The Dover Patrol - 1914-1918

Publisher: Sutton Publishing, 1998 £ 18.99

In the First World War, control of the Dover Straits was paramount to the survival of our island as it was blockaded by the German High Seas Fleet's U-boat flotillas sinking our merchantmen. The task of the Royal Navy's Dover Patrol was to secure these waters and rid them of enemy presence.

Their story is one of ingenuity and initiative but, more importantly, of enormous heroism and self-sacrifice by the officers and men of this extraordinary motley fleet of often unsuitable vessels, a veritable Fred Karno's navy. The author, an acknowledged military and naval historian, provides a new and refreshing appraisal of a rich passage of Royal Naval history covering the development of many successful anti-submarine measures and the use of the RNAS combined with surface ships.

The book, well illustrated with recently unearthed photographs, pays tribute to two great admirals, Sir Reginald Bacon and Sir Roger Keyes and the latter's triumphant failure at the blockage of Zeebrugge: it is a fitting tribute to one of the Royal Navy's finest hours. - CM