Lecturer Releases Book on Heroes
A LECTURER from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) has released a book that focuses on the sailors that he believes won the Second World War.
Terry Breverton, a Lecturer in International Marketing at UWIC, launched ‘Welsh Sailors of the Second World War’ recently at the Vale of Glamorgan County Library in Barry. This was an apt location for the event as Barry lost a higher percentage of its population in the Merchant Navy than any other place in the UK.
The focus of the book is the Welsh sailors of the Merchant Navy in the Second World War. The book is a collection of first-hand accounts which document the horrendous circumstances and conditions that these brave people endured. Over 100 survivors and 20 to 30 relatives were interviewed for the book, making it the most comprehensive account of this subject area.
The book, which was co-authored by broadcaster Phil Carradice, has already had success being named as WH Smith’s Welsh Book of the Month for May. This means that the book will be displayed in all branches of the store throughout Wales. This is not the first of Terry’s books to receive such an accolade with five of his works being named the Welsh Books Council’s Book of the Month.
Terry feels that it was crucial to get these accounts published before it was too late: “The Welsh men serving in the Merchant Navy are the unsung heroes of this war and it is about time that they got real recognition, they are the bravest people I have come across. The Merchant Navy won the war and Churchill understood this, his only real fear was losing the war at sea.
“For the Welsh people the Second World War had a devastating effect. Wherever you go in Wales you are a maximum of 50 miles from the sea therefore it follows that many men were sailors. When the ships left the port they took with them an entire chunk of the population of that area, one woman lost three sons at sea in this war.
“They were placed in a difficult position, if they weren’t at sea they wouldn’t earn any money but if they were at sea then there was always a chance they wouldn’t come home. On top of all this their living conditions were disgusting, these people were forced to sleep on flea infested sacks of straw in damp ships that were not safe.
“The debt owed to these sailors is immense; I hope the book goes some way to showing what they sacrificed so that we could experience freedom today.”
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Terry Breverton, a Lecturer in International Marketing at UWIC, launched ‘Welsh Sailors of the Second World War’ recently at the Vale of Glamorgan County Library in Barry. This was an apt location for the event as Barry lost a higher percentage of its population in the Merchant Navy than any other place in the UK.
The focus of the book is the Welsh sailors of the Merchant Navy in the Second World War. The book is a collection of first-hand accounts which document the horrendous circumstances and conditions that these brave people endured. Over 100 survivors and 20 to 30 relatives were interviewed for the book, making it the most comprehensive account of this subject area.
The book, which was co-authored by broadcaster Phil Carradice, has already had success being named as WH Smith’s Welsh Book of the Month for May. This means that the book will be displayed in all branches of the store throughout Wales. This is not the first of Terry’s books to receive such an accolade with five of his works being named the Welsh Books Council’s Book of the Month.
Terry feels that it was crucial to get these accounts published before it was too late: “The Welsh men serving in the Merchant Navy are the unsung heroes of this war and it is about time that they got real recognition, they are the bravest people I have come across. The Merchant Navy won the war and Churchill understood this, his only real fear was losing the war at sea.
“For the Welsh people the Second World War had a devastating effect. Wherever you go in Wales you are a maximum of 50 miles from the sea therefore it follows that many men were sailors. When the ships left the port they took with them an entire chunk of the population of that area, one woman lost three sons at sea in this war.
“They were placed in a difficult position, if they weren’t at sea they wouldn’t earn any money but if they were at sea then there was always a chance they wouldn’t come home. On top of all this their living conditions were disgusting, these people were forced to sleep on flea infested sacks of straw in damp ships that were not safe.
“The debt owed to these sailors is immense; I hope the book goes some way to showing what they sacrificed so that we could experience freedom today.”
Back to News