Books About the Royal Navy / Seaborne Forces

These books feature autobiographical accounts from former Navy personnel of all ranks recalling their experiences whilst serving in various parts of the world

A Bootnecks Footsteps

by Mike Pinnock
The author sets off on a nostalgic journey to retrace his father's movements with the Royal Marines 1921-45.
New Edition
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A Corkhead's Chronicle

by David J. Lott
Experiences of a Royal Navy Clearance Diver 1955-76
New Edition

A Diver in the Dark

by Sydney Knowles BEM
Memoir of a WW2 Royal Navy Clearance Diver and diving partner of Commander Lionel 'Buster' Crabb

Adventures of a Flying Dutchman

by Rudolf J Idzerda
Autobiography of a WW2 pilot in the Netherlands Naval Air Service who went on to become a Rear Admiral and a Director of the World Wildlife Fund

Goodhart : The Story of an Exceptional Man

by Richard Harris & Barrie Williams
A biography of Rear Admiral Nicholas Goodhart, CB, Legion of Merit, FRAeS, RN (1919–2011)

I Married a Princess

by Thomas Soars
The unusual story of an English RNVR officer who married a Persian princess during World War II and brought her home to a distinctly unglamorous life in England.

Inside and Out

by Robert Cosh
My  experiences as a sailor in the wartime Royal Navy (1939-46) and postwar career as a prison officer in HM Prison Service (1946-81)

Intercepted at Sea

by Leslie Howson
& John Nixon
An investigation into the human cost of insecure Royal Navy communications during two World Wars.

On a Sailors Grave No Roses Grow – Maritime Disasters of World War II

by Mike Kemble
A respectful tribute to those who lost their lives in some of the worst Maritime Disasters of the Second World War.

Ships and Stars and Isles

by G.A. Taylor RNVR
The letters and diaries of a sailor with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) during World War II.

Songs & Ditties of the Fleet

by Richard Barr & Bernie Bruen
A collection of song lyrics, poems and humorous observations  informed by the authors' combined experiences in the Royal Navy 1950s-1980s.

This is My Story, This is My Song

by Ray Oram
Experiences of a 20-year-old Landing Craft (Tank) Skipper on D-Day 6th June 1944 and elsewhere during World War II.

Tread Lightly into Danger

by Anthony Charlwood
A former Royal Navy  clearance diver and freelance bomb disposal expert recalls his many escapades in the world's trouble-spots.
Very Unable Seaman 3-D product shot

Very Unable Seaman

by Richard Barr
A Junior Rating’s experiences in the Royal Navy 1958-1961.