Acting as inspiration for the highly acclaimed 1953 film of the same name, The Cruel Sea doesn’t hold it’s punches, drawing on author Nicholas Monsarrat’s own wartime experiences in the R.N.V.R (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve) to depict one the most intense and ferocious battles of the Second World War; the Battle of the Atlantic.

This is the story – the long and true story – of one ocean, two ships and about a hundred and fifty men. It is a long story because it deals with a long and brutal battle, the worst of any war.

While this may be the story of a 150 men, Monsarrat chooses to tell it through the eyes of a select handful, covering the breadth of humanity in the process, from the mean-spirited and selfish,Bennett, to the shy and fearful, Ferraby.  

However, the true heart of the story lies in the friendship between Lieutenant-Commander Ericson, an experienced sailor and officer, and his First Lieutenant, Lockhart, a reporter turned naval volunteer, as they take on the burden of protecting not only their own men, but also the heavily-loaded merchant ships providing an invaluable lifeline to war-torn Britain from the dangers of the Atlantic.

Monsarrat doesn’t spare the reader’s feelings in his vivid descriptions of U-boat attacks and their aftermath, highlighting the futility of the battle in a series of graphic scenes, culminating in Lockhart’s desperate attempt to save a burn victim with a single tub of ointment while silently begging the man to die.

Each of these horrors leaves an impression, yet it’s Monsarrat’s portrayal of unending night watches, with officers desperately scanning the horizon for the convoy’s outline, that remain with you long after you’ve turned the final page.

An unrelenting, gut-wrenching read, The Cruel Sea stands as an enduring testament to the men who served on the Atlantic Convoys and as the battle slips out of living memory this seems more important than ever!