Jack Broome
Encyclopedia
Captain John Egerton "Jack" (or Jackie) Broome DSC
, RN, (23 February 1901 - 19 April 1985) was a Royal Navy
officer who served in both World Wars. He commanded the escort group of the ill-fated Arctic Convoy PQ-17
in 1942. After the Second World War, he became a writer and illustrator.
, to Louis Egerton Broome and Clara Kathleen (Aimée) Lake. His father was an English adventurer who had joined the gold rush to the Klondike
. He accompanied his parents to Panama
in 1907, but returned to England where he was raised largely by his mother's relatives. He attended Oakwood School, Surrey and in 1912, entered the Royal Naval College at Osborne
. From Osborne, he passed in 1915 to the senior College at Dartmouth
.
to the battleship
Colossus
in the Grand Fleet.
Shortly after the end of the War, he was promoted Sub-Lieutenant
and served in the destroyer
HMS Clematis in the Red Sea and at Aden. From there he attended Trinity Hall
, Cambridge
, and after graduating in 1923, chose to serve in submarine
s. By this time, his talent as a cartoonist
and wag was well established.
He served in several submarines from 1923 to 1938, except for two short spells on the capital ships HMS Tiger
and HMS Royal Oak. Much of this period was spent at the Hong Kong
naval station. He married Sybil Nicholas in 1928, with whom he had a son and a daughter.
He reached the rank of commander
in 1936, while commanding the submarine, HMS Rainbow. In 1938, he attended a staff course at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich
.
recommissioned from reserve. Characteristically, Broome applied for membership of the Company of Veteran Motorists, who made the ship a life member.
HMS Veteran served in the Norwegian campaign
in 1940. While there, her bridge was adorned with a huge stuffed hippopotamus head, acquired by Broome from Formby Golf Club during a spree ashore. Broome also acquired a German torpedo, which had missed its target and run onto the shore of a fjord. Suitably covered in German graffiti, it was eventually handed to the authorities in Rosyth. After the end of the Norwegian campaign, Veteran was assigned to counter a threatened German invasion, and was damaged by an acoustic mine
.
With Veteran laid up for extensive repairs, Broome was then assigned as Staff Officer to Admiral Sir Percy Noble, the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Approaches
Command. Broome's cartoons enlivened many drab briefing rooms and dreary routine reports.
After several months in this duty, he temporarily served as Captain (D)
at the base at Londonderry Port
in Derry
and then commanded the First Escort Group, (EG1) in the destroyer . For most of 1941 and 1942, HMS Keppel was engaged in arduous convoy duties in the Atlantic. One brief stay at Lisahally was enlivened by the capture of a German spy who was attempting to escape to the Irish Free State
in a stolen motor boat.
, sailing from Hvalfjord in Iceland
to Murmansk
in Russia
. The Arctic convoys were reckoned to be very hazardous missions, as they faced not only U-Boats but also German aircraft and surface ships, including the powerful battleship Tirpitz
. A squadron of British and American cruiser
s was assigned to protect the convoy, and the Home Fleet, with its battleships and aircraft carrier
s was at sea, but distant.
On July 4, 1942, PQ17 was attacked several times by torpedo-carrying German aircraft. Three merchant ships were lost, but four aircraft were shot down, and several others damaged. At this point, Admiral Dudley Pound, the First Sea Lord, fearing that Tirpitz was about to attack, sent three fateful signals:
The rising tone of panic in these messages convinced Broome and every other recipient that Tirpitz was approaching. Since the first of the messages was not directly addressed to Broome, he was not immediately aware that the cruisers were withdrawing. In fact, although they should have been out of sight of the convoy, because of navigational errors they were clearly visible as they worked up to full speed. Convinced that the cruisers were about to engage enemy ships, Broome collected the miscellany of destroyers in EG1 and attached them to the cruisers, while the convoy scattered.
A day later, it became clear that the threat from German surface ships did not exist, and that the scattered ships of the convoy were being picked off individually by U-boats and aircraft. It was by then too late to reform the convoy; Broome's destroyers were low on fuel after their high-speed dash in company with the cruisers, and the oilers which had accompanied the convoy had themselves been sunk.
