Bibliograph

Lower deck

Type

Label

Lower deck

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Lower deck

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Summary

Lower Deck, first published in 1945, is a journal-like, exciting recounting of life aboard a Royal Navy destroyer, the H.M.S. Sikh (due to wartime regulations, 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

Target audience

adult

Classification