On 7 October 1909, Commander Mansfield Cumming became the head of Britain’s new Secret Service. Although the origins of a secret service could be traced back to Queen Elizabeth the First’s Secretary ...

Next week, on Friday 16th October, the final book of my WW2 trilogy on the Royal Navy’s mine disposal teams and its intelligence commandos will be released as an e-book and paperback. The e-book is a...

Today in 1914, a number of London buses arrived at Antwerp carrying men of the Royal Marines to its defence.The Germans laid siege to Antwerp in late September 1914, following the invasion of Belgium ...

He Who Would Valiant Be: The Allied Invasion of Europe Begins (Death To Touch Book 3) eBook : Lewis, Shaun: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Today, there will be a ceremony in Gibraltar to unveil a blue plaque in memory of the little-known Gibraltar UWWP. So vital was Gibraltar during WW2 as a naval fortress to control entry into and out ...

In September 1914, Britain deployed its first armoured cars to Northern France and Belgium, but they weren’t army vehicles. They were driven by members of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) under the...

This week, on 10 September 1939, the SS Magdapur, a cargo ship off the coast of Suffolk suddenly sank. It was initially thought that she had been sunk by a torpedo. Her back was broken and had she str...

On 2 September 1898, Sir Herbert Kitchener’s forces won an overwhelming victory over the Mahdist army at the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. Omdurman is now a suburb of Khartoum in Sudan. He...

I am delighted to announce that my latest novel, He Who Would Valiant Be, has been accepted for publication. Subject to a couple of edits, the e-book is scheduled for publication on 16 October 2026. ...

In August 1915, the British E-class submarine, HMS E13, attempted to navigate the perilously narrow and shallow Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden to penetrate into the Baltic. She was to reinforce t...

In August 1915, the British E-class submarine, HMS E13, attempted to navigate the perilously narrow and shallow Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden to penetrate into the Baltic. She was to reinforce t...

Naval historical fiction | UK | Author

Many people will recognise that today marks the 112th anniversary of the start of WW1, but few will know that on this day, the British Communications Ship Alert cut the German telegraph cables running...

On 4 March 1941, Lieutenant Harold Newgass, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), was awarded the George Cross for an extraordinary piece of courage on the night of 28 November 1940 in Liverpool. That...

Yesterday, I was very privileged to have a guided tour around the exhibits in the Avro Heritage Centre in Manchester. It was a splendid day during which I learned much and it is a visit I can recomme...

For most people the name of Admiral John Jellicoe is associated only with his command of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Churchill described him as the only man on either side who c...

With Iran’s oil exports constantly in the news these days, my readers might be interested to learn that the development of the Iranian oil industry came about thanks to the Royal Navy’s switch from st...

In Great Britain we tend not to celebrate the anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, but over this weekend of the 250th anniversary celebrations, I will celebrate a largely-for...

One of the more interesting characters I had to research for my latest WW1 novel, The Suicide Club, was Frank Brock. Brock was a director of the famous, family firework manufacturing company, C T Bro...

Ashe Lincoln was a barrister prior to and following WW2. Having been educated initially in Plymouth, he developed a love for the sea and joined the RNVR in 1937. Called up on the outbreak of war, he...

Today is the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. Whilst I note that Normandy is hosting a whole host of events today to celebrate the achievement, celebrations in this country seem rather muted. A...

In October 1914, the Royal Navy despatched the first pair of a flotilla of E-class submarines to make the perilous journey through the shallows of the Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden into the Balt...

'I am an ex RE Major who spent 23 years in service. I specialised in diving and am one a few who have used standard kit in Ostend harbour. I was inspector of diving for the Army.I loved your books but...

One of the first naval officers to be trained to fly in 1910 was Lieutenant Reginald Gregory. On 1 July 1914, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was formed and, immediately on the outbreak of WW1, it...

Lieutenant George Colmore was the first member of the Royal Navy to qualify as a pilot, receiving his Royal Aero Club (RAeC) ticket in 1910 after paying for his own flying lessons. A few months later,...

Was a namesake of mine the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s best-seller, Goldfinger?Prior to the outbreak of WW1, the head of the British section of the German Admiralty's intelligence service, the Nachr...

Soon after the beginning of WW1, Germany and its Ottoman ally launched a new strategy to destabilise the British Empire in the Near East (principally Persia, Iraq and Afghanistan) and India. By decla...

On this day in 1918, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines conducted one of its most daring raids in history, after which eight VCs were awarded. The target was the entrance of the canal from Zeebrugge to...

It is often mistakenly believed that it was the German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare that brought the USA into WW1 on 6 April 1917. Some even think it was the sinking of the Lusitania, but...

In October 1909, Britain’s Secret Service was formed and headed by Commander Mansfield Cumming. Cumming was born on 1 April 1859 and joined the Royal Navy in 1871. In 1889, he changed his surname to...

This month in 1942, Commander Fleming, Naval Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI), put forward a memorandum to his boss, Admiral Godfrey, entitled ‘Proposal For Naval Intelligence Com...

This weekend the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) celebrated in Sydney Harbour the 125th anniversary of its formation on 1 March 1901. Throughout its history there have been close bonds with the Royal Nav...

The Royal Naval Division fought as infantry and with distinction in Gallipoli and on the Western Front from the first few weeks of WW1 right through to the end. It was regarded as one of the finest f...

The first of the E-class submarines was launched in 1913 and the class was to prove to be the backbone of the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet. Unlike their predecessors, these submarines were capable of...

This week 109 years ago, on 8 March 1917, the first Russian Revolution broke out. Clearly, it had a devastating effect on the Tsarist monarchy, but, also, on the conduct of the war on the Eastern Fro...

Hugh Syme was born on 20 February 1903 in a suburb of Melbourne. I have posted several times on the subject of Britain’s most decorated WW2 hero, John Bridge, but Syme was the only other officer to b...

A few years ago, I approached Admiral of the Fleet Lord Michael Boyce to request he write a foreword for my second WW1 submarine novel, Where the Baltic Ice is Thin. When I was a junior officer on th...

Strategic bombing is designed to destroy a country's ability to wage war by bombing from the air the enemy's infrastructure, such as factories, railways, and refineries, so essential for the productio...

John Bridge was born on 5 February 1915. At the outbreak of WW2, he was a school master teaching physics in Sheffield, but despite being a pacifist, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR)...

I have long admired the literary works of John Buchan, author of The Thirty Nine Steps, and last year, was pleased to visit the museum dedicated to his memory in Peebles. However, aside from his fame...

As Australia celebrates its National Day, I pay tribute to the brave Australian submariners of HMS AE2 in WW1. The submarine was one of two E-class boats built for the Royal Australian Navy. It’s sh...

Most people have heard of Walter Owen Bentley’s achievements in the automotive industry. Not only did he found Bentley Motors (selling it to Rolls Royce in 1931), but he was later a design engineer f...

It was reported in the news this week that the UK Government plans to amend the law to allow the mobilisation of retired servicemen aged up to 65 for ‘warlike preparations’ in the face of the growing ...

Sopwith was a pioneer of aviation and his designs had a massive impact on the nascent Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). In June 1912, he established the Sopwith Aviation Company at Brooklands. His Chi...

On 4 March 1941, Lieutenant Harold Newgass, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), was awarded the George Cross for an extraordinary piece of courage on the night of 28 November 1940 in Liverpool. That...

On 25 December 1914 aircraft of the Royal Naval Service conducted the world’s first bombing raid launched from the sea.  Three cross-Channel steamers were especially converted to carry seaplanes and t...