Sir David William Bone (22 June 1874''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950'' – 17 May 1959) was a Scottish

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

and author of

nautical fiction Nautical fiction, frequently also naval fiction, sea fiction, naval adventure fiction or maritime fiction, is a genre of literature with a setting on or near the sea, that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages and highligh ...

. His work includes ''The Brassbounder'' about a brassbounder, a young apprentice on a British Merchant ship. It was included as a recommendation in '' Literary Taste: How to Form It'', a long essay with recommended readings written by

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...

. ''Brassbounder'' is "a classic of the squaresail era". Bone received the Coronation Medal from

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

in 1937 for his long association with the Merchant Navy. He was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1943 and awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1946. Bone was born in Abbotsford Place in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. His father, David Drummond Bone (1841–1911) was a prominent newspaper publisher in GlasgowThe Late Mr David D. Bone.
The Scottish Referee, 27 October 1911. Scan via London Hearts Supporters Club and his great-grandfather was a boyhood companion of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. Elizabeth Millar Crawford (1847–1886) was his mother. His brothers included the journalist James Bone and artist Muirhead Bone who illustrated some of David's books, including ''Merchantmen-at-Arms''. Bone studied at Partick Academy. Bone's career at sea began when he apprenticed at 15 on the ''City of Florence'', "an old-time square-rigger". He also served on

windjammers A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts, however rigged. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Steam-powered vessel, Age of Steam during the 19th century. The Oxford English ...

in Australia, with Anchor Line, and on a troop ship during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. Bone captained the SS ''Tuscania'' from New York on its first trip to

. ''Merchantman Rearmed'' describes his experiences during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, including the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

Bibliography

*''The Brassbounder'' (1910) by David W Bone *''Broken Stowage'' by David W Bone (1915), a collection of short stories *''Merchantmen-at-arms; the British merchants' service in the war'' by David W Bone (1919) *''The Lookoutman'' by David W Bone (1923) *''Capstan Bars'' by David W Bone (1931) *''Merchantman Rearmed'' (1949) *''The Queerfella'' by David W Bone (1952) *''Landfall at Sunset; the life of a contented sailor'' by David W Bone (1955)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bone, David 1874 births 1959 deaths 20th-century British male writers Writers from Glasgow British Merchant Navy officers People from Partick Members of the Order of the British Empire British Merchant Service personnel of World War I Knights Bachelor British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II Scottish male writers

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire