LIFEBOAT MAGAZINE ARCHIVE

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Books for the Young

Two selections of stories for the young which have recently been published contain accounts of the exploits of the great Cromer coxswain, Henry Blogg.

All in the Day's Work (Hamish Hamil- ton 6/6) opens with an extract from Cyril Jolly's book S.O.S. The Story of the Life-boat Service, in which he des- cribes the great rescue from the convoy which went aground off the east coast in 1941. Other contributors to the book are J. H. Williams, with an elephant story, and David Attenborough, with an account of the capture of the largest type of lizard in the world.

Harrap's Swift Readers Book 4 (Harrap 5/6) is intended for younger readers.

There are stories of characters as varied as Handel, Bulldog Drummond and Dr.

Barnardo. An account of the service by the Cromer life-boat to the Swedish ship Fernebo in 1917 is taken from The Story of the Life-boat.

P.H.

The True Book about Heroines of the Sea (Frederick Muller 9/6) is written for young people, and contains eight tales of courageous conduct at sea by women and girls, some barely into their teens. They are stirring tales, which should excite the admiration of girl readers, and also their brothers - and maybe fathers and mothers as well.

The book is recommended, with reservations. The accounts of the more recent incidents appear to be factual, but this cannot be said of the story of Grace Darling that opens the book. It seems to have been the fate of that heroine to have become the subject of many untrue statements, and the author, Eileen Bigland, perpetuates some of those errors; and for good measure introduces some of her own.

She also makes it apparent that in writing of matters maritime she is less than at home with her subject.

None of the stories refer to the life- boat service.

W.M.P-H..