Eric Thompson was born in Scotland during the Second World War. He won a scholarship to Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth at sixteen, was streamed as an Engineer Officer, volunteered for submarines and thirty-seven years later retired as Commodore of Britain's principal nuclear submarine base at Faslane. A creature of the Cold War, he served in five submarines, two squadrons, the staff of Submarine HQ and the Ministry of Defence. In addition to being a nuclear propulsion specialist, he took a Masters degree in Acoustics and became a lead officer in the ultra-secret world of underwater warfare and stealth technology. His MBE was awarded for leadership during a submarine emergency on patrol.

This book is highly recommended, not just for the detail and historical perspective it gives, but also for the lightness of the writing. This reviewer could almost sense Eric Thompson smiling wryly as he put his memories down on paper or computer screen.

• Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction 1 On Patrol           2 In the Beginning 3 Th e  Four-Minute  Warning  4 A New Religion 5 The Small Matter of a Journal 6 Welcome to Submarines 7 Resurrection           8 Corporate Constipation           9 God of the Underworld 10 Walter Mitty         11 Trials and Tribulations         12 Going Nuclear         13 Things That Go Bump in the Night 14 Fire Down Below 15 The Strategic Nuclear Deterrent 16 Senior Engineer         17 My Last Patrol 18 War and Peace 19 The Joint Service Defence College 20 Stealth         21 Squadron Life         22 The Directorate of Naval Lost Property 23 The Nuclear Business 24 The Chief Strategic Systems Executive 25 The Peace Dividend 26 ‘Commodore Eric’         27 Leros Glossary of Terms

Eric Thompson was born in Scotland during the Second World War. He won a scholarship to Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth at sixteen, was streamed as an Engineer Officer, volunteered for submarines and thirty-seven years later retired as Commodore of Britain's principal nuclear submarine base at Faslane. A creature of the Cold War, he served in five submarines, two squadrons, the staff of Submarine HQ and the Ministry of Defence. In addition to being a nuclear propulsion specialist, he took a Masters degree in Acoustics and became a lead officer in the ultra-secret world of underwater warfare and stealth technology. His MBE was awarded for leadership during a submarine emergency on patrol.

This book is highly recommended, not just for the detail and historical perspective it gives, but also for the lightness of the writing. This reviewer could almost sense Eric Thompson smiling wryly as he put his memories down on paper or computer screen.

• Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction 1 On Patrol           2 In the Beginning 3 Th e  Four-Minute  Warning  4 A New Religion 5 The Small Matter of a Journal 6 Welcome to Submarines 7 Resurrection           8 Corporate Constipation           9 God of the Underworld 10 Walter Mitty         11 Trials and Tribulations         12 Going Nuclear         13 Things That Go Bump in the Night 14 Fire Down Below 15 The Strategic Nuclear Deterrent 16 Senior Engineer         17 My Last Patrol 18 War and Peace 19 The Joint Service Defence College 20 Stealth         21 Squadron Life         22 The Directorate of Naval Lost Property 23 The Nuclear Business 24 The Chief Strategic Systems Executive 25 The Peace Dividend 26 ‘Commodore Eric’         27 Leros Glossary of Terms

Eric Thompson was born in Scotland during the Second World War. He won a scholarship to Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth at sixteen, was streamed as an Engineer Officer, volunteered for submarines and thirty-seven years later retired as Commodore of Britain's principal nuclear submarine base at Faslane. A creature of the Cold War, he served in five submarines, two squadrons, the staff of Submarine HQ and the Ministry of Defence. In addition to being a nuclear propulsion specialist, he took a Masters degree in Acoustics and became a lead officer in the ultra-secret world of underwater warfare and stealth technology. His MBE was awarded for leadership during a submarine emergency on patrol.

This book is highly recommended, not just for the detail and historical perspective it gives, but also for the lightness of the writing. This reviewer could almost sense Eric Thompson smiling wryly as he put his memories down on paper or computer screen.

• Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction 1 On Patrol           2 In the Beginning 3 Th e  Four-Minute  Warning  4 A New Religion 5 The Small Matter of a Journal 6 Welcome to Submarines 7 Resurrection           8 Corporate Constipation           9 God of the Underworld 10 Walter Mitty         11 Trials and Tribulations         12 Going Nuclear         13 Things That Go Bump in the Night 14 Fire Down Below 15 The Strategic Nuclear Deterrent 16 Senior Engineer         17 My Last Patrol 18 War and Peace 19 The Joint Service Defence College 20 Stealth         21 Squadron Life         22 The Directorate of Naval Lost Property 23 The Nuclear Business 24 The Chief Strategic Systems Executive 25 The Peace Dividend 26 ‘Commodore Eric’         27 Leros Glossary of Terms