Salt Horse
Memoir of a Maverick Admiral, Claude Lionel Cumberlege
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Porto Press Ltd
Published:18th Apr '24
Should be back in stock very soon
Written originally in 1936–38 by Admiral Cumberlege as a record of his life, Salt Horse was never published. The original manuscript has been expertly edited and made readable in terms of language to a modern audience. It now comprises chapters on Cumberlege’s naval career in the RN and Royal Australian Navy and also on the 1922–38 period when he lived year-round on two large sailing craft, cruising the coasts of France and Spain.
Cumberlege writes with some verve. He has strong views, made numerous friends wherever he and his second wife Nora went, and lived a spirited, irreverent and fortunate existence in peace and war. Some of his stories (for instance, about WW1 in New Guinea, or about his 1905 lunch in Gibraltar as a young officer with Kaiser Wilhelm II) are historic and eye-catching. In many ways, the book describes a world, and a way of life, that has disappeared for ever.
Salt Horse is complemented with a timeline, family tree and Introduction which trace Cumberlege’s background. An Afterword takes his life story from 1938–63 when he died. The numerous black-and-white images and short footnotes bring many of the people mentioned in the text to life.
Robin Knight and Claude Cumberlege’s daughter Claudine are to be commended for transforming Salt Horse into a most readable and accessible memoir. It is a delightful read. Whittles Publishing has done a very fine job in producing a full colour and well illustrated high quality paperback. Salt Horse is most highly recommended for young and old salts alike and for anyone who wants to see how much the world has changed since the early 20th century.
-- Australian Naval InstituteAny book written or edited by Robin Knight will not disappoint and Salt Horse is no exception!...Rear-Admiral Claude Lionel Cumberlege’s diaries are crammed full with colourful stories - dozens upon dozens of colourful stories - that Robin has so skillfully edited...an eminently readable, thoroughly entertaining and uplifting book. As I said at the beginning, you will not be disappointed.
-- Ewen Southby-Tailyour...Claude Cumberlege was not a typical naval officer, in many ways, as the title suggests, and his memoir brings to light an unusual man, rebellious in some aspects...Cumberlege writes well and Robin Knight’s editing, reducing the Memoir by 1/3 in length is seamless. It is illustrated with contemporary images from various sources. Robin Knight’s research is thorough in its scope and puts Cumberlege’s naval career and his life after the Navy into a clear perspective.
-- John Johnson-Allen * The Institute of Seamanship JournISBN: 9781849955720
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 336g
192 pages