Churchill’s Pirates

Iredale's brilliant new book tells the revelatory and thrilling nautical tale of the 70,000 men of Churchill's pirate fleet - the Royal Naval Patrol Service - who risked life and limb to keep Britain's sealanes safe and ports open, and the hundreds of Wrens who supported them. A hugely welcome addition to Britain's wartime story.

Saul David

Will Iredale has carved out a formidable reputation as a chronicler of overlooked corners of the Second World War, and Churchill’s Pirates is his finest achievement yet. This is history at full throttle: deeply researched, richly peopled, and propelled by a narrative energy that reveals the work of those who should be regarded as central protagonists in Britain’s fight for survival

Guy Walters, author of 'Stealing Hitler's Rocket'

This book breaks new ground whilst also building thoughtfully on existing scholarship. Drawing from a wide range of sources, this is both rigorously researched and highly readable. An engaging and valuable contribution to the field.

Kate Jamieson

What a fabulous book! Will Iredale has done those forgotten heroes of Harry Tate’s navy a long overdue service, telling the story of these immensely courageous men - fishermen, coastal sailors and civilian seafarers - who toiled in often appalling conditions with little protection to protect our vital coastal waters. This is a tale, above all, of human endeavour, fortitude and ingenuity, told both compellingly and rich in human drama. Superb.

James Holland

I became engrossed in a vivid book by Will Iredale, Churchill's Pirates ... Iredale details big wartime decisions and the halting, heartbreaking puzzle of every new device to rip a trawler to matchwood or sink a frigate. But in our soft and querulous age fascination lies in the words of seafarers, organisers or just women furiously knitting warm clothes and hats to keep the crews alive. It reminds you how, unlike us, Britain only had 20 years of peace after the parallel effort and toughness of the first war. People seemed conditioned to stand willingly together. Sentiment about this is often cheaply used, but moments of reality in this extraordinary account stop you dead...

Libby Purves, The Times