The Royal Navy that Brian Bethen Schofield joined at the beginning of the Twentieth Century truly ruled the waves. Safe anchorages spanned the globe and faster, better armoured ships with revolutionary weaponry were coming into service.

After serving as a midshipman in The Great War, Schofield qualified as a navigator and interpreter in French and Italian. At the outbreak of The Second World War he was Naval Attache in The Hague and Brussels before becoming Director of Trade Division (Convoys) during the critical years 1941-1943. While commanding the battleship King George V he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in August 1945.

O'er The Deep Blue Sea is a superbly written memoir offering a fascinating insight into a bygone era. Anyone with more than a passing interest in British naval history will enjoy the Author's graphic yet modest account of an exceptional career.