVEAWAYS. If you are interested in receiving (by email) the first three chapters of, ‘ Death To Touch ’, register your email address at my website, https://www.shaunlewis-theauthor.com/registration. FURTHERMORE, by doing so, I will enter you in a draw to receive a signed copy of the book once it is published, but note that free postage will only be

The second 1917 Russian Revolution commenced on 7 November.  It had a devastating impact on the Royal Navy’s highly-successful Baltic Submarine Flotilla under the command of Commander Francis Cromie, but the tale seems to have been forgotten.  With the collapse of order in Russia came the mutiny of the Russian Fleet and Cromie could no longer rely on the support of his Russian allies to prosecute the war against Germany.  Worse, the mutineers removed all the officers from the

At last, I am pleased to be able to reveal the cover for my latest book, Death To Touch . This is the sequel to my highly rated novel, They Have No Graves as Yet . It will be released as both an e-book and paperback in early December 2025. Early next week, I will announce details on how to obtain a free preview and to be entered into a draw to win a free copy. It’s 1941 and the Germans continue to develop ever more sophisticated mines to confuse the British minesweeping fo

Today in 1939, Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, known as Quex, died in office of cancer.  He was the second Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ((SIS) and referred to unofficially since WW2 as MI6) and the last naval officer to hold the post.  His predecessor, Captain Mansfield Smith-Cumming, was a naval officer, too, and by coincidence, both officers were the only two ‘Chiefs’ to die in office.  In one of the books of my series about the Royal Navy during WW1, Now the Darknes

In October 1914 during WW1, Commodore Roger Keyes, in command of the Royal Navy’s new Submarine Service, despatched a number of E -class submarines to the Baltic in support of the Russian Navy.  Their mission was to prevent the German imports of iron ore from Sweden.  Entry to the Baltic was extremely difficult.  Not only did the narrow and only 10-metre-deep water of the Skagerrak and the Kattegat present navigational perils, but under pressure from the Germans, the Danes ha

Early in WW1, three Royal Naval Air Service officers approached the Admiralty with the idea for a fast torpedo boat of shallow draught and, thus, capable of passing over German minefields and torpedo nets to attack the German Navy in their supposedly-safe anchorages.  The RNAS officers had developed the idea from John Thorneycroft’s hydroplane speedboats, capable of 35 knots and winners of several competitions prior to the war.  The Admiralty liked the idea and approached sev

I can finally reveal the plot for my latest novel Death To Touch . It will be published in late November or early December, in print form and as an e-book, so add it to your Christmas list. It’s 1941 and the Germans continue to develop evermore sophisticated mines to confuse the British minesweeping forces and Royal Navy Rendering Mines Safe Officers (RMSOs).  It is Lt Cdr ‘Monty’ Montcalm’s task to travel the country to investigate any new weapons, during the course of whic

Earlier this week 111 years ago, ie in 1914, the Royal Naval Division (RND) arrived in Antwerp by requisitioned London buses to reinforce...

On 7 October 1909, Commander Mansfield Smith-Cumming was invited to become joint head of the newly created Secret Service Bureau (SSB). ...

Was a namesake of mine the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s best-seller, Goldfinger ? Prior to the outbreak of WW1, the head of the British...

This week saw the 86 th  anniversary of Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 3rd September 1939.  Within weeks, the shipping on...

On 1 April 1859 the first Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (known as MI6) was born.  Mansfield Smith joined the Royal Navy in...

On 5 February 1915, John Bridge was born.  Bridge went on to become Britain and its allies most decorated serviceman of WW2 with his...

On 1 February 1917, the Germans began their policy of “unrestricted” submarine warfare, ie the sinking of all merchant shipping without...

On 31 January 1918, HM Submarines K4  and K17 were lost in the Firth of Forth through collisions in what became known as “ The Battle of...

On 3 December 1915, the submarine HMS E11  sank the Turkish cruiser Yar Hissar in the Sea of Marmara. When relating the history of the...