'Soon our shots were exploding all over the cruiser. So short became the range that we could see our projectiles exploding on the target. Ben Smyth, our trainer, stopped the gun following the target, saying It's bloody murder, Bill, shouting at the gunlayer who was firing' - Boy Seaman Hayward on the capsizing of the Blucher, Battle of Dogger Bank

For the British navy the First World War was a massive learning curve as, for the first time, she went into battle with an untried weapons system, dreadnoughts, mines, submarines, aircraft and airships. In spite of this, the navy never failed to provide the shield which enabled the British Army to play a key part in the Western Front. With great bravery the officers and ratings manned the ships, often in appalling weather, with the ever-present prospect of being blown to pieces or choking to death trapped in a compartment or turret as their ship plunged to the bottom. Based on eye-witness accounts of the action, General Julian Thompson has written a gripping history that recreates the war at sea through the experiences of those who fought, and sometimes died.