The Battle and the Breeze: The Naval Reminiscences of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Ashmore

Sir Edward Ashmore, one of the key figures in the post-war history of the Royal Navy, rose to the highest rank in his chosen profession and later became Chief of the Defence Staff. In this his autobiography he gives a vivid insight into the life of an aspiring naval officer in the 1950s and 60s, and the preoccupations of high command during the 1970s. The Battle and the Breeze sheds much new light on many key aspects of post-1945 naval policy, such as the controversy surrounding CVA01 (the fleet carrier replacement programme), the crucial decision to procure the Sea Harrier, the lack of airborne early warning at the time of the Falklands war, and the Chevaline and Type 22 programmes. Ashmore also makes fair and sound judgements on his contemporaries such as Lord Louis Mountbatten. Not only does The Battle and the Breeze make an important contribution to our understanding of recent naval policy, but it is also potentially the most significant naval historical autobiography of the post-1945 period.