How long did it take you to write the book?
Newbury: I started writing these memoirs in March last year. As I drove Aaron to school one morning he said to me "Daddy you have so many stories. Why don’t you write a book."? Further encouragement came when I was asked by a friend to write on my experiences in the Falklands War for publication in the nautical magazine Sea Breezes, as 2007 was the 25th anniversary of the war. This put me on track and the article, which now forms part of Chapter 6 of my book, was published in the July & August editions of that magazine. Once started writing the memories came flooding back. I just kept going until November when I contacted Adam for publication of my manuscript.

Do you have many more stories that wouldn’t fit in?
Newbury: Yes there are numerous stories that for various reasons I have withheld. I think it wise to keep the readers interest and refrain from rambling.

How was the experience of systematically reliving those experiences?
Newbury: Recalling the memories of the past has been at times quite emotional. For example last month Jane & Aaron gave me, as a birthday present, a trip on the Orient Express around the South Downs. This was a truly wonderful day with an excellent lunch served in all the opulence and splendour of the Victorian style Pullman carriages. The train was pulled by a steam loco and at times we were rushing along through the beautiful English countryside at speeds, which I estimated to be in excess of 80 mph. When we returned to Victoria Station, we walked up the platform to look at the locomotive. To my amazement and joy the engine was none other than that same Merchant Navy, Clan Line loco that had pulled the train from Bournemouth Central station at the start of my career back in 1959. This was a very emotional reunion, especially as Aaron was invited onto the footplate of this magnificent piece of engineering. There have been many other heart-felt reunions but nothing quite like that one.

Do you plan to write any more books?
Newbury: I have no definite plans for writing another book although I have been dabbling with the idea of trying to research the history of our little village here in rural Dorset.

Do you believe that the era of the merchant ships and cable ships has well and truly passed?
Newbury: Shipping changes with the demands of world trade and different stiles of ships evolve with changing techniques of shipbuilding. There will always be ships plying the oceans and men wanting to sail them. In the seventies we thought that undersea cables would be replaced by satellites but the demands for cables grew beyond all expectations at the end of the 20th centuary. I believe that there will still be ships laying and repairing cables for many years to come, although they will be very different from the ships servicing today’s cables.

Did you keep a diary of your time at sea?
Newbury: I have never been good at keeping a diary but fortunately my mother kept all of my letters, that my sister Anne looked after when my parents died. These have been very useful in helping to compile and authenticate my memories.

Do you have any hops that Aaron will follow in your footsteps?
Newbury: I doubt if Aaron will want to follow me in a career at sea but I hope that my experiences will help him to understand others and interact well with them. He has already had a taste of world travel having been to Canada, Bermuda, Panama and Egypt. Wherever he goes he absorbs the culture of that country in the same way that I have done.

What is the overwhelming emotion that you feel when you look back on your life? Newbury: I have been very lucky to have a family who supported me and encouraged me to follow my ambitions throughout my life. I have met some wonderful people who have helped and supported me in so many ways. There have been such amazing changes during my lifetime. I think back to those years just after World War 2 when Mother had no such mechanical aids as washing machines nor vacuum cleaners that are considered essential domestic equipment today. Washing was done in a copper boiler and wrung out through a mangle. Spring-cleaning would see the carpets hung on the line and beaten to remove the dust and grime. There was no Television and we made our own amusement. Both my Father and I belonged to local concert parties and got tremendous fun and satisfaction from performing our amateur dramatics. Sadly I don’t think that we have the same family ties today as we had then. Life in those days revolved around respect; respect for others; respect for property and ultimately self-respect. This is sadly lacking in today’s culture.