All Brave Sailors - Softcover

J-revell-carr

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340825782 ISBN 13: 9780340825785

Publisher: Hodder Pb, 2005

Synopsis

On 21 August 1940, a German warship sank an English freighter, the Anglo-Saxon, in the mid Atlantic. The German ship, the Widder, was part of a class of converted merchant ships known as surface raiders, warships that would disguise themselves as harmless vessels from neutral countries and prey upon Allied shipping. A small band of survivors from the Anglo-Saxon - initially seven of them - escaped in its jolly boat, and embarked on what would become one of the longest open boat voyages in recorded history. Within a few weeks, only two men lived: Bob Tapscott and Roy Widdicombe. On 24 September, they made the last entry in their scant log: 'All water and biscuits gone, but still hoping to make land.' For the remaining 37 days they subsisted on rain, seaweed, minute sea creatures and, of course, the dwindling reserves their bodies retained. They contemplated suicide, fought with each other, and weathered a three-day hurricane. On 30 October, they landed in the Bahamas after sailing more than 2,700 miles. Today, the jolly boat is the only survivor of this horrific episode. It was preserved at Mystic Seaport, America's leading maritime museum, until 1997 when it was returned to England. It is now the central object in the Battle of the Atlantic exhibition at London's Imperial War Museum.

About this title

About the Author:

J. Revell Carr was for 31 years curator and then director at Mystic Seaport, America's leading maritime museum. He had responsibility for the Anglo-Saxon's jolly boat for more than 25 years. He retired in 2000 and lives on the coast of Maine

From Publishers Weekly:

In the tale of the merciless assault by the German raider the Widder on the Anglo-Saxon, a British merchant marine vessel, Carr has chosen a typical WWII subject with untold riches beneath the surface, crafting a story that remains, generations later, well worth telling. In the war's early days, the heavily armed Widder commonly disguised itself as a neutral Swedish freighter and pummeled unsuspecting enemy ships with massive artillery. On August 21, 1940, the victim of this remarkably effective (and much frowned upon) technique was the defenseless Anglo-Saxon, which came under attack off Africa's western coast. What's unique about this story is its aftermath: the Widder's incredibly effective ambush method resulted in a fatality rate of 100% - but not this time. Seven seamen were able to escape undetected on a tiny, meagerly provisioned "jolly boat"; their fate constitutes the utterly riveting heart of the book. The 70 days before the boat finally washed up on shore in the Bahamas (carrying only two living sailors) is by turns gut-wrenching and inspiring, and always enthrallingly detailed and vividly imagined. Carr also profiles Hellmuth von Ruckteschell, the captain of the marauding Widder, who was eventually tried as a war criminal. Carr, former director and president of Mystic Seaport, where for decades the jolly boat resided before being returned to the U.K., is unquestionably the expert this story needs. Clearly interested in the subject for some years and intending his book to be a tribute to the undersung and heroic sailors of the merchant marine, Carr wrings every fascinating last drop out of this powerful material.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder Pb
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0340825782
• ISBN 13: 9780340825785
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384