THE COAL SCUTTLE BRIGADE

Alexander McKee, Souvenir Press Ltd 1957

The strange thing about this story is that some of the fiercest convoy battles of the war could take place literally on England’s doorstep – a few miles off shore – and yet remain almost unknown except to those intimately concerned, who took it anyway for granted. I didn’t – and this book is the result.

The accounts thus far published are meagre in the extreme, rarely more than a paragraph or two in books or magazines devoted to some other subject. The survivors posses a few action reports, diaries, photographs and faded newspaper cuttings; but the bulk of the story remained locked in the memories of those who took part and to whom I am indebted for the courtesy and eagerness with which they helped my investigations.

Apart from having no dust jacket and a faded spine, the illustrated book is in good condition, clean and tightly bound.