East India Squadron

It is 1824 and what became known as the First Burmese War was about to commence. In Burma, the King of Ava had decided he would annex certain parts of the east of India, and which were adjacent to his own lands, and did so with, it seemed clear, the assistance of the French who despite having a Bourbon King on the throne, had not forgotten their colonial ambitions. The Governor at Madras decides to launch a campaign to stop such annexation, with the local Flag-officer being asked to provide ships for the assistance of the Army. In London, on the Admiralty hearing of this, a decision is made to send a Flag-officer in a temporary appointment to command the East India Squadron whilst its own Commander is elsewhere. Admiral Lord Ransome, deputising for the indisposed Philip Maltravers, and a toadying friend of the late unlamented Lord Walton, offers Giles Courtenay the appointment, knowing he will be away from his family for a long time, and may even be struck down by some fatal disease. Courtenay's sense of duty makes him accept, and leads him into battle again, off the Andaman Islands, with crooked quartermasters, and then ultimately with the Kingdom of Ava. It also brings him into close contact with the new steam-boats entering the Service, and a New Age for those afloat.


Genre: Historical