Sturdy, John Rhodes The Grey Funnel Line

Maclean’s tag line: “Civilians on a Navy ship! Like a blinkin’ passenger line, swore the Chief Gunner’s Mate — but that was before young Georgie went overboard.” Late in the War, after a major repair job at Norfolk, Va., the Royal Navy cruiser MIDLAND, with a temporary captain and crew, heads back to England with two special passengers: two young English boys being repatriated back to their families after having been evacuated to America in 1940. Surprisingly, the two children serve as a catalyst towards knitting the green, apathetic crew together as an effective military unit. An encounter with a German submarine pack, followed by one of the lads going overboard accidently (he’s ultimately rescued) completes the process. And who comes to value the children’s shipboard presence the most? Why the Chief Gunner’s Mate, of course! Despite the children-at-sea angle, though, Rhodes’ story is neither sugar-coated nor sappy, and actually presents today’s reader with an interesting look at late World War 2 public attitudes toward the war effort.