4 novels about my dad

[Robert George Young]

During my 6 years of research this forum was great at giving me an insight to life as a merchant seaman. Dad did 27 years 1946 -1973

I mentioned a few times an author and I were writing a book on my dad’s life.
We eventually wrote 4 novels.

3 books during WW2 when he was in the Royal Navy.
Last one from 1946-1986.

I wanted a larger part of last book to be about his merchant navy life but
the other plots and stories seemed to take over. We did get aspects of his time on HMS Manxman, cruise ships and a few other things in though.
We largely concentrated on his opportunity to have a job, family and “a new life”
But demons from his WW2 experiences stayed with him.

I’ll give you a little summary of the books.
Happy to answer any questions on them.

In 2016 my brother Stephen and I were enjoying a drink in the Foresters Arms in Dunster, Exmoor, talking about our father, Bill Young, who had committed suicide by hanging himself in his kitchen 30 years earlier. We usually referred to him by the family name, ‘you know who’, but as we were in rather a jolly mood we referred to him as Dad. Then Steve mentioned that Dad would have qualified for the Arctic Star medal as he had been part of the Arctic convoys in WW2. I didn’t really know anything about Dad’s war, but said I’d look into obtaining the medal if he qualified for it.
I found a photo of Dad as a 17 year old recruit from the Isle of Man archives and realised that he had served every day of World war 2, fighting the enemy, except 60 days he spent in a Jerusalem detention centre. He had been sunk on three ships, been on a ship that had sunk 2 U-boats killing 100 men and been part of an operation that was sent to a Norwegian Fjord with the purpose of sinking Tirpitz, the giant German sister battleship to Bismarck. He qualified for the Arctic Star for this mission. After the war he served 27 years in the merchant navy, as well as raising a family, a family he lost because of his drinking. On his many drunken visits to the family house in the 1960’s he would often say “we were all on “a one way ticket” This was usually after he had told us about the Stuka bombers and friends’ bodies splattered all over the deck.
I felt his life was worth writing down, especially as it was a life full of very disturbing action in his late teens and early twenties and ultimately ended in despair, depression and loneliness mainly brought about through events that happened 40 years previously. I approached the author Carole McEntee-Taylor with the idea of a book. We spoke extensively and decided Dad’s story within a novel would be best way forward. This idea soon expanded into a series of 4 novels. Largely based on my Dad’s life and including the true story of Dad’s sister who shot her G.I. husband dead in 1947.

The four book series, A One Way Ticket, will be available to buy in early March. Like the page for updates, photos and more information about Bill.

https://m.facebook.com/SeamanBillYoung

[j.sabourn]

#1. Robert the period 1946 to 1973 there will be many on this site where periods during that interval they will already have first hand knowledge. That period covered the war in Palestine , the Korean War, the war in Vietnam , the various flare ups in the African nations , the Cuban crisis, the wars in the Persian Gulf. And probably other disturbances in other parts which have missed out. Depending on how lucky or unlucky as the case may be many already know by personal experience what happened. Wherever there are disturbances in the world in countries especially if they have a seaboard , ships will have been involved. Most of those veterans will be only too pleased they couldn’t be in two places at the same time. I and probably speak for others am pleased you have found your father , and you realise more of his life was not always a bed of roses , seaman’s lives never were., and sorry it ended as you describe , there were many more like him . All the best once again .JS

[Robert George Young]

Thankyou JS

Having enjoyed the 6 years of research I’m tempted to write a book about the 27 years in Merchant Navy
I have list of all dads ships and voyages.
Big thanks to this site for assistance over the years.
Are you admin of website JS? Bob

[j.sabourn]

Definetley not . JS