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On Lancashire Day let's remember a Lancashire hero
Today is Lancashire Day when the people of Lancashire celebrate the anniversary of sending its first members to the Model Parliament of...
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Nov 27, 20194 min read
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Naval Heroes of WWI - Martin Nasmith VC
The hero of my submarine novel, The Custom of the Trade, is partially based on the exploits of Lieutenant Commander Martin Nasmith during...
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Nov 4, 20192 min read
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Unsung Heroes and Forgotten Campaigns
A continuing theme of my novels is the often unsung heroes and largely unknown activities of the Royal Navy in WW1. My aim is to bring...
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Oct 30, 20192 min read
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An unsung hero of WW1 - Fleet Paymaster Charles John Ehrhardt Rotter
One of the first acts by the Royal Navy during WW1was to have the German underwater telegraphic cables cut in the North Sea, thus denying...
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Oct 23, 20192 min read
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Ungentlemanly conduct in the Baltic
I am now about two thirds of the way through the first draft of my latest and fourth WW1 naval thriller, Where the Baltic Ice is Thin. I...
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Oct 7, 20192 min read
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How to kill a WW1 submarine
Several readers of my WW1 submarine thriller, The Custom of the Trade, have expressed surprise at how difficult it was to detect and sink...
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Sep 17, 20192 min read
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The submarine with two VCs
The forgotten, but outstandingly successful submarine campaign in the Dardanelles and Sea of Marmara, deprived the Turks of vital...
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Jun 24, 20192 min read
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THE ADMIRALTY BUYS A PERSIAN OIL FIELD
In June 1913, Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty, persuaded the House of Commons that the Treasury should spend £2.2...
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Jun 23, 20192 min read
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The Anniversary of the Battle of Jutland
Today, on 31st May in 1916, 250 British and German ships met in what became known in the Battle of Jutland. The battle was to last until...
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May 31, 20192 min read
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How the Gallipoli campaign might have been avoided for £4M
We have recently commemorated ANZAC Day. In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers participated in an expedition to capture the...
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Apr 30, 20192 min read
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How did the German light cruiser, SMS Magdeburg, help Britain win WW1?
Who would have thought that a torpedo test ship would have such an impact on the conduct of the First World War? On 2 August 1914, the...
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Mar 25, 20192 min read
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I begin my fourth novel
My third book, The Wings of the Wind, is with my publisher for scrutiny. Whilst I await my fate, I have begun work on my fourth novel,...
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Mar 4, 20191 min read
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The First 'C' - Head of MI6
The current and all past heads of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) are and have been known as 'C', for "Chief", but the first...
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Feb 11, 20193 min read
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The German U-Boat Blockade of Britain
Today (4th February) in 1915, the German government announced that it would impose a submarine blockade of Great Britain with effect 18th...
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Feb 4, 20192 min read
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The Siege of Antwerp
I have just finished a section of my latest book that is set during the siege of Antwerp in 1914. In conducting my research, I came...
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Jan 29, 20193 min read
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A pioneer of naval aviation
I am very excited to have received in today’s post, a first-edition copy of Charles Rumney Samson’s autobiography, Fights and Flights,...
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Dec 18, 20184 min read
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Taster of my new novel - Now the Darkness Gathers
With just five weeks to go before the publication of my pre-WW1 espionage thriller, Now the Darkness Gathers, here is a taster of what...
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Nov 12, 20188 min read
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THE RUSSIAN THREAT TO OUR UNDERSEA CABLES – BRITAIN HAS BEEN HERE BEFORE
It is being reported by the Media that the Russians have a ship, the Yantar, capable of severing Britain’s underwater communications...
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Dec 16, 20172 min read
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Jellicoe - The only man capable of losing WW1 in a single afternoon
Today, in 1916, Admiral Jellicoe was appointed First Sea Lord. It was not to be a successful office for him. Jellicoe is best known for...
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Dec 4, 20172 min read
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The Navy invented the tank!
One hundred years ago today, the First Battle of Cambrai commenced, the first British Army combined arms attack of WW1 and one in which...
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Nov 20, 20172 min read
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