The Rescue Ships

The Rescue Ships and the Convoys tells the history of one of the least known aspects of Second World War maritime history. Despite the threat of heavy losses of ships and lives, no hospital ships, which had to be lit, could accompany the convoys as they would betray a convoy’s position. The solution was to create a fleet of 30 small Merchant Navy vessels of about 1,500 gross tons, mostly from coastal trade. These ‘Rescue Ships’, commanded and manned by Merchant Navy personnel, carried medical teams, and life-saving equipment including operating theaters, hospital beds, ‘Carley’ floats, and hoists. Undeterred either by either enemy action or atrocious weather conditions, these vessels accompanied close to 800 convoys and saved 4,194 lives from ships sunk in the North Atlantic and with the Arctic convoys. During their service, seven Rescue Ships were lost. This is a story packed with suspense, danger, achievement and tragedy. As the author, Vice Admiral Schofield, who was closely involved in the establishment of the fleet, writes, it is a record ‘of great humanitarian endeavour, of superb acts of courage, of a display of seamanship of the highest order, of a devotion to duty by medical officers under the most arduous conditions imaginable, of great deeds by men of the Merchant Navy in little ships on voyages they were never designed to undertake.’

The Rescue Ships and the Convoys tells the history of one of the least known aspects of Second World War maritime history. Despite the threat of heavy losses of ships and lives, no hospital ships, which had to be lit, could accompany the convoys as they would betray a convoy’s position. The solution was to create a fleet of 30 small Merchant Navy vessels of about 1,500 gross tons, mostly from coastal trade. These ‘Rescue Ships’, commanded and manned by Merchant Navy personnel, carried medical teams, and life-saving equipment including operating theaters, hospital beds, ‘Carley’ floats, and hoists. Undeterred either by either enemy action or atrocious weather conditions, these vessels accompanied close to 800 convoys and saved 4,194 lives from ships sunk in the North Atlantic and with the Arctic convoys. During their service, seven Rescue Ships were lost. This is a story packed with suspense, danger, achievement and tragedy. As the author, Vice Admiral Schofield, who was closely involved in the establishment of the fleet, writes, it is a record ‘of great humanitarian endeavour, of superb acts of courage, of a display of seamanship of the highest order, of a devotion to duty by medical officers under the most arduous conditions imaginable, of great deeds by men of the Merchant Navy in little ships on voyages they were never designed to undertake.’

Chris Gall gives boat books a fresh coat of paint in a bright story of tugboats, tools, and teamwork. Oh no! The Goliath has wrecked in a storm. First the crew has to be rescued, then the ship has to be made safe, refloated, and winched off the rocks. It’s a good thing Salvage Master Miley is on the scene with her tugboat, the Mighty Mackerel. It’s a tough job, but with the tug’s powerful engines, propellers, towlines, and winches, Miley and her salvage team have what it takes to bring Goliath back to port. With lively storytelling, engaging artwork, and plenty of mechanical detail, acclaimed author/illustrator Chris Gall sails through a brave and stormy tale of nautical machinery and collaboration that’s just right for little engineers.

A kindergarten-level introduction to rescue boats, covering their divers, equipment, role in rescuing, and such defining features as their lights.

Told through the eyes of a fisherman's daughter, this is the story of how, in May 1940, an 'armada' of ordinary people in their own boats joined the Royal Navy to help rescue soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk

The story of the Titanic rescue ship from her days as an immigrant ship, the rescue of over 700 survivors of Titanic, to her service and sinking in WW1.