A first-hand account of minesweeping in the Royal Navy during WWII, drawing on the author's diaries and the formal journal he kept as a junior officer to describe everyday life in small and large minesweepers and the preparations for D-Day, as well as the author's hospitalization and leave in wartime Britain. Includes an appendix on ranks and uniforms of the Royal Navy during WWII, and a list of Allied ships mentioned in the book.

Prologue : The first clouds -- 1. Becoming a salior -- 2. Temporary gentleman -- 3. The minesweeping trade -- 4. North to Scapa Flow -- 5. The rehearsal -- 6. Moving into place -- 7. The passage -- 8. Clearing the ports -- 9. General duties -- 10. VE Day : A victory and a loss -- 11. The last sweep -- 12. Hospitals and barracks -- 13. Discharge -- Epilogue : Return to Normandy -- Appendix A : Ranks and uniforms of the Royal Navy during World War II -- Appendix B : Allied ships mentioned in the book -- Index.