Hellespont – Through the Jaws of Death
Malcolm (aka Byrne) Avery writes:
I was intrigued. What could possibly have inspired Winston Churchill to write:
“The Naval History of Britain contains no page more wonderful than that which records the prowess of her submarines at the Dardanelles”
My research uncovered unimaginable feats of courage and audacity. Even as a submariner, I was unaware of these extraordinary escapades. I wanted to bring these stories to life. Not with a dry non-fiction tome destined for academic shelves, but through a gripping novel rooted in history. That’s how ‘Hellespont – Through the Jaws of Death‘ was born.
My first novel is available now in paperback and e-book formats. In addition to the fictional story, and I expect of particular interest to the submarine fraternity, the book includes a chronography of real incidents and a bibliography should anyone wish to investigate further.
A free gift! I have attached a copy of the ‘Endpiece’ from the book. This pulls together many of the strands of what I was trying to achieve by writing ‘Hellespont’, which I feel will chime with many submariners, provide an indication of the depth of research, and hopefully whet an appetite to buy the book!
Furthermore, I pledge £1 for every copy sold, up to a total donation of £250 to the Submarine Family.
Find out more about the book, my journey as an author, and how to get your copy here: byrneavery.com.
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3 comments on “Hellespont – Through the Jaws of Death”
Malcolm, I look forward to reading your book. I was lucky enough to grow up to know him and Peg (his wife’s nickname) until they both died. He was the consummate dapper character, always immaculately dressed. He stood out anywhere. He was also the World Croquet champion for many years in his 70s, until he was beaten by a young 21 year old Oxford undergraduate. Dacre was thrilled. He had been complaining for years that youngsters never played the game.
One item, I believe was that he did not get awarded a VC for being the first boat through the straits into the Sea of Marmara. Horton declared that the first boat through would get a VC. But when that turned out to be an Australian boat, the declaration was changed to the first boat that got through and returned.
In 1965 ALCIDE, a member of the 6th SM Division at Halifax, was on a visit to Bridgetown, Barbados, where our CO, Simon Conway, came across this “consummate dapper character” on the beach, and asked him and his attractive, much younger wife to come down the boat for a Sunday glass. This he did, and we were all thrilled to meet him. At some point, he asked the captain if he could take a look through the boat by himself. This he did, and we finally heard him running up the ladder to the bridge and down again. Returning to the wardroom, without puffing, he simply said, “Hasn’t changed a bit!” (which it hadn’t, much).
A cracking good read. BZ