Four Weeks in May

Superbly frank and unsentimental… The literature of the Falklands War would be much the poorer without this pithy, well constructed and brutally honest account of the fighting at sea. – Saul David * Daily Telegraph *Electric… Outstanding. – John Shirley * Guardian *[An] honest, poignant and moving book. – Hugh McManners * The Times *Lively, direct, human and engaging, this is one of the best personal memoirs of the bizarre and intense Falklands campaign. – Robert Fox * BBC History Magazine *A down-to-earth, dramatic account of preparing for war and being plunged into the heart of it. * Glasgow Herald *A justifiably proud account of HMS Coventry’s war… A vital but measured story. It will appeal not only to those who were there but to a new generation of readers who will be riveted by this insight into the life on board a Royal Navy ship at war, as well as the sheer drama of Coventry’s story… Four Weeks in May is a page-turner, elegantly and tightly written… The tension between his determination to uphold morale, the upbeat letters home, private moments of honest reflection, the self-deprecating humour and what every reader knows will be the disastrous outcome of those four weeks, is compelling… Devastating… Dramatic images of bravery and presence of mind are brilliantly pieced together. – Alan West * Naval Review *

David Hart Dyke began his naval career as Midshipman (RNVR) in 1959. He went to Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth as a regular officer before serving as Commander of the Royal Yacht Britannia, Captain of HMS Coventry, and Chief of Staff to the Commander, British Naval Staff, in Washington, DC. After he retired in 2003, he transcribed the voice-recordings that he had made on his return from the Falklands, which became, along with the reminiscences of his ship’s company, the gripping story of Four Weeks in May.