John Winton is a pen name of John Pratt (1931–2001). He was an English author and obituarist, following a career in the Royal Navy in which he rose to Lieutenant-Commander. He was born in London and served in the Korean War and during the Suez Crisis. Whilst still in the Navy, he wrote the comic novel We Joined the Navy, featuring the character of “The Artful Bodger”. Several other novels, and a number of non-fiction works on naval subjects, followed, including a biography of Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe. Pratt also served for 14 years as an obituarist for The Daily Telegraph.
Modern Era: Fiction
Modern Era Naval Fiction |
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| Series: Artful Bodger Naval Adventures | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| 1952 | We Joined The Navy | Will the Special Entry cadets survive basic training |
| 1960 | We Saw The Sea | How will HMS Carousel and her characterful crew fare in the Far East? |
| 1961 | Down The Hatch | Will it be plain sailing for HMS Seahorse on her maiden voyage? |
| 1963 | Never Go To Sea | How will The Artful Bodger cope in the murky world of ‘Naval Public Relations’? |
| 1964 | All The Nice Girls | What could an unmarried submarine officer possibly find to do ashore? |
| 1977 | Good Enough For Nelson | This time The Artful Bodger is in command - what could possibly go wrong…? |
| Series: John Winton Cold War Thrillers | ||
| Polaris | A top-secret naval base in Scotland is now the home of Britain’s nuclear arsenal | |
| 1966 | HMS Leviathan | HMS Leviathan should have been the jewel in the Royal Navy’s crown |
| 1970 | The Fighting Temeraire | Is Temeraire set to become an iron coffin? |
| Series: n/a | ||
| 1940 | A Drowning War | They fight the enemy bravely … but can they conquer the might of the ocean? |
| 1944 | The Night of the Scorpion | Every month the Shoeflies risk their lives in darkness |
| 1945 | Aircraft Carrier | Can a stranded fighter pilot survive the might of the Japanese navy? |
| 1984 | The Good Ship Venus | A rollicking Navy yarn packed full of humour! |
| 1975 | One Of Our Warships | Will Freddie release the demons from HMS Pandora’s box of secrets…? |
Non-Fiction
Modern Era Naval Non-Fiction |
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| Series: Leading the Modern Royal Navy | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| Cunningham | The Greatest Admiral Since Nelson | |
| Jellicoe | A Much-Maligned Admiral | |
| Series: 20th Century Naval Innovations | ||
| Air Power at Sea, 1939-45 | An authoritative examination of the role of the aircraft at sea during WWII. | |
| Air Power at Sea, 1945-1989 | An engrossing account of naval air power from the end of the Second World War | |
| The Submariners | Life in British Submarines, 1901-1999 | |
| Convoy | The Defence of Sea Trade, 1890-1990 | |
| Series: Warship Battles of World War Two | ||
| Sink the Haguro! | Last Destroyer Action of the Second World War | |
| Death of the Scharnhorst | How the Royal Navy tracked down and sank the German warship | |
| Carrier Glorious | The Life and Death of an Aircraft Carrier | |
| Series: World War Two at Sea | ||
| War in the Pacific | Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay | |
| The Forgotten Fleet | The Story of the British Pacific Fleet, 1944-45 | |
| Find, Fix and Strike! | The Fleet Air Arm at War, 1939-45 | |
| Series: n/a | ||
| Below the Belt | Novelty, Subterfuge and Surprise in Naval Warfare | |
| Hurrah for the Life of a Sailor! | Life on the Lower-deck of the Victorian Navy | |
| The Victoria Cross at Sea | The Sailors, Marines and Airmen Awarded Britain's Highest Honour | |
| Captains and Kings | The Royal Family and the Royal Navy, 1901-1981 | |