The Limey Diver
£6.99
There was nothing remarkable about the circumstances of Frederick Calton’s childhood: born in Sheffield in 1917, fortunate to survive illness in his early years. Everything changed when his passion for swimming and diving led him to join the Royal Navy – and World War II began.
Christened ‘The Limey Diver’ by his American counterparts, Frederick Calton served his country with distinction as a deep-sea diver. His autobiography, published 13 years after his death, provides a unique insight into the world of the ’30s and ’40s. Travelling the world, meeting people from cultures of a bygone era, and – of course – his life in mortal danger. It’s a story told in a traditional British stiff-upper-lip style, treating frequent brushes with death as par for the course: there was, after all, a war on.
The Limey Diver (148pp) offers something rare: a new insight into the darkest period of our recent history, told from Frederick Calton’s roots in the Steel City of Sheffield.
