A BARNT Green author has shone a spotlight on the first British battleship to be sunk by a submarine with his latest book.

Author Steve Dunn has written his latest book ‘Formidable’ about the HMS Formidable, which sank 100 years ago, 20 miles south off the coast of Lyme Regis in Dorset, killing 600 men and boys.

Steve is hoping the book will serve as a memorial to those who died, as well as a tribute to the who lived and who risked everything to save others. He uses personal stories of people like William Pillar, the skipper of a Brixham trawler who saved the lives of 71 men despite the stormy, ice-cold waters and gale force winds.

He said: “It was an emotional story to write but I hope I have done justice to those involved in the tragedy and that the book will act as a permanent reminder of the sacrifices made by our First World War sailors, which are often overlooked when compared to the massive slaughter of the Western front.”

At the time, the government and the press successfully turned the sinking into a propaganda coup, but Steve believes the sinking is the fault of the admiral-in-charge Lewis Bayly, who refused to acknowledge the threat posed by the new technology of U-boat submarines.

He added: “Bayly, like many of his contemporaries, couldn’t accept that the world was changing and hung onto the belief that to ambush a ship unseen, from below the surface, would be ungentlemanly and therefore unthinkable, so despite the threat from u-boats, he kept his ships at sea.”

The book is his third, following up ‘The Scapegoat; the life and tragedy of a fighting admiral and Churchill’s role in his death’ and ‘The Coward? The Rise and Fall of the Silver King’.

He said: “I suppose because I didn’t start writing until four years ago and specialise in the late Victorian, Edwardian and First World War navy I hadn’t expected my books to have such a widespread appeal. It’s been really rewarding to get such great feedback, which encourages me to keep on going.”

Steve’s book ‘Formidable: A True Story of Disaster and Courage’ is available to buy from online bookshops.