Description
Book SynopsisCommander A.F.C. Layard, RN, wrote almost daily in his diary from 1913 until 1947. The pivotal 1943-45 years of this edited volume offer an extraordinarily full and honest chronicle, revealing Layard’s preoccupations, both with the daily details and with the strain and responsibility of wartime command at sea.
Trade ReviewIf there was one book I wish I had had a chance to read early in my career, this is it.
Commanding Canadians is a gripping history of a small part of the Battle of the Atlantic, a fascinating picture of the realities of life at sea and ashore throught extended periods of operations and, most valuably, a wonderful case study of leadership. -- Robert H. Thomas * Canadian Naval Review, vol. 2, no. 2, Summer 2006 *
Michael Whitby writes that readers of Layard's wartime diary 'will find a very human story of a man struggling to maintain his way in difficult circumstances and under enormous pressures. His success marks a triumph of the human spirit over adversity, and deserves to be known.' Absolutely. -- Ken Reynolds, Directorate of History and Heritage, Department of National Defense * H-Net *
Commanding Canadians is an important new contribution to the history of the Battle of the Atlantic ... Whitby has edited this important diary very well, and it can therefore be recommended to all ... -- William Glover * International Journal of Maritime History, vol. XVIII, no.1 *
Table of ContentsPrologue: Like Cutting Butter
Introduction: An Officer and His Diary
1 One Does Get Tired of Them, September-December 1943
2 Shaking Down, January-March 1944
3 Overseas, March-May 1944
4 The Great Endeavour, May-July 1944
5 Exasperation Inshore, July-October 1944
6 Deep Open Waters, October-December 1944
7 Wreck to Wreck, Contact to Contact, January-March 1945
8 Oasis of Comfort and Happiness, March-May 1945
Epilogue: Respite
Appendices
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
