VICE ADMIRAL BRIAN BETHAM SCHOFIELD, CB, CBE served in the Royal Navy for 42 years. As Director of the Trade Division in the Admiralty during the Second World War, he was closely involved with the Rescue Ship Service. Later he commanded HMS King George V, flagship of the British Pacific Fleet. After retiring in 1950, he wrote numerous works on naval history including Operation Neptune, Stringbags in Action and his memoirs, With the Royal Navy in War and Peace (all in print with Pen & Sword Books) as well as the highly acclaimed The Russian Convoys. He died in 1984.