Journal of a Young Midshipman (Hardback)

In the years 1910 to the 1950s, Midshipman’s journals were compulsory for all trainee regular officers, and were written up day by day, often in a vivid and revealing narrative style, sometimes with evocative illustrations. Thousands were produced, but not many survive. This journal by John Hashim, preserved by his son Simon and introduced by naval historian Brian Lavery, provides a unique and human insight into the most critical period in the Royal Navy’s war in the Mediterranean.

In 1940, seventeen-year-old Midshipman John Hashim left the naval college at Dartmouth to be thrust into the naval war in the Middle East, and his journal paints a vivid picture of daily life in the Royal Navy as well as his own often hair-raising experiences; it also gives us insights into the broader war at sea.

In his first ship, the cruiser Liverpool, he relays how he spotted a flaw in the air defence of the ship, though it was a torpedo which nearly sunk her and killed his best friend. His next ship, the York, was almost lost to Italian motorboats, and he then took part in the savage battle for Crete in the destroyer Kandahar, and saved that ship from destruction by countermanding the captain’s order. In between actions, he enjoyed comradeship onboard and leave in Alexandria. His journal, written up day by day alongside those of his colleagues Ralph Norris and Bill Hayes, provides a startlingly vivid picture of all these events and, without the benefit of hindsight, a remarkably fresh and immediate view. He later found himself on the battleship Valiant and then, as an officer, the escort destroyer Rockwood, which was hit by one of the first drones used in action. In the last days of the War in Europe he conducted a reconnaissance with COPP for Montgomery’s army to cross the River Elbe.

This journal, along with its supporting introductions, will fascinate anyone with an interest in the naval aspects of the Second World War; and the fresh and intuitive observations give it a spontaneity quite unmatched in the usual diet of naval history books.