Life in a RN submarine

Excellent read and narrator brought it all to life. I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest for sea stories.

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A Gripping and Warm Personal Account

Most of my previous reading on submarine warfare during the second world war had related to either the German U-boats in the Atlantic or the American efforts in the Pacific with other nation's submarine services often not getting much attention in the popular consciousness. I intended to redress this imbalance, starting with Edward Young's personal account in (British) Royal Navy submarines during the conflict, and I am delighted to report I couldn't have had a better beginning for it.

Young's career took him all over the world, giving the reader a very grand view of submarine operations of the war, but rather than the top down view of the admiralty chart, we are given the singular view through the periscope as Young gives short yet memorable and warm sketches of people, places and events in what remains firmly a memoir rather than a history.

There are thrilling chapters of hot action, but equally fascinating are the glimpses of daily life at sea which have their own flow and couch the extraordinary feats of bravery and the vicissitudes of fortune in a relatable, though still very different, setting.

The prose is easily digestible, but full of character, and while Young employs classic British restraint in his descriptions, peppered throughout are vibrant, poetic passages capturing life's meditative moments between action.

For this production, the choice of narrator is superb. Derek Perkins is convincing and meticulously judges Young's tone to give a performance which feels inseparable from the text. Though here I will make my only criticism, and it's not an issue with Perkins but with the production decision to pronounce 'buoy' the American English way rather than the British English way Young would have used; I cannot think of a strong enough reason to account for this decision.

For me, this work and production has instantly become one of those purchases you're grateful you made and look forward to revisiting.

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A classic but of its time.

A worthy read of an officers life in a ‘British’ submarine over the 2nd WW partly let down by its near total focus on officers and the cat and mouse games with the opposition and little said about ordinary seamen’s jobs on the ship.

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A great account

Well paced, great attention to detail about submarine warfare. very well written by a very intelligent man

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A Very British Perspective

Having read other biographies written by American and German submarine skippers about their exploits during the second World War, I jumped at this book the minute I came across it. Learning about the submarine service during the second World War from a British perspective would be an interesting counterpoint to the other books I'd read on this subject.

Firstly, you can tell by the prose style that this book was written in the fifties without looking at the publishing info. Of course, that's not an issue at all, just a casual observation on how the use of language alters subtly over the decades. While discussing the language used, a word on the narrator. Derek Perkins perfectly compliments this book and the time period the memoir is set in. At times I forgot this was a narrator and believed it was the actual author telling his story. The voice, inflections and tone all perfect for the material. My only tiny gripe was the way the narrator often pronounced the word "ballast". It was as if he had never come across the word, pronouncing it bal-last. Other than that, Perkins was perfect.

Edward Young describes the way in which he found himself in the submarine service, the training needed and life aboard a Royal Navy submarine during World War II. Of particular interest to me, was the section covering the construction of a new boat and how he had to oversee much of the admin dealing with it. Of note here was the fact that not all fittings and fixtures were standardised as I had always believed within a specific class of boat. Young had to negotiate with the shipyards over minor design details that made his boat somewhat unique in minor terms. Discovering this little fact was a revelation to me in itself.

In a typically understated English manner, Young recounts the one incident in his career in which he survives the collision and sinking of HMS Umpire, a brand new U class submarine. Similarly, His telling of depth charge attacks and some cat and mouse manoeuvres is told without the use of heavily dramatised writing. This is smart, mature and sensible, but sometimes robs the book of the visceral fear endured by submariners at times.

The book covers patrols by HMS Storm as far apart as Soviet waters to Sri Lanka and Australia. Some highlights include his battles with Japanese surface ships, as well as a frustrating miss on a Japanese submarine.


The combat accounts are interesting and make for a stark comparison between the U.S and Royal Navies prosecution of the undersea war. The Americans had the far superior fleet boats with longer range, much better facilities and harder hitting power with nearly double the torpedo load out of the British S Class boats.

Perhaps what surprised me most, was how many torpedoes Captain Young expended against what I'd have thought of as low value, low tonnage targets. In one case, firing a salvo of four torpedoes at a Japanese submarine chaser, a relatively tiny vessel. I was also surprised at how relatively shallow he operated, typically going no deeper than 150 feet (Approximately 45 metres). A test dive did see Young descend to 380 feet (Approximately 115 metres). However, I never recall his boat even reaching 300 feet in combat, something I found astonishing, especially considering the Japanese's propensity to set their depth charges shallow. When you consider that German U-boats routinely reached depths of 500 feet and more, it is a striking contrast.

All in all, this is a fascinating book with a very British perspective. It fills in some of the gaps in my knowledge of British submarine operations during the second World War. I'd recommend this book to even those with a passing interest in submarine warfare with the caveat that the author tends to throw in naval acronyms that many readers will not be familiar with. This book is a must for those more interested in the study of this under represented subject.

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An enjoyable listen.

Fascinating to know the good and bad of what went on, the mishaps and the triumphs.

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Excellent account of Submarine Warfare

As a retired Royal Navy Warrant the narrative regarding the exploits of the author as a submariner during WW2 was compelling listening. It was so well written and narrated that I felt I was going to diving stations with the crew. What made the story particularly authentic was the description of cruising stations when, with no enemy insight, the importance of uckes, conversation, and food came to the fore. A very enjoyable listen.

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A great story

A great story and very well told. The author uses all 5 senses to paint a picture in your mind. This talent is so lacking in many books which read like a policeman’s notebook.

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Well worth it.

Both a good sea story and a precious piece of history from a time soon to be lost to living memory.

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Safer under water than on it

Why do so many people think submarines are dangerous. This is a wonderful story, brave men doing their duty and showing humanity I saving the lives of those non combatants they put in the water that must be first. I wish it had been longer. Well written and great delivery.

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