At the last “Axes and Ales” club meeting, I was busy unleashing my top-notch heckling skills during a gripping game of “Mission Critical” when my long-time wargaming buddy Geoff waltzed in to see what all the fuss was about. He looked genuinely impressed, or maybe he was just wondering why everyone was so enthusiastic about a room full of dice and miniature soldiers on a night that felt like a ghost town—thanks, holiday season!

I finally put an end to the heckling and took Geoff on a grand tour of the club rooms. We plopped down with a few “Adam’s Ales” — because nothing says sophisticated conversation like non-beer (yeah right!)— and after an hour of chatting, we stumbled into the riveting world of WW2 Australian campaigns in the Mediterranean. Then we hopped over to the “Scrap Iron” Flotilla, which sounded fancier than it was, featuring the geriatric destroyers HMAS Vendetta, Vampire, Voyager, Stuart, and Waterhen. Geoff, bless his accountant heart, excitedly declared he’d found a book at the library about these old sea dogs, and I figured if a boring accountant gave it the thumbs up, it was probably flying off the shelves like hotcakes!

I placed my order for the book on Wednesday, and lo and behold, like a caffeinated delivery fairy, it showed up at my doorstep today (Thursday). Who knew books could be so punctual?

A review down the track.