Honoured By Strangers:- The Life of Captain Francis Cromie DSO,
RN 1882-1918 |INSIDE:||45 photographs, 3 line drawings| Captain
Francis Cromie became a submarine commander at the remarkably
young age of 24. By this time he had already seen action in the
Boxer Rebellion, received the China Medal and had been mentioned
in despatches. In 1915 he was chosen to head a flotilla of
submarines to attack German shipping in the Baltic Sea. Here, he
achieved great success despite the hazardous nature of the
climate and the German navy. He was decorated three times by the
Czar of Russia and received the DSO.During his three years in
the Baltic he became fluent in Russian. He only survived the
difficulties of the Communist Revolution in 1917 because of his
consummate skills as a mediator and diplomat. His murder in the
British Embassy in 1918 at the age of 37 remained a tragic
mystery for many years - until now. Roy Bainton's extensive
researches have revealed why Cromie has previously been omitted
from official histories