A large part of this book covers the years from 1941 to 1946 when the author was a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy during the latter years of World War II. This period was a kind of interesting sandwich between the fairly ordinary story of his childhood up to the age of 18 and his manhood from the age of 25 to 92 when he felt it was time to publish it. The author gives great credit to his wife Jean to whom he was married for 66 years before her death in 2014 for nurturing and supporting him during that period.