Watkins, Richard Howells "A Gift to the Nation"

Asthmatic, retired Captain Bertram Billingsly inherits a fortune just as World War 2 breaks out and decides to spend it by purchasing a merchant ship to present to England as “a gift to the nation.” He ends up in the Caribbean where he purchases the rustbucket Greek freighter ST. NICHOLAS and, with a crew mainly drawn from the Empire, overloads her and attempts to sail back across the Atlantic to London. Nearly home, the ST. NICHOLAS stumbles into the middle of an eastbound Atlantic convoy and heroically positions herself between a German U-boat and a large freighter filled with important war cargo for Britain. She is sunk before British destroyers can intervene and put the submarine out of commission. Though Captain Billingsly himself is lost, he nonetheless has been successful in his quest: the ‘saved’ large freighter turns out to be his “gift to the nation.” As in many stories from this era, Watkins’ theme is the need for individual needs being freely traded away for the common good. In this case, Captain Billingsly’s self-sacrifice will ultimately benefit his nation’s progress during the War.