Dudley Pope: At 12 Mr Byng Was Shot., Tauranga in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty for sale

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The court martial and execution by firing squad of Admiral Byng in 1757 was a dark day for the Royal Navy and a blight on the politicians who orchestrated his fate. The Admiral was sent with an inadequate, ill-trained and equipped fleet to contest a French invasion of Minorea. Although the British Government had early warning of the French plans it did not react quickly and, belatedly, Byng's fleet was despatched. In the encounter between the two fleets it was the French who first withdrew. However, Byng was accused of not having"not done his utmost"to defeat the enemy and thus became the scapgoat for the politicians failure. He faced his executioners with great bravery, giving the signal to fire to the firing squad. The author, a noted naval historian, believes the admiral's execution made British admirals excessively cautious in action until the Nelson era. The book contains on much previously unpublished material on the Byng affair, which the author describes as one of the most cold-blooded and cynical acts of judicial murder in British history. First edition of 1962 of 338 pages, including, six appendices, notes and bibliography, index, 20 b/w art illustrations, several battle charts. Blue hard covers with gilt spine titles VG+, internally excellent, no inscriptions. Price clipped colour art DJ, designed by Francis Russell Flint, is VG with short tear upper rear edge.
Author
Dudley Pope
Title
At 12 Mr Byng Was Shot.
Publisher name
Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London
Shipping time
2 - 4 days
Publication year
1962
Edition
First edition
Binding type
Hard cover
Listing condition
Used
Item condition
Very good
Vendor name
BOPBooks
Vendor rating
Key words
Great Britain, History, Royal Navy, Court Martial, Excution, Admiral Byng
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