Betrayed by Richard O. Mayne
$32.95
Betrayed : Scandal, Politics and Canadian Naval Leadership by Richard O. Mayne
This book investigates the 1944 dismissal of Vice Admiral Percy Walker Nelles, exposing a power struggle within the Royal Canadian Navy. The book explores a breakdown in civil-military relations, revealing threats of scandal and political intimidation. Mayne’s concise narrative provides insights into military professionalism and leadership, appealing to readers interested in military history, security studies, political science, and sociology.
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.
“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. Mayne rights this wrong. A triumph of masterful research and brilliant intuitive analysis, woven into compelling narrative and a dramatic confrontation.” John Griffith Armstrong, author of The Halifax Explosion andthe Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue
“Betrayed tells an absorbing 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, vol. 2
“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 … 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
Richard O. Mayne is an historian with the Department of National Defence’s Directorate of History and Heritage in Ottawa.
