Douglas D'Enno

When WW I started, England realized they were lacking mine sweepers and small patrol vessels. As early as 1912, an admiral had started to plan to use the huge fishing trawlers as minesweepers and other small fishing boats as patrol vessels. When the war started, most fishermen willingly accepted having their trawlers converted to minesweepers. Many younger fishermen were already members of the naval reserve and were assigned to regular naval vessels. Older men serve on the fishing boats.

d'Enno did amazing amounts of research and shows it in the detail he chronicles of the many conflicts involving the fisherman's boats often listing the names of seamen lost when their boat was sunk. He covers action in the North Sea, the Adriatic and the Dardanelles.

Despite the detail, the book is surprisingly readable. The appendices include vessels purchase by the Admiralty, vessels sunk by mines, number of trawlers in the Dardanelles, and some rescues by fishermen.… (altro)