Edward Keble Chatterton (10 September 1878 – 31 December 1944) was a prolific writer who published around a hundred books, pamphlets and magazine series, mainly on maritime and naval themes. In the First World War he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR).
He made a number of small-boat voyages through the English Channel and the Netherlands. He recorded these voyages in magazine articles[4] and books, and wrote several books on the maritime art collections of the Low Countries.
When World War I began, Chatterton joined the RNVR, ultimately commanding a motor launch flotilla[5] at Queenstown, now Cobh, in Ireland. He describes these years in Q-Ships and their Story (1923), The Auxiliary Patrol (1924) and Danger Zone: The Story of the Queenstown Command (1934). He left the service in 1919 with the rank of Llieutenant Commander.
In the interbellum, his writing was continuous, and included a series of monographs on model ships, many histories of naval events, and a number of juvenile novels. Most of his books were republished in the United States, and several were translated into French and German.
He was a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club for many years, and made a multi-season voyage to the Mediterranean through French canals. He described these in a further series of books. His journeys on the Nantes–Brest canal are outlined in Through Brittany in "Charmina": From Torbay to the Bay of Biscay in a 6-Tonner (1933), journeys on the Canal du Midi are described in To the Mediterranean in "Charmina" (1934), and journeys along the French Riviera are described in "Charmina" on the Riviera (1937).
After 1939, his writing focused on the war with Germany. Hutchinson published a series by Chatterton documenting the Royal Navy at war. He died at the end of 1944, after which Kenneth Edwards completed the series.
Sailing the Seas, A Survey of Seafaring Through the Ages. London: Chapman & Hall. 1931.
The Königsberg Adventure. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1932.
The Sea Raiders. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1932.
Adventurers of the Air. London: Frederick Warne & Co. 1932.
Through Brittany in "Charmina". London: Seeley, Service. 1933.
The Yachtman's Pilot to the Harbours of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, & the Continent of Europe from Ymuiden to Bordeaux. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1933.
Below the Surface. A Naval Novel. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1934.
Danger Zone: The Story of the Queenstown Command. London: Rich & Cowan. 1934.
The Big Blockade. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1934.
Sailing Models Ancient & Modern. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1934.
Amazing Adventure. A Thrilling Naval Biography. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1935.
Dardanelles Dilemma, The Story of Naval Operations. London: Rich & Cowan. 1935.
Seas of Adventures, The Story of the Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1936.
Valiant Sailormen. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1936.
Charmina on the Riviera. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1937.
Sea Spy. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1937.
Severn's Saga. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1938.
Secret Ship. A Sea Novel. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1939.
Stories of the Seven Seas. Thrilling Exploits of the Navy. London: World's Work. 1939.
The Epic of Dunkirk. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1940.
The Leaders of the Royal Navy. London, Melbourne: Hutchinson & Co. 1940.
Fighting the U-Boats, 1914–1916. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1942.
The Royal Navy, Britain at War. London, Melbourne: Hutchinson & Co. 1942–47.
Beating the U-Boats (1917 and 1918). London: Hurst and Blackett. 1943.
Commerce Raiders. London: Hurst and Blackett. 1943.
Scouts of the Sky. London: Frederick Warne & Co. 1943.
References
↑"Obituary". King Edward VII School Magazine. XI (8). March 1945.
↑Chatterton, E Keble (March 1897). "Oxford Letter". The Sheffield Royal Grammar School Magazine. VIII (7).
