A genuinely scarce wartime memoir — Ian Fraser VC's own account of commanding the midget submarine XE.3 in the attack on the Japanese cruiser Takao in Singapore's Johore Strait, the action for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The book also covers his unlikely postwar turn running a touring "Frogman" diving show, and his later career establishing a salvage firm. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographic plates of the author, the XE-craft, HMS Shrimp, and Sydney Harbour, plus striking pictorial green-and-white endpapers by Whittam.

This particular copy carries an added layer of naval history: it is inscribed on the half-title "To Charles, With best wishes from Robert Webster" — Robert Webster having been a Royal Navy diver/frogman of the same WWII midget submarine and X-craft world Fraser writes about, making this a presentation copy with genuine connection to the subject matter rather than a generic signed copy.

Condition:
Hardcover in original green cloth with gilt spine lettering, presented in its original illustrated dust jacket. The dust jacket shows considerable wear and is the weakest point of the copy: heavy chipping and loss to the spine head and tail, with small pieces of the spine panel missing/detached, surface rubbing and some loss to the pictorial artwork on the spine, and edge wear to the front and rear panels — overall jacket condition is fair, still fully present and protective but well used. The book itself is in good to very good condition under the jacket: clean green cloth boards with minor shelf wear to extremities, gilt lettering still legible, internally clean and tight with light age toning to the page edges, and the photographic plates remain crisp and clear. Pictorial endpapers are bright. A previous owner's bookplate/sticker ("The Book Depot, 289 Lt Collins St, Melbourne") is affixed to the front pastedown — a nice piece of Australian bookselling provenance in its own right. Half-title carries the manuscript presentation inscription noted above in ink. No loose pages, no foxing noted beyond light age toning.