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REVIEW OF BRIAN CRABB'S BOOK "BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY" by
Morgiana P. Halley
The book is excellent, both well-written and skilfully organised, on a chronological line. Maintaining chronological reliability is rendered extremely difficult by the fact that parallel timelines necessarily run simultaneously in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres as well as in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, simultaneous attacks may have occurred anywhere on a given date at a given time. The author has managed to overcome this impediment admirably. Each segment, chapter, and appendix is agreeably headed by the profile drawing of a ship. Appropriate photographic illustrations, interspersed throughout, represent most of the vessels whose final moments are described, as well as a far larger number of personal photographs of both victims and survivors than might have been expected. Looking through the text, one is also consistently amazed that the author acquired so much eloquent first-hand testimony about the sinkings, when the primary subjects of his study were, by definition, deceased. The book begins with extensive acknowledgements, and an introduction explaining the seven services in which his subjects served. They were the Merchant Navy, WRNS, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), Auxiliary Territorial Service, WAAF, Queen Alexandra's Military Nursing Service, and Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service. In this introductory section, one or two women who served Britain as agents in the Secret Service are also honoured, There is, perhaps, less detail on many individuals than one would have wished but, given the circumstances, and the considerable passage of time since events chronicled, the research is amazingly inclusive. Some chapters in the body of the book are general in content, while others deal with just one specific incident, although the chapter titles do not make clear which is which. The more comprehensive chapters are divided by the symbol * * * between narratives of individual vessels. The conceit significantly reduces confusion. All sorts of vessel losses are covered, from attacks by submarines, raiders and aircraft, as well as mines, and one chapter deals solely with the loss of hospital vessels. Extensive appendices, beyond the usual bibliography (which includes a significant number of unpublished sources), photographic credits, and index, include all available relevant details about the women lost, lists of honours and awards, a list of known memorials, lists of ships lost in three specific convoys, details of injuries of Khedive Ismail survivors, a list of British merchant vessels lost 1939-45. Surprisingly, with all this well organised secondary data, there is no glossary. In connection with lowering lifeboats, not only 'falls', but also 'gripes', 'frapping lines' and 'hobblers' are mentioned, with no indication of what their differences or similarities may have been. Printers' errors, grammar and punctuation faux pas, innappropriate word choice, and awkward constructions occur with fair regularity but, while they definitely constitute a minor annoyance, do not significantly detract from the worth of the textual content. A notable exception to this occurs on page 81, where the third paragraph leaves one in total confusion as to the actual fate of Captain Christian. It is ironic under these circumstances, that the author's acknowledgements include for 'meticulous' copy editing. Much of the content, which could have been sensationalised, is treated so skilfully that the tabloid feeling which so often attaches to survivor narratives in wartime and immediately post-war publications is, for the most part, avoided. Among notable inclusions are a passage, on the superb seamanship that brought a vessel under the counter of a sinking ship to better advance rescue efforts (page 53). There is even a bit of comic relief, as when a survivor opens a packet of biscuits from a lifeboat's supply and finds a note reading: 'If the contents of this package are not satisfactory, please quote No. 293 (page 102). Crabb's interest in his subject was engendered by the research for his first published effort, a book about the loss of the SS Khedive Ismail, in which he had a personal interest. Although Crabb's father survived this sinking, the son, in chronicling it, realised that there were quite a few female casualties. That led him to further investigations, culminating in Beyond the Call of Duty. The research for the present book also gleaned some further data on the Khedive Ismail incident, and these are presented in the final chapter, called Passage to Destiny after the previous work. Perhaps the most interesting new material is correspondence from a medical/scientific petty officer who spent time with the author's father in a survivor leave establishment. On the whole, I believe this book constitutes a significant contribution to the knowledge of any reader, whether it be specific useful data for serious academic research or merely a general understanding of the sorts of perilous situations faced by both men and women at sea during the Second World War. |