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On 25 May 1982, at a critical juncture in the Falklands War, the destroyer HMS Coventrywas attacked by Argentinian aircraft. In a devastating strike, she was hit by three bombs, two of which exploded inside her hull, killing nineteen of her crew and leaving many others badly injured. Within minutes, Coventryhad capsized, and would finally sink off Pebble Island the following day. The loss of HMS Coventrywas deeply traumatic: it was the first occasion since the Second World War that a British captain and his crew had to abandon a stricken ship and take to life rafts in the cold and unforgiving
waters of the South Atlantic.


Four Weeks in May is the highly personal, often harrowing story of Coventry'swar told by her captain, David Hart Dyke. It is the tale of a proud fighting ship of the Royal Navy and of the complex ties that bind a commander and his crew, especially in times of mortal danger. It is also the record of one man's private anxieties about his responsibilities as captain, the welfare of his men, and his wife and two young daughters back at home.


Four weeks in May is a riveting account of how men prepare for a war they never expected to fight and how they endure its privations and, finally, its horrors.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David Hart Dyke began his naval career in 1958 as one of the last inake of National Servicemen before entering Dartmouth as a regular officer. After service in ships around the world, he was appointed to several senior posts, among which were a member of the Directing Staff at the Naval Staff College, Greenwich; Commander of the Royal Yacht Britannia; Naval Attache and Chief of Staff to the Commander British Naval Staff in Washington, USA: Director of Naval Recruiting in the Ministry of Defence, and Captain of HMS Coventryin the Falklands War.


David Hart Dyke was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in 1979 and awarded a CBE in 1990, the same year that he retired from the Royal Navy. Soon after, he was appointed Clerk and Chief Executive of the Skinners' Company, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. He finally retired in 2003 and lives in Hambledon, Hampshire, where he pursues his main interest of painting in watercolours. He is married to Dianne (D) and they have two daughters.

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