Throughout his naval career, Nicholas Monsarrat kept notes, diaries and accounts of his experiences. Originally published as three volumes between 1942 and 1944, this book records the difficult years 1940-43, on the east coast and in the Atlantic, in an autobiographical piece ( It Was Cruel ), an account of a sinking ( A Ship To Remember ), and three works of fiction ( I Was There , HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour and The Ship That Died of Shame ).