Twenty-one of the convoy's thirty-five ships were sunk following the order to scatter. The Royal Navy felt themselves disgraced by the unhappy episode. Later that year, the First Lord of the Admiralty, A. V. Alexander paid a visit to HMS Keppel. Broome asked the reason why PQ17 was scattered but received no satisfactory answer.
, HMS Keppel was paid off late in 1942. Broome was surprised to be promoted to captain
, and also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
in 1943. (Broome was aware that not only was anyone connected with PQ17 liable to have that episode on their record, but also that his habit of drawing and circulating acerbic caricatures of senior officers had made him unpopular with some.)
He commanded the escort carrier
HMS Begum
in 1942-1944. Begum served with the Eastern Fleet. Her aircraft sank a particularly troublesome U-Boat in the Indian Ocean late in 1944, for which Broome was Mentioned in Dispatches
. He was also awarded the Burma Star
for his service in Indian waters.
He was commandant of a shore establishment at Portsmouth
, HMS Vernon II
in 1945 before being appointed captain of the aged battleship HMS Ramillies
in 1945-1946.
Cricket Club.
He was naval advisor for several films, including The Cruel Sea
. Actor Jack Hawkins
apparently based his portrayal of the fictional Lieutenant Commander George Erickson on Broome. He also wrote television and film scripts.
He and his first wife divorced in 1954, and he subsequently married Joan Featherstonhaugh Crisp.
Towards the end of his life, he was able to see Richard Briers
play him in a TV play about PQ17.
published a controversial book about PQ17. It concentrated on allied blunders and shortcomings, and in particular, alleged that Broome's decision to withdraw his destroyers was the primary cause of the disaster to the convoy. Broome mounted a libel action to defend his reputation. He was successful, winning £40,000 in damages and securing the withdrawal of all copies of the offending book from circulation (although it has since been republished, with corrections.) The damages payment (donated by Broome to charity) was the highest paid in legal history until Jeffery Archer's controversial action against The Sun newspaper.
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
, RN, (23 February 1901 - 19 April 1985) was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who served in both World Wars. He commanded the escort group of the ill-fated Arctic Convoy PQ-17
Convoy PQ-17
PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied World War II convoy in the Arctic Ocean. In July 1942, the Arctic convoys suffered a significant defeat when Convoy PQ 17 lost 24 of its 35 merchant ships during a series of heavy enemy daylight attacks which lasted a week. On 27 June, the ships sailed...
in 1942. After the Second World War, he became a writer and illustrator.
Early career
He was born in 1901 in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, to Louis Egerton Broome and Clara Kathleen (Aimée) Lake. His father was an English adventurer who had joined the gold rush to the Klondike
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. He accompanied his parents to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
in 1907, but returned to England where he was raised largely by his mother's relatives. He attended Oakwood School, Surrey and in 1912, entered the Royal Naval College at Osborne
Osborne
- Places :Australia* Osborne, South Australia, an industrial suburb of Adelaide in South Australia* Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina regionCanada* Osborne Village, a neighbourhood in Winnipeg...
. From Osborne, he passed in 1915 to the senior College at Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
.
World War I and between the Wars
In 1917 he was posted as a midshipmanMidshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
to the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Colossus
HMS Colossus (1910)
HMS Colossus of the British Royal Navy was the nameship of her class of dreadnought battleships.She was launched on 9 April 1910 and commissioned in 1911. Although very similar to Neptune she was not part of Neptunes class as Colossus and her sister-ship, Hercules, had greater armour...
in the Grand Fleet.
Shortly after the end of the War, he was promoted Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
and served in the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
HMS Clematis in the Red Sea and at Aden. From there he attended Trinity Hall
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and after graduating in 1923, chose to serve in submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. By this time, his talent as a cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and wag was well established.
He served in several submarines from 1923 to 1938, except for two short spells on the capital ships HMS Tiger
HMS Tiger (1913)
The 11th HMS Tiger was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1913. Tiger was the most heavily armoured battlecruiser of the Royal Navy at the start of the First World War although she was still being finished when the war began...
and HMS Royal Oak. Much of this period was spent at the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
naval station. He married Sybil Nicholas in 1928, with whom he had a son and a daughter.
