More Lives Than a Ship’s Cat: The Most Highly Decorated Midshipman 1939–1945

by G A (Mick) Stoke MBE DSC RN

"Cleverly titled, well written, fast moving, More Lives Than a Ship's Cat is a riveting look at British naval history from an unusual, intimate point of view." --The Northern Mariner

By any standards Mick Stoke's experiences in the Royal Navy during the Second World War were remarkable. Aged nineteen, he was 'Mentioned in Despatches' and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his courage during incessant bombing during the Siege of Tobruk.

He survived multiple torpedo attacks, firstly serving on the cruiser Glasgow, which was hit twice; on the battleship Queen Elizabeth at sea and blown up by human torpedoes at Alexandria; and on HMS Hardy, struck in January 1944, while escorting Russian Arctic Convoy JW56B.

In 1942, he was serving on HMS Carlisle during the fiercely fought Malta convoys and took part in the Battle of Sirte. Later that year he was awarded the MBE 'for outstanding bravery, resource and devotion to duty during very heavy bombing' at the port of Bone during Operation TORCH. He went on to serve at D-Day and later in the Pacific on HMS Rajah.

It is a privilege to read Mick Stoke's graphic and modest memoir. Readers will appreciate and understand how he became 'The Most Highly Decorated Paymaster Midshipman in the Royal Navy'.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published June 7, 2022

Reviews

[JD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books' blurb is exactly what is in this book, and Mick Stoke truly had an incredible service record during World War 2, and was a highly skilled young officer that had the respect of those above and below him in rank. The book gives good background on events surrounding him, and good first person accounts not just from him, but from other sailors that served alongside him through extracts from letters, diary entries and memoirs. The use of Mick's own letters to family and friends is both a strength and a weakness for me, as there is a lot of insight into service life during the war, yet also a lot of repetition in them. Still a solid and highly recommendable book.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book thanks to a GR friend JD. It’s the kind of book that I prefer when reading about history, the stories of those that actually lived the events books are written about. I am not talking about the big names but those that actually did the fighting, bleeding, and dying. This book is about G.A. “Mick” Stoke and is “written” by his son Jeremy. Mick is 19 when he applies for entry at the officer cadet school of the Royal Navy in the Summer of 1939. He believed, like most Englishmen, that war was inevitable so why wait to be drafted. His application was accepted and he entered as a regular member of the Royal Navy and became a paymaster midshipman upon completion of his training. Through circumstances, fate, and luck both good and bad Mick survived a multitude of varied assignments that exposed him to an array of experiences that resulted in him becoming a much decorated and valued very junior naval officer.

The book will appeal to those readers that are particularly interested in WWII history. Since the book deals with the experiences of one junior officer in the British Navy it covers the two years prior to the U.S. entry into the war. Mick’s assignments begin primarily in the Mediterranean and in particular with North Africa. For a sailor MIck spent a lot of time on the land but then he was essentially a staff officer working for much more senior officers. Nevertheless North Africa was under constant fire from the Germans and staff officer or not Mick saw quite a bit of action which led to accolades and being decorated appropriately. The story is about what life was like on the front line but it is also about about the life of young man of that time and how he meets the woman that will become his wife and the mother of the man responsible for this book. It gives the reader a small glimpse of what life and love was like during this war for the people living it.

I do not wish to mislead you into thinking there is an enjoyable love story connected to Mick’s story because this is not that sort of book. I hesitate to call Jeremy the author of this book because there isn’t a lot of writing by him in the book. This book is actually more of a collection of research material put into a readable form with comments by Jeremy for that purpose. For the most part the book consists of letters written by Mick to his family, friends, and girlfriend. There are also excerpts from letters by others who experienced the same events Mick mentions in his letters. Along with letters there are excerpts from newspapers and naval records concerning the actions and events that Mick experienced. Jeremy does an excellent job of researching the details and supplementing the things his father refers to in his letters home and then putting it all together in a readable form. Clearly the book is meant as an homage by a son to his father but it does offer a reader of today some idea of what life during WWII was like for the average Joe or Mick and is worth reading. Enjoy.