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Half Seas Under
Half Seas Under
About the book Ruari McLean started his war in 1939 as a pacifist but by Christmas he had changed his mind and joined the Royal Navy. Altogether he spent five years in the Navy, sailed on or under five oceans, and walked on five continents. He wore seven different kinds of hat, carried (but never used) six kinds of gun and was issued with an Instantaneous Death Tablet. In Half Seas Under, the author vividly brings to life his time as Liaison Officer on the Free French submarine Rubis which saw action off the coast of Norway, his time in Naval Intelligence, and his role in reconnaissance work behind Japanese lines in the Far East. Written with warmth and humour, and wonderfully sprinkled with the author's own illustrations, this is the story of one man's remarkable war.
Beneath the surface of wit and wonderful lightness of touch used by Ruari Mclean to describe his wartime experiences in submarines and with the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP) lies a story of true heroism and dedication. Winston Churchill told Parliament in 1942 that 'of all branches of His Majesty's Forces none faces grimmer perils than the submarines'. He was right. One in three of British and Allied submariners lost their lives during World War II, with the Royal Navy losing five out of its six minelaying submarines. To stand into danger with one's own countrymen is one thing, but to he exposed to that danger in a foreign submarine carries an additional piquancy. Sub-lieutenant McLean's appetite for adventure and his ability to get on with his fellow man carried him through, and he was fortunate to serve an outstanding Submarine Commanding Officer of FS Rubis and their gallant crewmembers. Lieutenant de Vaisseau Henri Rousselot was the most decorated Allied officer, with a DSO and a DSC and two Bars, all awarded for his many successful minelaying sorties between 1941 and 1944. His ship's company received three DSCs, one with a Bar and another with two Bars, and eleven DSMs, one with a Bar. Seven of his men were Mentioned in Despatches. The reader should he in no doubt that FS Rubis was in the thick of things! COPPs played a vital role in establishing the groundwork for Allied amphibious operations, and once again the dangers involved are nicely understated by the modesty of the Author. The journey to the objective carried its risks regardless of the mode of carriage, and the various phases of deployment, transit, getting ashore, conducting the surveys, and finally getting the results home to those who needed them were all extremely hazardous. Many COPPs did not return. Because of the public fascination for stories about the German U-boat, too often the contribution of the Allied Submarine Services to ultimate victory in World War II is forgotten, and I doubt that many people will have even heard of the COPPs and their magnificent work. Half Seas Under is thus an important hook historically, as well as a brilliant read. Commander Jeff Tall OBE RN
This book is entitled Half Seas Under because the phrase 'Half Seas Over' used to be commonly applied to someone who had had too much to drink. And a lot of this book happens 'Seas under'. I am most grateful to Commander JJ Tall OBE RN, Director of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, for continual help and encouragement, and for the Foreword he has written to this book, I am also grateful, for help and advice, to Mme Maggie Rousselot, widow of Admiral Rousselot who commanded the Free French submarine Rubis, Admiral Jean Mathey in Paris, Allan Brunton-Reed my publisher, John Beaton my editor, Nic Jones and son David McClean for their endless help and skill in designing and producing this book, my daughter-in-law Mary McLean for typing most of it, my daughter Catriona Mclean, Fianach Lawry, The National Library of Scotland, and many unnamed Dundee photographers who photographed the crew of Rubis after our triumphant return from Norway in August 1941. Also to the editors of Manchester Guardian, Men Only, London Opinion, and some naval periodicals for kindness in allowing me to reprint some drawings and excerpts from articles I wrote for them many years ago. Ruari Mclean
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