With The Navy

Northern Advocate, 22 July 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

With The Navy

A GRAPHIC STORY

Down in the garden of literature the plot marked “Biog." is flourishing wonderfully just now. Here is an outstanding bloom that will bo conspicuous among prizewinners. It is Adventures Ashore and Afloat by Admiral of the Fleet. Sir Roger Keyes (Harrap. 18/nel). Mr Edmund Seagrave, among a chorus of reviewers who are stirred to admiration by this bibgraphy, writes thus: “Sir Roger's naval memoirs of the Great War have already been published: in this new volume he gratifies the wish of Ills friends and countless admirers by giving the story of ins career from his entry into the Navy at the age of 14 to his marriage 20 years later. In the preface which he contributes, Mr Winston Churchill rightly praises the book not merely for being an account of one of our national heroes, but also for giving i one of the best and brightest pictures ' we have ever had of the life of a naval j cadet in pre-war days. ‘We mount with him the rungs of the ladder of promotion, some of which are very slippery, indeed,’ says Mr Churchill. ‘When mogt of his contemporaries are at their books he plays his part in skirmish and foray afloat and ashore in command of men who have real jobs to do.’

i A Varied Career | ‘‘Young Keyes sailed the seas from | China to Brazil and back again; he was a policeman in African waters on the look-out for slave-running Arab dhows, and fwas with the Witu expedition; he commanded the torpedo boats which captured the Taku Forts; he took an historic part in the Boxer Rebellion operations both on land and sea, and led the • way into Peking. Promoted Commander while still in ins twenties, he was appointed to the Naval Intelligence Department and was then made Naval Attache in Rome and Vienna. Wherever he was, adventures flocked to him like iron filings to a magnet. He reports them with humour, with charm, without an atom either of conceit or mockmodesty. There aren’t any literary trimmings about his book, but it is very full of meat. This very brief account of how he led the British forces into Peking will give you some idea:

“As I thought it was likely to be a long business, there being no demolition party within reach, I took my Union Jack in my teeth, gave my pony to a trooper to hold, and, standing on its back, managed to get a foothold in several nieces where stones had come out, and after some anxious moments I succeeded in climbing to the top—about thirty feet. When I poked my head over I saw to my amazement that there was an encampment all along the wide city wall, with little tents, equipment and cooking utensils lying about, without a soul in sight. I tied my Union Jack to a Chinese pike and waved it.” ' sf vf