Badge of Glory is a nautical historical novel by
Douglas Reeman
Douglas Edward Reeman (15 October 1924 – 23 January 2017), who also used the pseudonym Alexander Kent, was a British author who wrote many historical novels about the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars. He w ...
. It forms the initial part of the multi-volume Blackwood saga. which follows the adventures of several generations of Royal Marine officers over 150 years.
Plot
The year is 1850 and a young
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
is on the throne. Philip Blackwood, a captain in the
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
, and son and grandson of marine officers, rejoins his ship, ''HMS Audacious'', which is to sail to West Africa to help stamp out the remains of the slave trade. The ship is part of a squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir James Ashley-Chute. Blackwood’s younger step-brother Harry, a marine second lieutenant, is also aboard, as is Sir Geoffrey Slade, a senior government official.
At
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, disquieting news reaches Slade by despatch-boat concerning a possible native uprising north of
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
. Slade needs to proceed as quickly as possible to investigate. He and a detachment of marines transfer to ''HMS Satyr'', a new and faster steam ship, of the type being newly constructed for the Royal Navy; admired by some but derided by others including Ashley-Chute.
After coaling at
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
, they arrive in the
Bight of Benin
The Bight of Benin or Bay of Benin is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast that derives its name from the historical Kingdom of Benin.
Geography
It extends eastward for about from Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of t ...
. Following the marines dictum of ‘First to Land-Last to Leave’, Blackwood lands a detachment of marines. They find themselves facing a superior force of natives, led by King Mdlaka. They are clearly trained and armed by white slavers. Despite the British government’s attempts to persuade the natives to take up
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
production, they have returned to the vastly more lucrative slave trade. Many marines are killed and wounded in the battle, but they are able to relieve the besieged trade fortress, finding few survivors.
Major Rupert Fynmore takes command for the next landing, and further battles take place with the well-entrenched slavers. They are well-armed with cannon and newer rifle-bored weapons that the marines have not yet been issued with. Blackwood is badly wounded and evacuated to ship, initially to Freetown and then back to England. But the hard-fighting marines are victorious, and Lessard, the leader of the slavers, falls, or is pushed, into the hold of a laden slave ship, where he’s torn apart. Slade’s niece, Davern Seymour, who Blackwood had met in Portsmouth and is fascinated with, is also rescued. She had been captured and ill-treated by the slavers. Her father, a doctor, has been horribly killed.
Blackwood’s recovery is slow. His domineering step-mother insists that he will recover better at the family home of Hawks Hill. and he is taken there, with his faithful
valet
A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
, Private Smithett. He finds his father, the Colonel, bedridden but in good spirits and happy to hear of his son’s exploits.
Blackwood decides to leave home and stay at his club. He accidentally overhears a conversation in which he learns that his step-mother was the mistress of the late Lord Lapidge, from whom she inherited her wealth. He reports for duty in Portsmouth.
The marines are posted to
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, where Blackwood finds the climate even more stifling than that of West Africa. They spend most of their time on ceremonial duties and drilling with new weapons. Harry Blackwood has an affair with Fynmore’s young wife. Then under Ashley-Chute’s command, they sail for the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
to participate in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
.
From the port of
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
, the squadron joins battle with Russian ships off the coast near
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
. The flagship, ''HMS Tenacious'', is almost overwhelmed, but Blackwood’s marine sharpshooters manage to save the day. Ashley-Chute is killed in the battle.
The marines are ordered to Crimea and land at Balaclava. They march inland, where they are to support the army in storming a well-defended Russian
redoubt
A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...
.
The marines are put into the attack. Fynmore, who has learned that his wife has given birth to a baby, almost certainly Harry’s, angrily gives the latter a dangerous assignment with a grenade party. Harry not only survives, but distinguishes himself.
Blackwood is again badly wounded and wakes up in hospital where he finds Davern nursing him. He is evacuated home to England; the doctors fear for his life, but he does survive. He returns home to Hawks Hill, his marine career almost certainly over. The Colonel has died and he takes up his family inheritance, whilst his step-mother leaves for France. Davern, now amicably separated from his husband, comes to him.
External links
Douglas Reeman official siteKirkus Reviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Badge of Glory
Novels set on ships
Novels about slavery
Crimean War fiction
1982 novels
Fiction set in 1850
Hutchinson (publisher) books