A firsthand account of British Naval life in World Wars I and II.

Like so many others in the twentieth century, William Carne’s life was defined by the world wars. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet aged just sixteen in 1914. This is the story of his life at sea, drawn from his memoirs, letters, diaries, and photos. Spanning both World War I and World War II, this humbling account of his time in the service takes readers from his early days as a midshipman on the HMS New Zealand at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 to his time as captain of the HMS Coventry during the evacuation of Crete in 1941. Edited and compiled by his grandson, Mark Carne, it lends fascinating insight into society at that time, both in the service and at home.