In the Highest Traditions: The Life of Captain John Leach MVO DSO

The biography of a lauded war hero who went down with his ship John Leach embodied the best of the service, and truly was in "the highest traditions of the Royal Navy"—this biography analyzes the influences which shaped him and led him ultimately to his heroic end. On December 10, 1941, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales was sunk by Japanese bombers in the South China Sea. Among the several hundred men who went down with her was her Captain, John Leach, who had fought against frightful odds and to the very end made the best of an impossible situation with courage and calmness. This book traces his life from his time at Royal Naval College through his time as commander during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. This is an authoritative portrait of one of the service's finest.