The hero of this saga served as a signalman in the Navy from 1941 (Boys` Service) to 1948, seeing action all over the world. His introduction at sixteen to naval traditions was brief but impactful: twelve lashes of the birch, with a break after the first six, and spread betting on the side. Embittered and resentful? Not a bit. `Taffy` shows the same sense of humour, of duty and respect for all ranks and races (and most of the enemy) in seven years and 100,000 miles of seafaring. He watches the Scharnhorst go down, the D-Day landings, and the dawn `come up like thunder out of China `cross the bay`. Here is one man`s war, and it is both intensely funny and very moving. It is pacy, full of incident, and full of characters who kept the `G` word in front of Britain. They shall not be forgotten.