As a few ‘oldies’ will remember, the use of yachts and pleasure boats was obviously very restricted during World War II.
At the end of the war men who were used to a certain amount of physical deprivation were being squeezed into office jobs or other work that was restrictive, and those who had been active sailors before the war now needed to rethink how to spend their free weekends.
One such sailor was Patrick Ellam, who attended Stowe School and passed the exams to go to Oxford but chose instead to travel to France and Germany, where he became fluent in both languages. He enlisted at the outbreak of war in 1939, joined the Royal Artillery and was sent to France.
Given his familiarity with both the countries and their language, it will be no surprise to learn that a couple of years later he was recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
Unlike many in this most dangerous area of the conflict, Ellam survived the war; meanwhile, his wartime activities had given him unique experience, as well as an urgent hunger for further adventures… albeit of a less risky variety.
Read on thanks to our friends at Southern Wooden Boat Sailing.
