Sons of the Seas

Royal Naval stories and tales of foreign seaports, from 1910-1966. This book follows the career of Patrick Gaffney's father, Harry Cecil Gaffney, who experienced two world wars at sea. It describes life in the wardroom aboard a light cruiser of the Mid-Atlantic Squadron, based at Cape Town. Later, Patrick's father served aboard the HMS Severn in the hunt for the German cruiser SMS Koenigsberg. "I knew of my father, but I did not know him," says Patrick. At the age of seventy, Patrick decided to find out more about him. Through years of research Patrick discovered how Harry spent his life, and was able to formed a basis of his father's character. As Patrick's mother was to tell him, he was `a brilliant sailor, but a woeful husband'. As one of his father's sons, Patrick felt morally obligated to follow in his footsteps, which he duly did. His time in the Navy was served in peacetime and, because he constantly badgered the drafting office in Portsmouth for sea-going ships, he was fortunate enough to serve on several different types of ships in the Far East, Middle East and Mediterranean. During this time he met people from many different ethnic origins and races, and came to realise a fundamental of life: that we basically all desire the same things, whether we are aboard a ship or on dry land. Sons of the Seas is a gripping true story that will appeal to fans of maritime, military and historical biographies.