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With the Battlecruisers
A British journalist provides a full and intimate picture of naval life in the opening months of World War I.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published February 1, 1987
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Filson Young
126 books19 followersFor photos and biography visit http://filsonyoung.com/
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 30, 2021
"The cornices strain and creak; the great ship begins to feel the shorter and more troubled motion of the waves as the water shoals, for we are nearing the land. And above the drone of the dynamos and the roar of the fans you can hear the slobber and gulp of the waves as they clamber up the ship's smooth side, or the thunder of the blow as she takes a sea full on her shoulder."
One of the wonderful happenstances of the First World War is that an enterprising journalist managed to insert himself into the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and be assigned to HMS Lion on the staff of Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty. As Beatty wrote to his wife with faux irritation, "That terrible fellow Filson Young has worked his way," and the result is With the Battlecruisers, Young's memoirs of the months he thus spent.
The book Young wrote in 1921 holds up well. He was with Beatty from November 1914 to early 1915, and witnessed the battle of the Dogger Bank from Lion's foretop ("if only Young had still been aboard at Jutland" must be the thought of many naval historians, not just yours truly). His first-hand witness is tremendously helpful because as a landlubber he noticed things that didn't get written down at the time - and as a reporter he viewed them with a careful eye and recorded them. Also, although a reporter, he had a pretty good appreciation of some of the issues that led to the dysfunction in the Royal Navy during the war although he often didn't entirely understand what he was seeing: that said, again he wrote it down.
Young's portraits of people he met in the process of his brief naval career are perceptive: he recounts a really dreadful meeting in his presence between Winston Churchill and Jacky Fisher that not only indicates how bad things were between the two during the Dardanelles fiasco, but suggests Fisher was getting more than a little mentally past it. As for David Beatty, while Beatty rather liked Young, Young unabashedly hero-worshipped David Beatty. While Young was quick to blame all of the problems he saw on the Admiralty, he was blind to Beatty's faults, in particular his tendency to keep people around who he liked or found entertaining. People like Filson Young, for instance, who was inoffensive, but also people like Ralph Seymour, his entirely useless flag lieutenant who, as Beatty admitted accurately after the war "cost me three battles" when it was too late to deal with the problem. Nelson would have kicked Seymour overboard after the first one.
The book has draggy bits, and much of the summing-up chapter is obsolete, but it's great reading for anyone interested in the subjects covered. By all means look for the Naval Institute "Classics of Naval Literature" edition: the footnotes are helpful.
One of the wonderful happenstances of the First World War is that an enterprising journalist managed to insert himself into the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and be assigned to HMS Lion on the staff of Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty. As Beatty wrote to his wife with faux irritation, "That terrible fellow Filson Young has worked his way," and the result is With the Battlecruisers, Young's memoirs of the months he thus spent.
The book Young wrote in 1921 holds up well. He was with Beatty from November 1914 to early 1915, and witnessed the battle of the Dogger Bank from Lion's foretop ("if only Young had still been aboard at Jutland" must be the thought of many naval historians, not just yours truly). His first-hand witness is tremendously helpful because as a landlubber he noticed things that didn't get written down at the time - and as a reporter he viewed them with a careful eye and recorded them. Also, although a reporter, he had a pretty good appreciation of some of the issues that led to the dysfunction in the Royal Navy during the war although he often didn't entirely understand what he was seeing: that said, again he wrote it down.
Young's portraits of people he met in the process of his brief naval career are perceptive: he recounts a really dreadful meeting in his presence between Winston Churchill and Jacky Fisher that not only indicates how bad things were between the two during the Dardanelles fiasco, but suggests Fisher was getting more than a little mentally past it. As for David Beatty, while Beatty rather liked Young, Young unabashedly hero-worshipped David Beatty. While Young was quick to blame all of the problems he saw on the Admiralty, he was blind to Beatty's faults, in particular his tendency to keep people around who he liked or found entertaining. People like Filson Young, for instance, who was inoffensive, but also people like Ralph Seymour, his entirely useless flag lieutenant who, as Beatty admitted accurately after the war "cost me three battles" when it was too late to deal with the problem. Nelson would have kicked Seymour overboard after the first one.
The book has draggy bits, and much of the summing-up chapter is obsolete, but it's great reading for anyone interested in the subjects covered. By all means look for the Naval Institute "Classics of Naval Literature" edition: the footnotes are helpful.
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December 1, 2016A rousing read..
May 8, 2022
Rather a strange story of part of the war with the battle cruisers told by a reserve officer who was almost a supernumerary in the fleet. He does have a very low opinion of the Admiralty and of the Navy department in England in World War I. It is an interesting description of the way the ships were used in the first year at least.
July 4, 2017
Young's firsthand view of life on the cusp of The Great War with Jacky Fisher's beloved battle cruisers is a wonderful piece for any British naval historian. Clear. Precise and written in a lively, engaging style. A permanent addition to my library! Grand "stuff"!
December 6, 2016
Naval Warfare in WW I, from a participant's perspective
A detailed narrative of a junior RN reserve officer's experiences serving aboad the battle cruiser HMS Lion in the early part of WWI. The author covers all aspects of his service during this period, which is both a strength and a weakness. Descriptions of the Battle of the Dogger Bank are clearly extremely valuable and well carried off. The horrors of naval warfare are well covered here. Nearly as interesting are his interactions with persons of importance, such the VADM David Beatty and First Lord Winston Churchill (the author was a very well connected reserve lieutenant). Less interesting are his stints ashore and other inactive times.
This review is of the Kindle edition, which suffers from not having the illustrations referenced in the text. Still, an informative read and well recommended to those interested in naval warfare and warship design.
A detailed narrative of a junior RN reserve officer's experiences serving aboad the battle cruiser HMS Lion in the early part of WWI. The author covers all aspects of his service during this period, which is both a strength and a weakness. Descriptions of the Battle of the Dogger Bank are clearly extremely valuable and well carried off. The horrors of naval warfare are well covered here. Nearly as interesting are his interactions with persons of importance, such the VADM David Beatty and First Lord Winston Churchill (the author was a very well connected reserve lieutenant). Less interesting are his stints ashore and other inactive times.
This review is of the Kindle edition, which suffers from not having the illustrations referenced in the text. Still, an informative read and well recommended to those interested in naval warfare and warship design.
March 30, 2016
Filson Young was determined to join the Royal Navy and especially to serve on a battle cruiser.
This is his account from the beginning, from serving as a volunteer to rising through the ranks to make Lieutenant and the battle with the German navy at the beginning of the first world war.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour/Albion via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
This is his account from the beginning, from serving as a volunteer to rising through the ranks to make Lieutenant and the battle with the German navy at the beginning of the first world war.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour/Albion via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
September 8, 2019
Language somewhat old-fashioned, but clear and passionate. Conveys a feel of being on the grey steel monsters sliding out of the Firth of Forth, usually at night. Like the description after the Dogger Bank, in a shattered cabin feeling hungry, faces blackened, some ears bleeding, hungry - all they could find to eat was foie gras sandwiches and champagne !
May 29, 2016
Light Read by a Navy Amateur
Enjoyed reading this book about a journalist getting a commission to serve on Admiral Beaty's battle cruiser. He gives a different perspective on naval life. Apparently, Wilson wasn't entirely unbiased in heaping praise and laying blame.
Enjoyed reading this book about a journalist getting a commission to serve on Admiral Beaty's battle cruiser. He gives a different perspective on naval life. Apparently, Wilson wasn't entirely unbiased in heaping praise and laying blame.
March 29, 2021
A personal view of the cruisers of the Great War by Young
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews