Back to New Brunswick Books Contact Ruby
RUBY'S BOOKSHELF
Corvettes - Canada - Convoy Veterans of WWII Tell Their True Stories by Mac Johnston
310 pages plus 24 plates of b & w photos, maps. "This is the story of men themselves - men from the lower deck and the wardroom. It is the story of the 123 corvettes they sailed. It is the story of how people's lives were touched by war, so it is a tale of drama, adventure, humour and death. And in many ways the corvette story is an analogy for Canada as a whole: unprepared for war, committed to a cause, bloodied in battle - and ultimately triumphant." First Edition First Printing was in 1994. Soft cover. Used book in very good condition.
Book 5057 $34.95 plus $10.00 shipping within North America
Payment is accepted by credit card online through PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/ (My account rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca) or cheque, or Canadian or International money order
Corvettes Canada is a remarkable achievement: an honest, engaging story of war told through first-hand experience and a celebration of the courage and resilience of young sailors whose efforts were critical to victory in Europe. Mac Johnston re-creates life aboard corvettes through the words of the veterans themselves.
From the fall of 1940 until May 1945, Corvettes Canada follows these small warships as they shepherd convoys of merchant ships carrying weapons, food, oil, raw materials and manufactured goods from North America to the United Kingdom. On the return trip, the escorts bring back the empty vessels for reloading.
As told in the words of the veterans, the routines of life aboard a corvette are punctuated by sudden bursts of fierce action—the life-and-death moments for warships, merchant ships and German submarines. This was but one enemy—the other was the North Atlantic itself, a powerful force that brought severe cold, icy storms and fierce gales.
Within a framework of the basic events of the war, this book is an epic piece of oral history. It is the product of the memories of more than 250 men, collected by correspondence in a project that got underway with an initial personalized letter to several hundred corvette veterans in 1990. Hundreds of additional letters followed as more veterans were identified. Preserved in Corvettes Canada, these memories are accompanied by a treasure trove of photographs which bring that time to life. In total, the book is an achievement of a kind that will be an enduring legacy for generations of readers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. "They didn't even have uniforms for Us"/The race to Build escorts.
Chapter 2. "There was nothing like an echo to shake you up"/Corvette and U-boat Capabilities.
Chapter 3. "Engine stopped and lights glaring, but you had no time to think of death"/The Iceland Run, 1941.
Chapter 4. "Blood brothers to a cork when it came to riding out a rough sea"/Bad weather and the first corvette losses.
Chapter 5. "I do remember him telling me it was so cold on the North Atlantic, so cold..."/The sinking of HMCS Spikenard.
Chapter 6. "I met my husband at the Staten Island USO"/The main convoy routes, 1942.
Chapter 7. "You can imagine what a smelly, dirty-looking crew we were after a few days at sea"/Living conditions aboard corvettes.
Chapter 8. "If you want real tough, take life aboard a corvette while seasick"/Seasickness.
Chapter 9. "One dollar per day per man at sea"/Food and cooks.
Chapter 10. "Wartime at sea in the Atlantic was certainly a far cry from the relatively quiet time in the Pacific"/New theatres, 1942.
Chapter 11. "From the bridge above came the captain's command--Abandon Ship!'"/The Mediterranean, 1942-43.
Chapter 12. "The winter, the sea -- these were the enemy"/From rough to ready, 1943.
Chapter 13. "It's morale that's important"/Corvette life and characters.
Chapter 14. "There was no flash -- just a huge wall of water into the sky"/The Slogging continues, 1944.
Chapter 15. "A few days later we learned that we had been searching for Glenn Miller...No wreckage was ever found"/The English channel, 1944-45.
Chapter 16. "The war is Over! Splice the main brace"/war's end to present.
Bibliography.
Index.
************
Payment is accepted by credit card online through PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/ (My account rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca) or cheque, or Canadian or International money order