Douglas Edward Reeman (15 October 1924 – 23 January 2017), who also used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

Alexander Kent, was a British author who wrote many historical novels about the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

, mainly set during either

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

or the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. He wrote a total of 68 novels, selling 34 million copies in twenty languages.

Biography

Reeman was born in

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, son of Charles "Percy" and Ada Reeman. At the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he joined the Royal Navy's boys' training establishment HMS Ganges. In 1940 Reeman was appointed

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

, at the age of 16. His initial service was in destroyers on convoy duty in the North Atlantic. During this time his ship was sunk and Reeman was injured by exploding depth charges. Later he transferred to Motor Torpedo Boats and was present subsequently at

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in a

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

. It was then that he was injured badly when his landing craft was hit by shellfire. He finished the war in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

repairing damage to make the port usable again, with the rank of

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 ...

. After the war, Reeman joined the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, serving as a beat officer and later in the

Criminal investigation department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

. At the beginning of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

he rejoined the Navy. At the end of the war he joined

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

as a child welfare officer, but remained a

Lieutenant-Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

Novels

Reeman's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''A Prayer for the Ship'', was published in 1958. Reeman is most famous for his series of

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

naval stories, the main character of which is Richard Bolitho, and, later, his nephew, Adam Bolitho. Reeman also wrote a series of novels about several generations of the fictional Blackwood family who served 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 warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

from the 1850s to the 1970s, and a non-fiction account of his own Second World War experiences, ''D-Day: A Personal Reminiscence'' (1984). He used the pseudonym Alexander Kent (the real name of a friend and naval officer who died during the Second World War) for his Bolitho novels and his real name for his other novels and non-fiction.

Teacher and advisor

In addition to being an author, Reeman also taught

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

for

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

ing and served as a technical advisor for movies.

Personal life

Reeman was married twice; first to Winifred Melville, and later, after he was widowed, to Canadian author Kimberley Jordan in 1985.

Bibliography (with publication dates)

World War II novels

The Blackwood Saga

aka The Royal Marines Saga * Badge of Glory (1982) (1st in plot sequence) * ''The First to Land'' (1984) (2nd) * ''The Horizon'' (1993) (3rd) * ''Dust on the Sea'' (1999) (4th) * ''Knife Edge'' (2004) (5th)

Other settings

* ''High Water'' (1959) * ''Send a Gunboat'' (1960) * ''The Hostile Shore'' (1962) * ''The Last Raider'' (1963) * ''Path of the Storm'' (1966) * ''The Deep Silence'' (1967) * ''The Greatest Enemy'' (1970)

The Bolitho novels

Richard Bolitho novels

(using the name Alexander Kent)

Adam Bolitho novels

n.b. these follow directly the ''Richard Bolitho'' novels * ''Second to None'' (1999) * ''Relentless Pursuit'' (2001) * ''Man of War'' (2003) * ''Heart of Oak'' (2007) * ''In the King's Name'' (2011)

References

External links

Douglas Reeman official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeman, Douglas 1924 births 2017 deaths Military personnel from Surrey People from Thames Ditton English writers English historical novelists Royal Navy officers of World War II Nautical historical novelists Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Metropolitan Police officers English social workers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Naval Reserve personnel