Clear Lower Deck

Do you know where the expression ‘grog’ comes from? Or what happened when the admiral’s parrot got seasick? Or why a gun-toting generalissimo in the Philippines distributed medals from a shoebox? Do you know why a distinguished royal visitor had difficulty in flushing the ship’s toilet in Antigua or why Invergordon was referred to as ‘dump’? Or have you heard about a cat called Oscar who was sunk with the German battleship Bismarck in World War II but survived to be sunk twice more in the ships which rescued him?
The answers to these questions, and other true salty stories, can be found in this book by former Royal Navy officer Roger Paine, as he charts the ups and downs of life, both ashore and afloat. Together with recipes for rum punch and Christmas cake, plus the traditional RN toasts for each day of the week, this delightfully irreverent, and occasionally indiscreet, collection of ‘yarns’ is here to be savoured and treasured.

Shortlisted for a Mountbatten Maritime Media Award, 2010