From Baird Online:
The Royal Navy expanded more than sevenfold during the Second World War. This obviously put enormous pressure on the recruitment of officers and men. The book deals with the officers, their selection and training.
Through the medium of quotes and anecdotes from celebrities of the time such as Alec Guinness, Evelyn Waugh, Nicholas Monsarrat and George Melly we are provided with some valuable and delightful insights into what really happened.
All in all, it was an impressively successful mobilisation. One of the more notable achievements of it was was the pride in the Navy that was instilled in almost every officer. They were almost universally proud of their service. Given the run down condition of the current Royal Australian, Canadian and New Zealand navies, among others, it would be well if copies of this fine book were kept available in case of the need to fight another major war.
This book is also relevant to commercial fleet owners who are currently having difficulty recruiting seagoing personnel of all kinds.
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