Lower Deck: Life Aboard a British Destroyer in World War II (1945) By John Davies
 
Lower Deck, first published in 1945, is a journal-like recounting of life aboard a Royal Navy destroyer, the H.M.S. Sikh (due to wartime restrictions, the ship's name in the book is the H.M.S. Skye); the ship is stationed in the eastern Mediterranean in the defense of Malta. Centering on the lives of the crewmen who are part of a gun crew, the book portrays the ship's almost daily encounters with German and Italian ships and planes (as the author states: “...Daylight each morning brings with it almost complete certainty of attack...the comparatively confined waters, the proximity and strategic excellence of Axis air bases, means that to avoid discovery and attack is virtually impossible.”) Eventually, the Skye's luck runs out and on September 14, 1942, she is sunk by German artillery with the loss of 115 men, with more men taken prisoner, and others rescued by nearby friendly ships. Includes a Glossary of naval terms used in the book.
 
The author's sequel to 'The Stone Frigate' describes the career of the fictional Tribal HMS Skye in the Mediterranean in 1942. Although presented as fiction it is based closely on personal experience. This work was awarded the Macmillan Centenary Award for 1945. 
 
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket 
172 pages
In Good condition