''The Grey Seas of Jutland'' is a 1966 novel by

W. H. Canaway William Hamilton Canaway (1925 – 22 May 1988) was the author of novels that combined adventure with natural history and a love of the outdoors. He was born in 1925 in Altrincham, Cheshire, England, UK, and died on 22 May 1988 (age 62) in Derbys ...

Plot introduction

Two cousins, one British and one German, join their country's Naval forces and fall in love with the same girl. Their ongoing rivalry comes to a head in the thick of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when their ships close for action in the Battle of Jutland. The Author points out that no destroyer named ''Nilotic'' took part in the Jutland action, and that no capital ship named ''Sachsen'' was involved. He acknowledges a debt of gratitude to Captain Geoffrey Bennett, Royal Navy. The book is divided into two major sections; ''Time Growing'' and ''Time Fighting''.

Plot

At the beginning of the 1900s, George Wynne is growing up in his Father's

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

rectory. He is intended for the Church, but a chance encounter with a sailor sets him on the track of a naval career. George meets his German cousin, Werner Stelling who is inspired by George to also aim for a naval career. They both fall in love with their beautiful but wayward American cousin, Claire Edwardes. The cousins go through their country's naval colleges and are commissioned. George proposes marriage to Claire, but she evades the issue, eventually confessing to a long-standing sexual affair with a young farmhand on the family estate. George is horrified, but does not tell Claire of his own experience with a prostitute in the London docklands. George's sister June is married to a local farmer. After the celebrations, Claire's Mother, who is going through a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, makes clumsy drunken advances to George. She reveals that Claire has loved only Werner. By the start of the Great War, George is a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, and Werner is a

Leutnant zur See ''Leutnant zur See'' (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF1 in Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, NATO, equivalent to an Ensign (rank), Ensign in the United States Navy, and an Acti ...

. May 1916 finds George in command of ''HMS Nilotic'', a torpedo destroyer, part of a flotilla steaming out of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

into the North Sea. The flotilla will join the Grand Fleet under Admiral Jellicoe, which will shortly be involved in the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

. Werner is serving aboard the battleship ''Sachsen'', part of the German High Seas Fleet commanded by Admiral Scheer. ''Nilotic'' is soon in the thick of the fighting. George uses a brief respite to re-read a letter from Claire; she has married another man. Then a lookout spots the ''Sachsen''. Consumed with rage, George deliberately disobeys orders and alters course to intercept the ''Sachsen''. In the ensuing action, both of the ships are critically damaged and most of the George's crew are killed. George is forced to abandon ship, but not before firing his last

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

at the German ship. Both George and Werner find themselves in the water; George tries to kill Werner with his remaining strength, but fails. The cousins are rescued by a Swedish ship. Headed for internment, a kind of peace is made between them.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey Seas of Jutland, The Novels set on ships Hutchinson (publisher) books 1966 novels