Herald - Issue 422

Page 34 • The HERALD • 21st April 2022 Calling All Bookworms NEW BOOK BY LOCAL AUTHOR CELEBRATES THE QUEEN MARY e Queen Mary is perhaps one of the most famous ships in the world and was frequently seen docking in Southampton until 1967 when she le for the last time on 31st October 1967. To mark the 85th anniversary of her maiden voyage (1936) and other milestone anniversaries, which fall later this year, locally based Queen Mary expert, documentary lm-maker and author, David Ellery has released an updated paperback edition of his book ‘RMS Queen Mary, 101 Questions and Answers About the Great Transatlantic Liner’. e updated version includes a new chapter about the future of the ship and fascinating new photographs. e book is an interesting read; David’s Q&A approach covers everything from the ship’s design, construction, engineering and interior tting to her naming, legends and more. “Over the decades Queen Mary has touched the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of people.” says David. “Whenever I give a presentation on the ship there’s always a ton of questions; people are fascinated by the ship’s rich history and many are very concerned about what the future might hold for the vintage liner.” Packed with nearly 150 archival photographs, illustrations and other original material, this is a captivating guide to Queen Mary, looking beneath the sheen of her appointments to show just why her fame is so well deserved. e book is available as both paperback and ebook. For more information visit: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/rms-queen- mary-9781472993113 Chas – A Lifetime Fighting Fire Chas McGill only ever wanted to be a reman. As a ten year old boy he would give the Hythe remen responding to the siren alerting them to an incident, a good run for their money in getting to the re station rst. Chas loved to watch the big red machines race from the station. At the age of seventeen he joined the ranks at Hythe and began a service career that has lasted almost 56 years. In 1977 he was transferred to the new re station at Hardley, having been heavily involved with its design and subsequent construction. A new book, ‘Chas – A Lifetime Fighting Fire’, will be published at the end of April telling of the remarkable career of a quite remarkable man. During his career Charles ‘Chas’ McGill has attended numerous major incidents along the Waterside, including res aboard oil tankers at the Fawley oil jetty and incidents within the Fawley Re nery. At the age of just 21, he was one of the rst re ghters aboard the oil tanker Paci c Glory, ablaze a er having been rocked by an explosion following a collision with another vessel o the Isle of Wight. Chas has changed tack many times, involving himself in all aspects of the demands of the re service. Scaling down his frontline duties, he moved into communications, graduating to being a National Advisor with all things related. His role in the development of High- Volume Pumping also saw him become a National Advisor in this eld too and see him at the forefront of ooding incidents across the country. In more recent years he has worked on interoperability between the blue-light services, arrange multi-agency exercises and among many other facets promote the standing of female re ghters. He was already a much-decorated re ghter when in 2016 he was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony at Windsor Castle. e book, an authorised biography, tells of Chas’s life and career from his schooldays to the present day, and includes a host of photographs. It concludes with testimonials from members of the emergency services both past and present who have served alongside Chas during his stellar career. e book has been written by Alan Titheridge, known for his books about the Hythe Ferry, Hythe Pier and the Hythe Pier Railway. It is published by Ceratopia Books and is available to pre- order from Alan (awt1950@sky.com ) and Ceratopia Books on its website. It will be available from local outlets including the Herald O ce and Blissful Gi s of Hythe. Alan’s new book, Chas – A Lifetime Fighting Fire Lit by both dockside floodlights and by her own lights, Queen Mary being fitted out at the John Brown Yard, Clydebank, on 5th March 1936. (Photo credit: Conway Maritime Press Archive) Author David Ellery (Photo credit: Matt Ellery) Local Author Releases Ninth Novel! Locally based author, Catherine Miller, has recently released her ninth novel – e Crash. Last year saw Catherine’s novel – e Day at Changed Everything – become a bestselling novel reaching the top 30 in the US Amazon charts as well as being shortlisted in the Romantic Novelist Association awards. She’s since been signed for further novels with her publisher, Bookouture, leading into 2023. is year, having moved to the Waterside, she’s penned – e Crash – a novel that follows the timeline of two hearts, both before and a er a heart transplant. Catherine says: “This book holds my biggest story concept so far and it asks the reader to believe in miracles more so than usual, but I think that’s exactly the kind of novel readers want right now. The pandemic saw a steady rise in people discovering my books and I’m so grateful that so many are choosing to read my backlist as well. There’s no greater compliment and I’m hoping readers love The Crash.” e Crash is now available to buy in ebook (Kindle Unlimited) and paperback. You can continue to help the Hythe Ferry by buying a copy of a children’s picture book. A Seal Swam In From e Sea is written and illustrated by local author Simon Chadwick, and was originally created for Hythe Library’s story trail to be told across a number of shop windows in Hythe village. Simon’s now compiled it into a book, with £5 from every copy sold going towards the Save e Ferry campaign. e book is inspired by the recent sightings of seals out on Southampton Water, and features local landmarks such as the Daymark, Hythe Pier and the ferry itself. e book can be purchased from: Hythe : Blissful Hythe, Hythe Ferry o ce, Herald o ce, Oyster Financial Planning and Toys Ahoy; Dibden Purlieu : WHSmith Local; Holbury : Sandra’s Florist and Blackfield : Compuco or online from: www. ceratopiabooks.co.uk A SEAL SWAM IN FROM THE SEA