Betrayed

This book will be a key title in my own library. Betrayed tells a fascinating story about Canada's effort during the critical years of the Battle of the Atlantic, shedding new light on relations between volunteer-reserve personnel and the permanent force, the complicated issues involved in the equipment of the fleet, and the quality of leadership of the wartime navy. -- Roger Sarty, co-author of No Higher Purpose: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1939-1943 (Volume II, Part 1) Richard Mayne probes behind the scenes of wartime naval and staff operations and uncovers a web of careerism, politics, opportunism, grievance, intrigue, slander and betrayal. All to portray the chief of the naval staff and his senior staff as incompetent and unworthy. Percy Nelles fights back with frightening vigour but is forced out. Mayne rights this wrong. A triumph of masterful research and brilliant intuitive analysis, woven into compelling narrative and a dramatic confrontation. Places Mayne squarely in the front rank of a new generation of young Canadian naval scholars. -- John Griffith Armstrong, author of The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue A fascinating topic, of significance not only for Canadian naval history, but for Canadian history writ large. The interactions, machinations, and suspicions of two key wartime social groups - the professional 'regular force' officers of the Royal Canadian Navy, and the volunteer 'hostilities only' reserve officers who swelled their ranks - offer a wealth of insights into questions of professional and social identity in times of national crisis. A remarkable book. -- Michael L. Hadley, co-editor of A Nation's Navy: In Search of Canadian Naval Identity

This fascinating investigation into the machinations of a divided navy tackles important questions of military professionalism, leadership, and identity.

In January 1944, Vice Admiral Percy Walker Nelles was fired from his position as head of the Royal Canadian Navy. Betrayed reveals the true story behind the dismissal: a divisive power struggle between two elite groups within the RCN pitted the navy’s regular officers against a small group of self-appointed spokesmen for the voluntary naval reserve. Threats of public scandal, mass insurrection, and political intimidation caused one of the worst breakdowns in Canadian civil-military relations, revealing complex aspects of military professionalism and leadership.

This fascinating investigation into the machinations of a divided navy tackles important questions of military professionalism, leadership, and identity. Betrayed will appeal to readers interested in military history and security studies, political science, and sociology.