AUBREY VERNON — Brian Smith

While their ship is at anchor in South Africa the Boer War breaks out. A naval battalion is hastily formed to support the outnumbered British troops after the surprise attack by the Boers. Aubrey Vernon and his shipmates move up to the front in an armoured train full of confidence. But wars have uncertain outcomes and even the most confident can have terrible surprises.Arthur Lee Knight (1852 - 7 Jul 1944) was a popular author of adventure books in the late 19th and early 20th century. Around 1868 he joined the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen as a junior midshipman, where he served on the 51-gun screw frigate HMS Forte.Having been a midshipman in the navy he was familiar with life in the navy and many of the episodes in his novels - such as hunting Arab slave traders - are clearly events he experienced himself and give unique insight into the world and people in the Victorian age. His readable and often racy stories are characterized by authentic navy language of the time and evocative descriptions of seascapes, distant countries and unusual people.