The book begins on board the sinking ship. Knowing that women and children are more likely to escape in lifeboats, a mysterious American man entrusts vital government documents to a “patriotic” young American named Jane Finn. It is a draft treaty,…

In December 1917, a double tragedy was to befall the port of Waterford. Within a few days of each other two merchant ships the SS Coningbeg, and the SS Formby were sunk by a German U-Boat. The ships operated a twice weekly trade route between…

The British Admiralty had several factors to consider when they thought about escorting the mail and rail steamers. For example, the steamers were capable of 21 knots, which was fast, and they could maintain a reasonable speed even in bad weather.…

Prime Minister David Lloyd George was aware that Britain’s manpower resources were dwindling. He had prioritised shipbuilding, tanks and aircraft production before army demands. The army wanted 1.25 million new entrants. Lloyd George was only…

Throughout the First World War, the UK imported significant amounts of food from the United States, Canada and through Gibraltar. The German naval command calculated that they could starve Britain into surrender and win the war with a five-month…

The London North Western Railway Company (LNWR) maintained their Holyhead to Dublin express service by switching the two Greenore ships to the Dublin service. An older ship was on standby. The potential of U-boats to destroy shipping had hardly…

By October 1918, it had become apparent that the First World War was slowly drawing to a close. It was not yet foreseeable whether it would be over by Christmas, a hope annually revived since 1914, but an end to the fighting lay in the near future.…