The book is John Richardson's account of the day-to-day events onboard his first ship, the Willesden, which he joined in 1953, aged 16. He was born in Liverpool in 1937 and was interested in joining the navy from a young age. Before joining, he completed two years at the Wellesley Nautical School. His diary is inspired by a book he read there; a nineteenth century boy's account of his first trip to sea. In the same way he wanted to leave 'a record of the times'. The diary reveals a lot about the period, a time in which Britain relied more heavily on shipbuilding and the Merchant Navy.