THE UNKNOWN FLEET - The Army's Civilian Seamen in War and Peace by Cooley, Reg

Phoenix Mill 1993, Sutton, first UK edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 7x10, FINE/FINE CONDITION, xiv, 233 pages, well illustrated, appendices, bibliog., index............................................................. This book tells the story of the little-known civilian-manned vessels of the British Army and its predecessors which served the Armed Forces of the Crown, from its medieval beginnings on the River Thames to its development into an ocean-going Royal Army Service Corps fleet which numbered over 1,100 ships at the end of the Second World War. Reg Cooley traces the fleet's growth during the nineteenth century into a coastal Board of Ordnance Fleet in response to the rapid burgeoning of naval and military armament technology. Particularly fascinating is the hitherto untold story of the assumption by the Fleet of duties in support of coastal artillery training, and its subsequent activities in this role in peace and war. In the twentieth century, the Fleet's peacetime activities are described, as are the perils of service in support of Irish defences. The transition to a wartime footing and the multifarious duties of the Fleet in the Second World War are well-documented: these included the Dunkirk operation, brushes with the Luftwaffe, mine-clearance in Malta, air-sea rescue for the RAF and D-Day support. Post-War tasks included taking part in the Suez operation. Finally the decline of the Fleet is covered.The history of the Fleet is enlivened by vivid personal accounts of the action, and illustrated by contemporary photographs which depict the Fleet in action. Appendices of shipping lists and the major Fleet shipping classes, as well as full source notes, are also included. The first full history of the Army's civilian fleet, this book will be welcomed by all with an interest in military and maritime history.