Growing up in the 1930s and 40s, Stuart B. Thorn always dreamed of becoming a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy—a fantasy that, for a number of reasons, was unlikely to ever come to pass. Still, at the age of seventeen, Thorn had only grown stronger in his desire to go out to sea.
So the young man took the only opportunity he could. He enlisted as a junior stoker and began a grueling career that would place him on the scene at every conflict of the era—including Korea, the Cod Wars, and the first Gulf Incident.
Now retired, Thorn has plenty to share about the history of the times he has lived and worked through—before, during, and after his years of active service.
In The Life and Times of a Stoker RN, Thorn draws upon eighty years of life experience to share an authentic look at the world inside Royal Navy ships, the sociology of the mid–twentieth century, and a stoker’s long journey to finally achieving senior rank.