He reached the rank of commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
in 1936, while commanding the submarine, HMS Rainbow. In 1938, he attended a staff course at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
.
World War II
Broome was judged to be too old in 1939 to command a submarine in wartime. Instead, he was given command of the destroyer HMS VeteranHMS Veteran (D72)
HMS Veteran was a V class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was the third ship to carry the name Veteran. She was launched in 1919 and therefore missed the First World War. She served as a convoy escort in the Second World War before being sunk by the German U-boat U-404 while rescuing survivors...
recommissioned from reserve. Characteristically, Broome applied for membership of the Company of Veteran Motorists, who made the ship a life member.
HMS Veteran served in the Norwegian campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
in 1940. While there, her bridge was adorned with a huge stuffed hippopotamus head, acquired by Broome from Formby Golf Club during a spree ashore. Broome also acquired a German torpedo, which had missed its target and run onto the shore of a fjord. Suitably covered in German graffiti, it was eventually handed to the authorities in Rosyth. After the end of the Norwegian campaign, Veteran was assigned to counter a threatened German invasion, and was damaged by an acoustic mine
Acoustic mine
An acoustic mine is a type of naval mine which monitors audio activity in its vicinity. Depending on its design, it will either actively send out audio pulses, not unlike a sonar, listening to the speed at which the echo returns to it or passively listen to its environment, depending only on the...
.
With Veteran laid up for extensive repairs, Broome was then assigned as Staff Officer to Admiral Sir Percy Noble, the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
Command. Broome's cartoons enlivened many drab briefing rooms and dreary routine reports.
After several months in this duty, he temporarily served as Captain (D)
Captain (D)
In the Royal Navy, a Captain is an appointment of a commander of a destroyer flotilla....
at the base at Londonderry Port
Londonderry Port
Londonderry Port at Lisahally is a port near Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port, has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels and accepts cruise ships. The current port is on the east bank of the River Foyle at the southern end of Lough Foyle, by the small village of...
in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
and then commanded the First Escort Group, (EG1) in the destroyer . For most of 1941 and 1942, HMS Keppel was engaged in arduous convoy duties in the Atlantic. One brief stay at Lisahally was enlivened by the capture of a German spy who was attempting to escape to the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
in a stolen motor boat.
PQ17
Then in June 1942, EG1 was assigned to protect Convoy PQ-17Convoy PQ-17
PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied World War II convoy in the Arctic Ocean. In July 1942, the Arctic convoys suffered a significant defeat when Convoy PQ 17 lost 24 of its 35 merchant ships during a series of heavy enemy daylight attacks which lasted a week. On 27 June, the ships sailed...
, sailing from Hvalfjord in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
to Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The Arctic convoys were reckoned to be very hazardous missions, as they faced not only U-Boats but also German aircraft and surface ships, including the powerful battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
. A squadron of British and American cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s was assigned to protect the convoy, and the Home Fleet, with its battleships and aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s was at sea, but distant.
On July 4, 1942, PQ17 was attacked several times by torpedo-carrying German aircraft. Three merchant ships were lost, but four aircraft were shot down, and several others damaged. At this point, Admiral Dudley Pound, the First Sea Lord, fearing that Tirpitz was about to attack, sent three fateful signals:
- 2111: Most Immediate. Cruiser Force withdraw to westward at high speed
- 2123: Immediate. Owing to threat from surface ships convoy is to disperse and proceed to Russian ports
- 2136: Most Immediate. My 2123. Convoy is to scatter
The rising tone of panic in these messages convinced Broome and every other recipient that Tirpitz was approaching. Since the first of the messages was not directly addressed to Broome, he was not immediately aware that the cruisers were withdrawing. In fact, although they should have been out of sight of the convoy, because of navigational errors they were clearly visible as they worked up to full speed. Convinced that the cruisers were about to engage enemy ships, Broome collected the miscellany of destroyers in EG1 and attached them to the cruisers, while the convoy scattered.
