Maid Matelot : Adventures of a Wren Stoker in World War Two, Featuring D-Day in Southampton

by Rozelle Raynes

An authentic description of service life during the war years, the drama of the months up to and during the invasion of Europe.

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2004

Reviews

[Chris O'Flaherty]

This was recommended by a friend ... and what a delight to read.
As a historian that usually reads the deeply researched and analytical books about WWII, the perspective of a WRNS stoker, through call-up, training and then supporting operations in a variety of Hampshire ports, was an absolute delight.
The memoir offers a real social insight into life ashore in the UK during WWII, especially the period leading up to and immediately after D-Day. It also offers a fascinating human angle of the stories of soldiers and sailors preparing to embark on the biggest amphibious landing ever ... along with the tribulations that supported it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a brilliant adjunct to the normal naval histories of the war, and heartily recommend it.

[M von Lipwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of interest to Sotonians - a memoir of WRNS at Southampton