Springboard to victory : Great Yarmouth and the Royal Navy's dominance in the North Sea and the Baltic during the French Wars 1793-1815 /David Higgins.

"Great Yarmouth is best known for being a seaside resort and for its former status as the country's leading herring fishing port, but what has largely been forgotten is that during the French Revolutionary War (1793-1802) and the two Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) it was the main support base for naval and military operations in the North Sea and the Baltic. It was not until I researched a book called The Beachmen that I became aware of this dramatic period in the history of the town and the nation and I was surprised to find that nothing substantial had been written on the subject. Of course, a great many books had been produced on the navy's involvement in these wars, but most concentrated on the high drama of the six major fleet actions and the exploits of Horatio Nelson rather than the equally important, but more mundane, means by which the navy's warships were kept at sea."--Provided by the publisher.