No Shame in Fear

by Alex C. Maclean, Donald S. Murray (Foreword)

Keypoints: One man's compelling account of the horrors of the wartime Atlantic convoys, the difficulties he faced afterwards, and his search for the truth about his own history back on the island of Tiree. Categories: History, Maritime, Wartime, Memoir Readership: General Contents: Born in 1923, Alex C. Maclean enjoyed a tough but happy childhood with his mother on the island of Tiree, doing their best to eke out a living. At the age of fourteen he left home for good, travelling alone to Glasgow to take up a position as cabin-boy on a merchant ship. After two years on colliers in British coastal waters Alex found himself embroiled in the Second World War, sailing 'deep-sea' across the Atlantic on fuel-laden tankers. Searingly honest, this is a rare first-hand account of the dangers and horrors of the wartime Atlantic convoys: of being stalked by German U-boats, of being shipwrecked and cast adrift in a lifeboat, of seeing at first hand the destruction and devastation of war. It also tells of the difficulties Alex, in common with many thousands of others, faced in the post-war period, in his attempts to build a decent life for himself and his family, and to come to terms with his own history back on the island of Tiree. About the author: Alex C. Maclean was born in Tiree in 1923, and lived there with his mother until the age of fourteen, when he went to sea. Alex served with the Merchant Navy for nine years, sailing with the Atlantic convoys during the war. After the war he married and raised a family in Glasgow. Foreword by Donald S. Murray. Front cover image © Southend Museums Service

137 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2016

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only quibble with this book is that I would have liked to have more. It's an extraordinary and honest account of what it was like to be in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War - and also a very touching memoir of loss and self sacrifice within a family.

Alex Maclean left home at 14, joined the Merchant Navy and served with them throughout the War. His is a very personal account of that aspect of the War and is full of details omitted from other 'official' histories. You can almost feel the grime and engine oil and also the tension of knowing, when you set sail, that you have no assurance that you will reach your destination - in fact, part of the book describes his 16 days in a life boat after his ship was sunk by an enemy U boat. And he's honest (without bragging) about being no angel. It smacks of being a true seaman's account and if you want to simply 'know what it was like' I'd thoroughly recommend it..

I've been to the Outer Hebrides off Scotland's west coast and there, in the grave yards, you will find many graves marked 'A sailor of the 1939-1945 War. Merchant Navy' possibly washed ashore after drowning in the same Atlantic convoys that Alex Maclean served in; perhaps for me that made it all the more 'real'.

And there's more. I won't spoil anything but his story of his post-war years is an astonishing personal account of personal tragedy and taking responsibility. Alex, I salute you.

My quibble? I wouldn't have minded a longer book with sometimes more detail, personal and other.

[Lesley Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is certainly no great literature, but goodness me, what these men went through........ Nothing but admiration. Given three stars because of that. Gave me a lot to think about and I learned about things I had heard of but didn't really know.