Random Soundings

Now scarce, once very popular, stories and sketches by a naval officer, in Part 1 largely concerned with war, in Part 2 travel (the West Indies, South America, South Africa). There are 19 pieces infused with a deep love and knowledge of ships and the sea, and an appealing relish for people, places and activities that make life worth living. In Sea-Wrack's view, these include playing cricket in the West Indies, drinking 'real beer' in proper pubs, eating well and telling funny stories. So who are we to say he's wrong? The book itself has lost its dust jacket and is worn at the top and bottom of the spine, at the corners and a bit less so along the edges. The spine is starting to loosen, because the bottom half of the hingeing is opening up between the title page and the front board and front endpapers. The hingeing is also getting tender between pages 96 and 97. There's a fair bit of spotting and a few minor stains up to page 24, then the pages get much, much cleaner with only occasional small blemishes. There's a small top-of-finger sized bit of the page missing along the outer edge of page 41-42. It's a very Naval book, good-humoured and nostalgic. "Sea-Wrack" was the pseudonym of Lieutenant-Commander Edward Horace Crebbin (1896-1961), who is buried in the churchyard at Angmering in West Sussex. A fondness for places such as Sussex, Dartmouth and Plymouth also suffuses this book. PS - there's also what we guess must be a historically early account of learning to surf, in South Africa. Crebbin calls it "surf-bathing". The two pages in which he describes this "exhilarating" activity are probably the best in the book.…