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NAVY NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2001 29

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Sad end fora splendid admiral

At Your Leisure PEDESTAL PICTURE

'HMS Victorious under air attack during the Operation Pedestal Malta relief convoy, August 1942','a limited edition print from an original watercolour by Falmouth maritime artist Tony Warren (1930-94) is available at £24.95 inc p&p from Alton Logistics, Ltd, Unit 4, Battle Road, Heaihfield, Newton Abbot TCrl2 6R1

THE SPLENDIDLY-named Sir Cloudesley Shovell is remembered today, if at all, for a navigational mistake which wrecked his ship

and three others off the Isles of Scilly in 1707 - an incident which inspired the prize offered for find-

ing an exact means of establishing longitude. In fact he was a remarkable

sailor of humble origins from Norfolk whose distinguished career spanned the reigns of

Charles II, James II, William III and Queen Anne - and at the time he lost his life in the tragic

accident described above, he was almost as famous as would be that other Norfolk admiral, Horatio Nelson, a century later.

Shovell went to sea between the ages of nine and 12 shortly after the Restoration of Charles II. It wasn't long before he made an early impression by swimming between ships under enemy fire with his admiral's despatches in his mouth! He was to become a national hero in 1676 with his audacious burning of several ships in the harbour at Tripoli, right under the

walls of the Dey's castle. Surviving calls for his court martial and execution after being forced to salute the King of Spain's standard in the Mediterranean, Shovell played a significant role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and was knighted the following year for his gallant service at Bantry Bay. Soon afterwards he was to mortally offend his former sovereign James II by shooting up his footguards in the royal presence in Dublin Bay. He also fell foul of Samuel Pepys - partly because Pepys did not consider him a gentleman and also because he refused to perjure himself at the inquiry into the fall of Tangier.

His story, Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Stuart Admiral, is told

by Simon Harris and published by

Sounds familiar? MRS ORANGELEAF is a ship who is very proud of her job

with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and she and her crew spend their time helping out ships from the Royal Navy whenever they can. but sometimes Mrs Orangeleaf comes across wicked pirates, intent on ill deeds ... This is the background scenario to a new children's book written by Pierre Cornlouer, who is serving in the RFA as a Leading Steward. The idea for The Adventures of Mrs Orangeleaf and Friends came to him when he was serving in the Fleet Support Tanker RFA Orangeleaf in the Arabian Gulf. The story was written for his four-year-old daughter Cassandra and features a host of characters with familiarsounding names - Cousin Fort George, Grandma Olna, Benjamin Illustrious and so on. It has now been published by Pentland Books at £7.99.

Spellmount at £25.

ScreenScene

- by Bob Baker

Shipwreck movies: a cyclical phenomenon? EARD the one about the stoker, the RAF pilot, the millionaire and the nun, all alone on a raft in the middle of the Pacific?

No, it's not a smutty joke. It's actually the plot of a

movie - Sea Wife, made back in 1957. Based on a novel

by J. M. Scott, it was set in the aftermath of the fall of Singapore, with all the characters carefully selected by the author for their capacity to get on each other's nerves.

Cast adrift: slow death in the company of people you can't stand. It's a dramatic situation, but from the cinematic point of view, one with such limitations that

only a handful of film makers have ventured to exploit it - for a complete movie, that is, rather than for just a single episode in a longer story. In 1944, however, two productions had a try. In Hollywood, Lifeboat was made by Alfred Hitchcock, who doubtless relished the challenge of maintaining visual interest when all the participants are crammed into a confined space. The tensions on this occasion had nothing to do with nuns and millionaires, but arose out of the survivors' suspicion that the mystery man in the lifeboat might be from the Nazi sub which sank them. The film was shot in the controlled conditions of the studio tank at 20th Century Fox. In Britain, meanwhile, Western Approaches was being filmed on the

high seas. And as if that didn't present difficulties enough, the producers decided to shoot it in colour an almost kamikaze gesture, considering the enormous size of Technicolor cameras in those days, and

the amount of light that was needed to secure an acceptable image. The drifting seamen in Western Approaches are all

shipmates, and discord-free. The excitement of the plot arose from their realisation that the U-boat which sank their ship is still shadowing them, evidently hop-

ing to pick off their rescuers. If that sounds a grim little anecdote, it was nothing compared to the grimness of the one which formed the basis of Seven Waves Away, also known as Abandon Ship — released, oddly enough, in the same month as Sea Wife: movies about shipwrecks do seem to be a cyclical phenomenon.

