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Down The Hatch
John Winton lifts the lid off submarine life! Perfect for fans of P.G.Wodehouse, Spike Milligan, Richard Gordon and R.F.Deldafield
Will it be plain sailing for HMS Seahorse on her maiden voyage?
1961, Portsmouth
When HMS Seahorse , the Navy’s newest, fastest and most expensive submarine left the builder’s yard there were naturally some fierce consternation when a newcomer was appointed. Described by the Admiral of Submarines as ‘some passed-over bum whom nobody’s ever heard of,’ he is none other than Lieutenant Commander Robert Bollinger Badger, D.S.C., R.N., otherwise known as The Artful Bodger.
The Submarine Service sat back and waited, resignedly, for the big bang.
The Bodger is however undaunted, and with the most variegated ship’s company that ever put to sea he sets out to give Seahorse a worthy reputation, from its surface public engagements in Oozemouth to deep diving down to the Equator and new geophysical experiments.
The crew grapple with frigate captain, Black Sebastian (renegade submariner and arch fiend), during an international fleet exercise and visit a South American Republic where The Bodger and Stoker Gotobed make motor-racing history.
Held inside and pressed together like sardines in a tin, our sailors are plunged deep into the often hilarious life on board as they plumb new depths of adventure…
DOWN THE HATCH is the third hilarious military adventure story in the Artful Bodger Naval Adventure classic 20th century sea stories packed full of humour and authentic details of navy life .
‘John Winton has a submariner’s esprit … so amiably persuasive is Mr. Winton, that the Seahorse is appealing even to a reader who experiences a mild claustrophobia in automatic elevators’ — Martin Levin, New York Times Book Review
‘If you want a real good laugh, then look no farther — this is the book’ — Manchester Evening News
THE ARTFUL BODGER NAVAL ADVENTURE
BOOK 1: We Joined The Navy
BOOK 2: We Saw The Sea
BOOK 3: Down The Hatch
BOOK 4: Never Go To Sea
BOOK 5: All The Nice Girls
BOOK 6: Good Enough For Nelson
Will it be plain sailing for HMS Seahorse on her maiden voyage?
1961, Portsmouth
When HMS Seahorse , the Navy’s newest, fastest and most expensive submarine left the builder’s yard there were naturally some fierce consternation when a newcomer was appointed. Described by the Admiral of Submarines as ‘some passed-over bum whom nobody’s ever heard of,’ he is none other than Lieutenant Commander Robert Bollinger Badger, D.S.C., R.N., otherwise known as The Artful Bodger.
The Submarine Service sat back and waited, resignedly, for the big bang.
The Bodger is however undaunted, and with the most variegated ship’s company that ever put to sea he sets out to give Seahorse a worthy reputation, from its surface public engagements in Oozemouth to deep diving down to the Equator and new geophysical experiments.
The crew grapple with frigate captain, Black Sebastian (renegade submariner and arch fiend), during an international fleet exercise and visit a South American Republic where The Bodger and Stoker Gotobed make motor-racing history.
Held inside and pressed together like sardines in a tin, our sailors are plunged deep into the often hilarious life on board as they plumb new depths of adventure…
DOWN THE HATCH is the third hilarious military adventure story in the Artful Bodger Naval Adventure classic 20th century sea stories packed full of humour and authentic details of navy life .
‘John Winton has a submariner’s esprit … so amiably persuasive is Mr. Winton, that the Seahorse is appealing even to a reader who experiences a mild claustrophobia in automatic elevators’ — Martin Levin, New York Times Book Review
‘If you want a real good laugh, then look no farther — this is the book’ — Manchester Evening News
THE ARTFUL BODGER NAVAL ADVENTURE
BOOK 1: We Joined The Navy
BOOK 2: We Saw The Sea
BOOK 3: Down The Hatch
BOOK 4: Never Go To Sea
BOOK 5: All The Nice Girls
BOOK 6: Good Enough For Nelson
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
1 person is currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
John Winton
57 books12 followersA former officer in the Royal Navy, John Pratt was the author of a variety of fiction and non-fiction works published under the pen name John Winton. Pratt also served for 14 years as an obituarist for The Daily Telegraph.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 29, 2018
Amusing read, fiction set in the Royal Navy near the start of nuclear submarines, author was a naval officer. Down the Hatch is set on board a conventional submarine which has just been completed, and covers a good will visit to a UK port, taking part in a major fleet exercise and visiting a fictional south American port.
