The Stick and the Stars
New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1958. First [U.S.] Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. 192 pages. DJ, worn, torn, chipped and soiled is in a plastic sleeve. Gift inscription, not from author, on fep. Part 1, Before; Part Two, Snapper; Part Three---Trusty; Part Four--In Between; Part Five--Telemachus; and Part Six--After. Commander William Donald Aelian King, DSO & Bar, DSC (23 June 1910 – 21 September 2012) was a British naval officer and author. He was the oldest participant in the first solo non-stop, around-the-world yacht race, the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, and the only person to command a British submarine on both the first and last days of World War II. King went to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He was first assigned to the battleship Resolution, and later became commanding officer of the submarine Snapper. He served on three separate vessels in World War II, and was promoted to commander and awarded seven medals during the war, including the DSO on 9 May 1940 for "daring, endurance and resource in the conduct of hazardous and successful operations in His Majesty's Submarines against the enemy", and the Distinguished Service Cross on 6 September 1940 "for bravery and determination during arduous and successful patrols in H.M. Submarines" both whilst in command of Snapper. A bar was added to his DSO on 16 January 1945 "For outstanding courage, skill and determination in one of H.M. Submarines in successful patrols in Far Eastern waters" (specifically the sinking of I-166). King succeeded in a singlehanded circumnavigation in 1973 on his third attempt. At the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving World War II submarine commander. More than war adventure, this is an intensely personal history--a sensitive and witty man's story of himself told with uncommon skill. William King was for the six years of World War II, a submarine commander in the Royal Navy. As such, he lived adventures of the highest drama: the tragic Norwegian campaign, war patrols in the North Sea, the losing struggle for the Far East fought with inferior equipment and out dated submarines, and individual attacks. When the war ended, he took to sailing the surface of the seas in small boats. Condition: Good / Fair.
Keywords: Submarines, Royal Navy, HMS Snapper, HMS Trusty, HMS Telemachus, Naval Operations, Warships, Heroism
[Book #83964]
Price: $45.00