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HMS “Safari” was one of the most successful British submarines of World War II. Between March 1942 and September 1943, she sailed some 31,312 nautical miles and spent 139 days submerged. During this time, she fought 59 actions against Axis shipping and sank 34 ships, totalling 85,000 tonnes. As the sub’s Leading Telegraphist, Arthur Dickison had a privileged position in the crew. With access to all signals traffic and the navigation officer as his “boss”, Arthur was afforded a unique insight into daily operations. Throughout 18 months of war patrols he kept a personal diary (strictly against the rules) of life aboard “Safari”, recording daily events that ranged from the tedium of long sea passages to stalking enemy convoys; from crash dives to fighting it out with enemy shipping on the surface; from making submerged attacks with torpedoes to “sitting it out” on the sea bottom while depth charges rained down all around. Pervading all his diary entries is the underlying fear that both he and “Safari” might never see England again. The full range of the submariner’s experience – and of human emotion – is here in this eyewitness account.

Unusual in that it was written by a rating and not an officer, it also differs from other accounts due to Dickison writing down his thoughts at the time of the events he describes.