This was based on an actual incident which took place in the 1930s. A cruise liner sank; dozens of survivors clustering on or clinging to a single lifeboat. The ship's captain, reckoning that the supplies

couldn't possibly meet the situation, forced a number of the older and more seriously injured passengers at gunpoint to swim off into the night, to their inevitable death. Thirty minutes later, against all the odds, the lifeboat was spotted by a rescue vehicle: the captain's ruthless culling had been unnecessary, after all.

Predictably, this depressing if intriguing picture did not attract much of an audience. But what about Sea Wife, and the very mixed com-

pany aboard her raft? Well, a shark ate the stoker, the millionaire grumbled about everything and the nun

and the flyer fell in love - though this being 1957 and a U-certificate movie, very little was allowed to come of it. Q Most of these films have been available on video.

DO YOU HAVE A BOOK TO PUBLISH? We are currently seeking books in all categories. Please write for details quoting reference 'S23" to:

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This Month's Book Bargains WHITE ENSIGN, RED DRAGON (Melsom)

The RN and Hong Kong Was £21.96 Now £9.99 THE NAVAL WAR OF 1812 Well Illustrated history of the Napoleonic Wars from Chatham Pictorial series Was £30.00 Now £20.00

Bernard Durnford Publishing

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SUBMARINE ACTION (Kemp) Submarine warfare through the 20th century Was £25.00 Now £16.00

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SEND FOR FREE CATALOGUE Frank Smith Maritime Books, 98flOO Heaton Road., Newcastle

THE ROYAL NAVY DAY BY DAY Was £32.50 Now £27.00

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Periscope Publishing Ltd Producers of ihe acclaimed video film-s

'The Mystery of HMS Affray' 'Shipwrecks of the Battle of Jutland' •Titanic's sister - HMHS Britannic' These 30-minule films combine unique colour underwater film and maritime history to recreate great sea tales of the 20* Century. Available for £16.80 each incl, p&p from PO Bra 1183. Maidenhead SL6 9YX (01628) 522566 www.periscopepublishing.com

HP BOOKFINDERS: Established professional service locating out of print titles on all subjects. No obligation or SAE required. Contact: Mosslaird, Brig O' Turk, Callander, FK17 8HT Telephone/Fax: (OI877) 376377 martin@hp-bookfinders.co.uk

"HMS. GANGES (Trie final farewell) . . video. Ideal birthday /surprise present. Documentary includes all aspects of GANGES before demolition. One tear-jerking hour of nostalgia, produced by JOHN DOUGLAS author H.M.S. GANGES (Roll on my dozen!) & H.M.S GANGES (Tales of the T.R.O.G.'S.) S.A.E. details Douglas Hse, Penmarth Redruth. Cornwall TR16 6NX

Follow Ronald Bell

'RIDING MADLY OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS'

Through the years in the Royal Navy to mixing with the stars of the music industry

Price £14.95 To order or for further details contact:

Ronald Bell, 7 Park Road, Sawston, Cambridge CB2 4TA Tel: 01223 832872

THE ILLUSTRIOUS AND IMPLACABLE CLASSES OF AIRCRAFT CARRIER 1940-1969 Ity Neil McCart < or

the first time in one volume, here are the comprehensive histories of Ihe six fleet aircraft carriers which dominated the Royal Navy's aviation between 1940 and the early 1950s; Illustrious, Formidable, Victorious, Indomitable, Indefatigable and Implacable. The career of each vessel is described in detail, with plenty of photographs. Hardback, with laminated dust jacket.

Price £23 plus p&p. ISBN 1 901225 04 6 Also Still Available: HMS EAGLE 1942-1978 (Hardback) £18.95 plus p&p HMS VICTORIOUS 1937-1969 (Hardback) £21.00 plus p&p HMS CENTAUR 1943-1972 (Hardback) £lft.95 plus p&p THREE ARK ROYALS 1938-1999 (Hardback) £23.00 plus p&p TIGER, LION & BLAKE 1942-1986 (Hardback) £21.50 plus p&p SS CANBERRA 1957-1997 (Hardback) £21.00 plus p&p Please add £2.50 p&p for the UK & EU or £4.00 for worldwide surface mail. Payment by sterling cheque, postal order, or by VISA/MASTERCARD. Telephone/Fax orders welcomed. From FAN PUBLICATIONS. 17 Wymans Lane. Cheltenham, Glos CL51 9QA. TclTFax 01242 580290, or older from good bookshops.