Wanderingskipper.com was launched to coincide with the publication of Forgotten Ships – The Second World War in Trawlers and Tugs (Whittles Publishing - an imprint of Porto Press - November 2026).

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Listening to my grandfather (Alexander Litster) talk about his life at sea was a highlight of my childhood, and his visits were always eagerly anticipated.  The stories he shared from almost half a century afloat seemed to move effortlessly between oceans, continents and decades. It was all so impossibly exotic. But beyond the sheer variety of places Alex visited and the cross-section of people he met, what was striking was the range of ships that he worked on and commanded.

Born on the banks of the River Clyde, his had been a childhood surrounded by paddle steamers, racing yachts and of course the river’s world-famous shipyards, from where thousands of ‘Clyde-built’ vessels made their way to sea. His own voyages began in the merchant navy during the First World War, and he spent several years learning his trade on cargo ‘tramp’ ships before joining the rarefied world of steam yachts – the billionaire superyachts of the day. Much of the 1920s passed onboard these luxurious vessels, making world cruises with industrialists and minor royalty, all whilst dealing with the day to day realities of working at sea.

Once Alex had qualified as a Master Mariner, his first commands revealed the breadth of his knowledge and ability as he took the helm of lee-board barge yachts, motor yachts and schooners. However, when war returned in 1939 he was made the skipper of a distinctly unglamourous fishing trawler fitted out for hunting U-boats. Alex’s war began with a six-day battle against the Luftwaffe in Norway – an encounter he was fortunate to survive and for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. A lengthy posting to Iceland followed during which he took his ship on operations high above the Arctic Circle. In early 1942 Alex was given the helm of an ocean-going rescue tug and undertook rescue,  salvage and towing missions including hauling an enormous floating dock from New York to the Mediterranean. The Med had always been a significant feature of his maritime life and much of Alex's postwar career would be spent traversing the Middle Sea whilst in charge of the motor yacht Thelma VI.

Litster wasn’t an explorer in the sense of a Heyerdahl and never made such claims. His was a working life, which perhaps make his experiences all the more relatable. Down the years many people suggested, or even despaired, that Alex would ever get his stories down on paper, and although he did record a few events there were many gaps that would require researching. Nevertheless, enough material remained to form what I thought would make for an interesting book.

When my father gave me Alex’s photo albums, I began by looking at his wartime service and discovered the fascinating and little-told story of life aboard the Royal Navy's 'minor war vessels'. This led to many years studying archives which I had assumed either didn’t exist or were the preserve of academics, and gradually what were supposed to have been a chapter or two took on a life of their own.  The Scottish maritime historian R. O. Neish convinced me that two distinct books were  emerging from the research, the first of which is Forgotten Ships. The second volume covering the rest of Alex’s life at sea is currently (albeit slowly) in preparation.

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