All Brave Sailors: The Sinking of the Anglo-Saxon, August 21, 1940 [Hardcover]

J. Revell Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2004

In the darkness before moonrise on the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast on August 21, 1940, the night erupted in a fusillade of bullets and shells. The victim was a stalwart English tramp steamer, "Anglo-Saxon," part of the lifeline that was keeping besieged England supplied. The attacker was the "Widder," a German surface raider, disguised as a neutral merchant ship.

When it was near its prey, the raider unmasked its hidden armament and with overwhelming force destroyed the target ship. Only seven of the forty-one man crew of the "Anglo-Saxon" managed to get into a small boat and escape the raiders. Seventy days later, two of them, half dead, stumbled ashore in the Bahamas.

The account of the sailors' ordeal -- how first the badly wounded and then the less strong died and were thrown over the side of a fragile boat that had almost no supplies -- is suspenseful and riveting.

On the same day the two survivors reached the Bahamas, the "Widder" arrived off Brest, in occupied France, her murderous voyage over. Her captain, Hellmuth von Ruckteschell, who sank a staggering twenty-five ships, was eventually tried as a war criminal.

"All Brave Sailors" is a story of endurance, heroism, brutality, and survival under the most terrible circumstances. It fills a gap in the history of World War II, telling the story of the much neglected sailors and the ships of the merchant marine, fighting against great odds in the early days of the war.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the tale of the merciless assault by the German raider the Widder on the Anglo-Saxon, a British merchant marine vessel, Carr has chosen a typical WWII subject with untold riches beneath the surface, crafting a story that remains, generations later, well worth telling. In the war's early days, the heavily armed Widder commonly disguised itself as a neutral Swedish freighter and pummeled unsuspecting enemy ships with massive artillery. On August 21, 1940, the victim of this remarkably effective (and much frowned upon) technique was the defenseless Anglo-Saxon, which came under attack off Africa's western coast. What's unique about this story is its aftermath: the Widder's incredibly effective ambush method resulted in a fatality rate of 100% - but not this time. Seven seamen were able to escape undetected on a tiny, meagerly provisioned "jolly boat"; their fate constitutes the utterly riveting heart of the book. The 70 days before the boat finally washed up on shore in the Bahamas (carrying only two living sailors) is by turns gut-wrenching and inspiring, and always enthrallingly detailed and vividly imagined. Carr also profiles Hellmuth von Ruckteschell, the captain of the marauding Widder, who was eventually tried as a war criminal. Carr, former director and president of Mystic Seaport, where for decades the jolly boat resided before being returned to the U.K., is unquestionably the expert this story needs. Clearly interested in the subject for some years and intending his book to be a tribute to the undersung and heroic sailors of the merchant marine, Carr wrings every fascinating last drop out of this powerful material.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This solid, powerful maritime history focuses on the 1940 sinking of the British freighter Anglo-Saxon by the German commerce raider Widder. Captain von Ruckteschell of the Widder fired on the Anglo-Saxon's lifeboats. Seven of the crew got away, but only two reached the Bahamas. One of those, flamboyant Roy Widdicombe, was lost at sea on the way back to England, while Bob Tapscott survived another 20 years to commit suicide as a consequence of post-traumatic stress disorder. Besides the harrowing details of the men in the lifeboat, Carr paints a vivid portrait of the Allied merchant navies at war and a good character profile of the ruthless, enigmatic, and skilled von Ruckteschell. Carr, a former president of the Mystic Seaport Museum, has contributed to the survival-at-sea and World War II literatures a book sure to draw boatloads of readers. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743238370
• ISBN-13: 978-0743238373
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author does justice to this remarkable story, June 22, 2004

By 

Richard E. Hourula (Berkeley, CA. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All Brave Sailors: The Sinking of the Anglo-Saxon, August 21, 1940 (Hardcover)

The remarkable tale of those lucky few that survived the sinking of the English merchant ship, the Anglo Saxon by a German raider is a compelling story. But author J. Revell Carr does not leave it at that. He also tells the story of the German raider who sunk it, most especially it's notorious captain. In relating the extraordinary life and character of Hellmuth von Ruckteschell, Carr has not drawn a stick figure villain, but has presented a fully realized and complex figure. This is the mark of top-notch storytelling and history.
Obviously the more inspiring story is that of those who survived on the Atlantic Ocean aboard the jolly boat for two months. Their struggles with hunger, exposure, thirst; injury and madness are the stuff of legend. That anyone could have survived on so small a boat from the mid Atlantic to the shore of the Bahamas is awe-inspiring.
Carr wisely lets their story speak for itself. While filled with admiration for those plucky few who survived (and those who didn't as well) he does not embellish. He doesn't need to.
Among the many attributes of this book -- perhaps most notably that it's a cracking good read -- is that it gives recognition to the merchant seamen who so bravely and at such extraordinary risk served the allied cause during both world wars (my father among them). Merchant seaman suffered the highest proportionate losses of any service group during World War II.
"All Brave Sailors" is the story of war and the terrible cost it extracts from ordinary people. Not just those who perish, but those who they leave behind. We also see the costs extracted from those who survive.
I would have liked more pictures and a few maps, but these are mere quibbles. This is a book worthy of the story it endeavors to tell and is highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Brave Sailors, February 9, 2004

By 

Dave Campbell (Noank, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Brave Sailors: The Sinking of the Anglo-Saxon, August 21, 1940 (Hardcover)

An excellent tale, not only of the survival story of seven men from the Anglo-Saxon, but also of the biographical sketches of all of the characters in this tale and their association with the historical events of the time. Revell Carr has used his knowledge of the sea and his ability to ferret out interesting detail through hours of research and interviews to produce a story that is not only worth telling, but was very enjoyable to read. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Brave Sailors, February 5, 2004

By 

William Queale, Jr. (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Brave Sailors: The Sinking of the Anglo-Saxon, August 21, 1940 (Hardcover)

Revell Carr has done a masterful job making history come alive in this riveting tale of survival and death at sea brought about by the sinking of a merchant ship in the early stages of WWII. He writes in a style that presents historical detail in a fresh and interesting way. For me, it was a page turner. His research was extraordinary. The story of merchant marine service in WWII is truly one worth telling. Mr. Carr did it well by developing the characters, explaining the times in which they lived and served, the frightful events that took place in 1940 on the high seas, and the extraordinary human will to live when abandoned in the middle of the ocean in not much more than a large row boat when there was no hope. The pages devoted to survival at sea in a small "jolly boat" were gut wrenching. When two of the seven men made in across the Atlantic, there were still more twists to this heroic tale of survival. Even if one has never seen the ocean, Mr. Carr's words will allow you to sense its power, desolation, and beauty, as wells man's frailty in trying to survive while at its mercy.