Michael Rose

Triumph of the little ships

Michael Rose reviews Antony Hichens' biography of Commander Robert Hichens

issue 16 February 2008

Michael Rose reviews Antony Hichens’ biography of Commander Robert Hichens

In an era when the Royal Navy seems to be struggling hard to find heroes, it is a relief to discover that one only has to turn back a few pages of history to the second world war to read of sailors who still acted in the tradition of Nelson. Notable are those who fought in the small boats of the Royal Navy, their most successful commander being Lieutenant Commander Robert Hichens. He was a naval volunteer officer who had been a solicitor before the war. By the time of his death in action in April 1943, he was the most highly decorated RNVR officer of the war. More importantly he had entirely redesigned the Royal Navy’s approach to coastal warfare, thereby seriously undermining the German Navy’s ability to operate freely in the Channel and North Sea.

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