Salt Horse: Memoir of a Maverick Admiral, Claude Lionel Cumberlege

Salt Horse is a memoir written by Admiral Cumberlege, originally unpublished in 1936–38, that provides a vivid account of his naval career and his life in the 1920s and 1930s. The edited manuscript is now accessible to a modern audience, offering insights into a world and way of life that have since disappeared.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 18 April 2024
Publisher: Whittles Publishing

Salt Horse, written by Admiral Cumberlege in 1936-38, is a fascinating record of his life that has now been expertly edited and made readable for a modern audience. The book comprises chapters on Cumberlege's naval career in the RN and Royal Australian Navy, as well as on the period when he lived year-round on two large sailing craft, cruising the coasts of France and Spain. Cumberlege writes with verve and has strong views, making numerous friends wherever he and his second wife Nora went. His stories, such as those about WW1 in New Guinea or his 1905 lunch in Gibraltar with Kaiser Wilhelm II, are historic and eye-catching. The book describes a world and way of life that has disappeared forever. Salt Horse is complemented with a timeline, family tree, and Introduction that trace Cumberlege's background, and an Afterword takes his life story from 1938-63 when he died. The numerous black-and-white images and short footnotes bring many of the people mentioned in the text to life.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781849955720