Having read several non-fiction books on submarines, the onboard life seems pretty realistic to me, the port visits may be a bit embroidered but overall an enjoyable read with a varied cast of characters and some sending up of naval bureaucracy and career politics.
Having read several non-fiction books on submarines, the onboard life seems pretty realistic to me, the port visits may be a bit embroidered but overall an enjoyable read with a varied cast of characters and some sending up of naval bureaucracy and career politics.
February 16, 2021
The further adventures of the Artful Bodger.
Following up on "We Joined The Navy" and "We Saw The Sea", "Down the Hatch" takes the Bodger onto a Royal Navy submarine. Another really great read. If you liked the first two, you'll like this one - simple as that.
Following up on "We Joined The Navy" and "We Saw The Sea", "Down the Hatch" takes the Bodger onto a Royal Navy submarine. Another really great read. If you liked the first two, you'll like this one - simple as that.
August 18, 2025
I think I first read this as a boy in the 1960s, and I’m still fond of it; although I’m fond of it partly because it’s an old friend that’s been around for most of my life.
It’s a comic novel about the Royal Navy in general, and about submarines in particular. It’s fluently written, and there are plenty of funny moments, although there are also moments when the story and the humour are getting old: 1961 was a long time ago, before anyone had heard of the Beatles.
It’s not just a send-up: we also learn something about the Navy and more about submarines, and the information is served up quite palatably so that it doesn’t drag.
The story relates how Winton’s regular hero, nicknamed the Artful Bodger, is unexpectedly given command of a powerful brand-new submarine, and has a series of peacetime experiences with it: showing the flag in the town of Oozemouth, taking part in Exercise Lucky Alphonse, assisting in scientific research, and visiting South America, where the Bodger and his merry men are invited to take part in a motor race. Finally, they attend a reunion of serving and retired submariners in Portsmouth.
I like the motor race best and the fleet exercise second. I reckon the Oozemouth episode is the most dated part of the book, although it has some amusing moments. The reunion at the end is the dullest part, and could well have been cut, but apparently the author felt an inner compulsion to write about it.
To enjoy this book in the 21st century, I think you have to be aware that it was published in 1961, and make allowances. It’s become a period piece by now.
It’s a comic novel about the Royal Navy in general, and about submarines in particular. It’s fluently written, and there are plenty of funny moments, although there are also moments when the story and the humour are getting old: 1961 was a long time ago, before anyone had heard of the Beatles.
It’s not just a send-up: we also learn something about the Navy and more about submarines, and the information is served up quite palatably so that it doesn’t drag.
The story relates how Winton’s regular hero, nicknamed the Artful Bodger, is unexpectedly given command of a powerful brand-new submarine, and has a series of peacetime experiences with it: showing the flag in the town of Oozemouth, taking part in Exercise Lucky Alphonse, assisting in scientific research, and visiting South America, where the Bodger and his merry men are invited to take part in a motor race. Finally, they attend a reunion of serving and retired submariners in Portsmouth.
I like the motor race best and the fleet exercise second. I reckon the Oozemouth episode is the most dated part of the book, although it has some amusing moments. The reunion at the end is the dullest part, and could well have been cut, but apparently the author felt an inner compulsion to write about it.
To enjoy this book in the 21st century, I think you have to be aware that it was published in 1961, and make allowances. It’s become a period piece by now.
July 27, 2010
A genial romp in the post war Royal Navy; very well written, with absolute authority, and a wicked sense of humour.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews