Winds of Fate

Sidney Allinson is the editor at the Royal Canadian Military Institute
and author of The Bantams: The Untold Story of World War I.

Soon after the outbreak of World War II, First Lord of the British
Admiralty Winston Churchill called on the King’s representative in
Newfoundland to “send over the best boatsmen in the world.” This
slim memoir tells the story of one such volunteer from Britain’s
oldest colony. Sheppard’s experiences may be typical of those many
“Newfies” who served with the Royal Navy all over the world.

The author was on active duty for five and a half years. He
unassumingly tells how he and fellow Newfoundlanders were on a score of
dangerous decks: from convoy work during grim U-boat warfare in the
Atlantic to the invasion of North Africa and other distant naval
combats. Perhaps, though, Sheppard’s modesty and brevity hide many
other colorful incidents or details of operations.

For all that, this is a very personal book. It leaves one with the
impression of a decent man with matter-of-fact faith in God and country.
How sad that such convictions seem so rare and even outmoded nowadays.
Without the courage of Sheppard’s kind back then, we may not have had
the freedom today to belittle such traits.