Published by Blackstaff Press in 2004, 194 pages. Paperback (N7266)
Brand New Book
From the rear side cover: The Sinking of the Kenbane Head is Sam McAughtry's tribute to his much-loved brother, Mart, who died when his ship, the Kenbane Head, was sunk by the German battleship Admiral Scheer on 5 November 1940. His death, though tragic and terrible, was unremarkable, for thousands died as he did, as merchant seamen in the cold grey waters of the Atlantic.
This powerful and poignant memoir traces the threads that led to Mart's death, weaving together a tough, funny and intimate account of life in the McAughtry home in Belfast's Tiger's Bay with a controversial re-telling of the events leading up to the famous naval encounter in which Mart would meet his death. As the narrative progresses, the stories of the Kenbane Head and of the young seaman from Tiger's Bay reach their dramatic and tragic conclusion in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Moving, vivid and utterly compelling, The Sinking of the Kenbane Head demonstrates Sam McAughtry's great talent as a writer and is a fitting tribute not just to Mart but to all the unsung merchant seamen who played such a virtual role in the Second World War.