A day later, it became clear that the threat from German surface ships did not exist, and that the scattered ships of the convoy were being picked off individually by U-boats and aircraft. It was by then too late to reform the convoy; Broome's destroyers were low on fuel after their high-speed dash in company with the cruisers, and the oilers which had accompanied the convoy had themselves been sunk.
Twenty-one of the convoy's thirty-five ships were sunk following the order to scatter. The Royal Navy felt themselves disgraced by the unhappy episode. Later that year, the First Lord of the Admiralty, A. V. Alexander paid a visit to HMS Keppel. Broome asked the reason why PQ17 was scattered but received no satisfactory answer.
Later Naval Career
After a brief spell in the Mediterranean, during which EG1 played a peripheral part in Operation HarpoonOperation Harpoon (1942)
Not to be confused with Operation Harpoon Operation Harpoon was one of two simultaneous Allied convoys sent to supply Malta in the Axis-dominated Mediterranean Sea in mid-June 1942, during the Second World War. One convoy, Operation Vigorous, left Alexandria. The other, Operation Harpoon, travelled...
, HMS Keppel was paid off late in 1942. Broome was surprised to be promoted to captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
, and also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
in 1943. (Broome was aware that not only was anyone connected with PQ17 liable to have that episode on their record, but also that his habit of drawing and circulating acerbic caricatures of senior officers had made him unpopular with some.)
He commanded the escort carrier
Escort aircraft carrier
The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...
HMS Begum
HMS Begum (D38)
The USS Bolinas was an escort aircraft carrier launched 11 November 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding, Tacoma, Washington; sponsored by Mrs. G. B. Sherwood, wife of Commander Sherwood; and commissioned 22 July 1943, Captain H. L...
in 1942-1944. Begum served with the Eastern Fleet. Her aircraft sank a particularly troublesome U-Boat in the Indian Ocean late in 1944, for which Broome was Mentioned in Dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
. He was also awarded the Burma Star
Burma Star
The Burma Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The medal was awarded for service in the Burma Campaign between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945...
for his service in Indian waters.
He was commandant of a shore establishment at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, HMS Vernon II
HMS Vernon (shore establishment)
HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or 'stone frigate' of the Royal Navy. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876 as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch and operated until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.-Foundation...
in 1945 before being appointed captain of the aged battleship HMS Ramillies
HMS Ramillies (07)
HMS Ramillies was a Revenge-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after the Battle of Ramillies. The ship is notable for having served in both the First and Second World Wars...
in 1945-1946.
Writer and Cartoonist
Broome retired from the Royal Navy in 1947. From 1947 to 1951, he busied himself as editor of the Sketch Magazine. He wrote a number of books on naval subjects, and edited and illustrated several humorous collections of naval signals. He was also a founder member of the Lord's TavernersLord's Taverners
The Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
Cricket Club.
He was naval advisor for several films, including The Cruel Sea
The Cruel Sea (film)
The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister...
. Actor Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
apparently based his portrayal of the fictional Lieutenant Commander George Erickson on Broome. He also wrote television and film scripts.
He and his first wife divorced in 1954, and he subsequently married Joan Featherstonhaugh Crisp.
Towards the end of his life, he was able to see Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
play him in a TV play about PQ17.
Libel Case
In 1968, David IrvingDavid Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
published a controversial book about PQ17. It concentrated on allied blunders and shortcomings, and in particular, alleged that Broome's decision to withdraw his destroyers was the primary cause of the disaster to the convoy. Broome mounted a libel action to defend his reputation. He was successful, winning £40,000 in damages and securing the withdrawal of all copies of the offending book from circulation (although it has since been republished, with corrections.) The damages payment (donated by Broome to charity) was the highest paid in legal history until Jeffery Archer's controversial action against The Sun newspaper.
Published works
- Make a Signal, Putnam, 1961.
- McTuff at the top, Putnam, 1961.
- Convoy is to Scatter (autobiographical work), William Kimber, 1972, ISBN 0-7183-0332-6
- Make Another Signal, William Kimber, 1973, ISBN 0-7183-0193-5
- Services Wrendered, William Kimber, 1974, ISBN 0-7183-0373-3