The Cruel Sea

I was delighted to be given as Christmas presents both the book and the DVD of the film of The Cruel Sea. I am just a little surprised that the book, first published in 1951, was re-issued in a new edition only this year. The film came out in 1953. At the time, my brother and I were at school on the Isle of Wight. It was a boarding school run by nuns and was described as an open-air school for delicate children. And no, we didn't sleep in tents, nor did we spend that much time out of doors. We were there for eight months and while we were there we were taken to the cinema on two occasions. One was to watch a film of the coronation (which took place in June that year) and the other was to see The Cruel Sea. I still find it surprising that the nuns allowed us to see a war film. But that film made an indelible impression on me. My father always said that the book was the only one he had ever read which accurately described what became known as the Battle of the Atlantic. I will be very pleased to be able to read and to watch it again.