"An exemplary ship biography where a detailed narrative of the destroyer's exploits are brought to life by a wealth of first-hand accounts."
Navy News December 2010
More about the book
plus reviews and online order form
show the exposed open Bridge (left) and, looking towards the stern, the torpedo tubes and searchlight platform (right).
HMS Venomous was
built at John Brown's shipyard on the Clyde in 1919 but for the ship's
company
the story starts with the “forgotten war”
in the Baltic when the Royal Navy helped the Baltic states gain their
independence by safeguarding them against attacks by a renegade
German general and Bolshevic revolutionaries.
During the 1920s when the V&Ws were arguably
the most advanced destroyers in the world Venomous and its sister ships
“flew the flag” in the Mediterranean before being placed in reserve
until war threatened and the Reserve
Fleet was mobilised in 1939.
In 1940 Venomous fought
off German tanks whilst evacuating the Welsh and Irish Guards from
Boulogne and rescued thousands of troops from Dunkirk and guarded
the coast of England against invasion. Convoy duty in the Atlantic kept
Britain from starvation and Arctic convoys to Murmansk in Russia
supplied Russian forces.
Deployment to the Mediterranean as part of Operation Pedestal to relieve the besieged
island of Malta was followed by a “night to remember” when Venomous fought the U-boat which
sank the destroyer depot ship, HMS Hecla,
and rescued 500 survivors.
In 1943 it escorted the first convoy from Gib to Alex after
the surrender of Axis forces in North Africa and the invasion force
to Sicily (Operation Husky).
Venomous returned to Falmouth, its
engine “shot”, for conversion to a
target ship for air launched torpedoes during a six month refit. As a
“last hurrah” in May 1945 it went to Norway, to accept the surrender
of German naval forces in Kristiansand before going to the ship
breakers. Its name is kept alive today by TS Venomous, the Sea
Cadet Corps unit in Loughborough, the city which adpted HMS Venomous during Warships Week 1942.
Appendices: Specification
and battle honours, commanding officers, list of officers, list of
ratings, shipboard organisation [by departments], life aboard Venomous, the sixty-nine V&Ws,
abreviations. Finally, a bibliography and list
of primary sources in archives.
and ends with a list of all the V & Ws giving date built and ultimate fate.
Reviews
"In
the appendices one finds a virtual vade mecum of information about
Venomous with details of honours, commanding officers, serving officers
and crew, shipboard organization and information on the 69 V and W
Class destroyers. This reviewer found the Appendix 'Life Aboard
Venomous' particularly rewarding.
"The author characterises Venomous
as a 'fine destroyer, also a lucky ship that successive crews
remembered with affection.' This book does justice to that memory
providing the reader with a fine combination of technical detail and
personal perspective from both the wardroom and below decks. This book
is highly recommended to both naval historians and the general public."
Harold N. Boyer, Mariner's Mirror,
May 2011
Writing
about the rescue of survivors from HMS Hecla:
"It
is such accounts which make 'A Hard Fought Ship' a must read. It is an
exemplary ship biography where a detailed narrative of the destroyer's
exploits are brought to life by a wealth of first-hand accounts." Navy News, December 2010.
"The
description of the ship’s activities in May/June 1940 (she was one of
those destroyers which brought back the bulk of the BEF from Dunkirk)
is extraordinarily vivid."
"The book is copiously illustrated, some
from the
IWM, but the great majority being “snaps” taken by members of her crew
– they add immeasurably to the book and with the participants own words
bring back the Navy of 70 years ago.
In fact, I would rate this as being up in the same class as ‘The Cruel Sea’ for a picture of small ship life in World War 2."
"Recommended. You may not learn much
naval history
of which you were not previously aware, but you will get something of
the feel of being a destroyer man, in the second quarter of the 20th
century."
Alastair Wilson, Commander RN
(retired) in the August issue of Naval Review
‘Un
livre captivant dont on ne peut que saluer la quantité et la qualité
des recherches entreprises par les auteurs. Un must pour tout lecteur
intéressé pas l’histoire navale de cette période.’ 39/45 Magazine (Editions Heimdal)
"For a true seaman it is depressing to see
a good ship like the Venomous
bound for the breakers. Occasionally, one is saved and becomes a
showpiece. Pity there isn't more of them. A good read; highly
recommended." Nautical Magazine,
December 2010.
'This
book is a detailed and thrilling account of the life of this typical V
& W Class destroyer of which 69 were built at the end of the Great
War. Above all this a tribute to all who served in this fine old ship
in peace and war." Sea
Breezes
“The greatest interest lies
in the recognition of the role of the human personalities involved,
in situations showing courage, tragedy or humour. Profiles of the
ship’s captains and other officers and ratings are supported by a
fascinating range of images, many from private collections. They give a
deep insight into the organisation, living conditions and events aboard
this elderly destroyer and short range escort. Here is a fitting …
tribute to “A Hard Fought Ship”: it is strongly recommended.”
GHC in Warship
World
" ... a fascinating and
most comprehensive insight into life in a very different world than
today, beautifully crafted by the authors and a book well deserving of
a place in your library …” David Clements in Soundings
"It
tells the tale in considerable detail, of one of the famous V & W
class destroyers using the recollections and photographs of crew
members together with the addition in this version, of material which
places the ship's service into the wider context. The story tells well
and the addition of the wider picture makes for a good read."
BBH in the World Ship Society magazine, Marine
News
UK: Buy post free for £13.99 and save £5
A Hard Fought
Ship: the story of HMS Venomous; by R.J. Moore and J.A.
Rodgaard. Holywell House Publishing, 14 April 2010.
234x156 mm with 384 pp, 170 photographs and 12maps and plans. ISBN
978-0-9559382-0-7. Paperback, £18.99.
Cheques should be made payable to Holywell House Publishing and sent to:
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Outside UK
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