This is the biographical account of Arthur West who, in 1909, joined the Royal Navy Submarine Service, and his experiences during the early years of the twentieth century, as an ordinary yet remarkable seaman. The first submariners were considered 'ungentlemanly and no better than pirates', the early submarines on which they served primitive with conditions aboard harsh and dangerous. Arthur experienced living and fighting beneath the waves during World War One when the communication problems and mechanical breakdowns were as great a threat as mines and enemy torpedoes. Despite this Arthur survived and he and the submarine service went on to thrive. He was one of an intrepid cohort of pioneers, this is his story.
