Sir David William Bone (22 June 1874''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950'' – 17 May 1959) was a Scottish

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

and author of

nautical fiction Nautical fiction, frequently also naval fiction, sea fiction, naval adventure fiction or maritime fiction, is a genre of literature with a setting on or near the sea, that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages and highligh ...

. His work includes ''The Brassbounder'' about a brassbounder, a young apprentice on a British Merchant ship. It was included as a recommendation in '' Literary Taste: How to Form It'', a long essay with recommended readings written by

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

. ''Brassbounder'' is "a classic of the squaresail era". Bone received the Coronation Medal from King George VI in 1937 for his long association with the Merchant Navy. He was also appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1943. Bone was born in Abbotsford Place in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. His father, David Drummond Bone (1841–1911) was a prominent newspaper publisher in GlasgowThe Late Mr David D. Bone.
The Scottish Referee, 27 October 1911. Scan via London Hearts Supporters Club and his great-grandfather was a boyhood companion of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

. Elizabeth Millar Crawford (1847–1886) was his mother. His brothers included the journalist James Bone and artist

Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone (23 March 1876 – 21 October 1953) was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars. A ...

who illustrated some of David's books, including ''Merchantmen-at-Arms''. Bone studied at Partick Academy. Bone's career at sea began when he apprenticed at 15 on the ''City of Florence'', "an old-time square-rigger". He also served on

windjammers A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts that may be square rigged, or fore-and-aft rigged, or a combination of the two. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam ...

in Australia, with Anchor Line, and on a troop ship during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. Bone captained the SS ''Tuscania'' from New York on its first trip to

Bibliography

*''The Brassbounder'' (1910) by David W Bone *''Broken Stowage'' by David W Bone (1915), a collection of short stories *''Merchantmen-at-arms; the British merchants' service in the war'' by David W Bone (1919) *''The Lookoutman'' by David W Bone (1923) *''Capstan Bars'' by David W Bone (1931) *''Merchantmen Rearmed'' (1949) *''The Queerfella'' by David W Bone (1952) *''Landfall at Sunset; the life of a contented sailor'' by David W Bone (1955)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bone, David 1874 births 1959 deaths 20th-century British male writers Writers from Glasgow British Merchant Navy officers People from Partick Members of the Order of the British Empire British Merchant Service personnel of World War I Knights Bachelor British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II Scottish male writers

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...