Charles Lamb ( Royal Navy officer ) Commander Charles Bentall Lamb DSO DSC Royal Navy ( 1914 – 1981 ) was an officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II . He piloted a Fairey Swordfish torpedo strike reconnaissance aircraft at the Battle of Taranto , and later wrote a best selling book on his experiences called " To War in a Stringbag " . Early life . Lamb was born on 11 April 1914 in Bolton , Lancashire . He was the son of Arthur Lamb and Violet Aubrey Bentall . On 20 September 1939 , he married Josephine Frances Elgar ; they later had two sons . Career Before World War II . In 1930 , he went to went to sea as an apprentice with the Clan Line . Like many merchant navy officers Lamb joined the Royal Naval Reserve , appointed a midshipman 31 March 1933 , and in December joined the battleship HMS " Rodney " in the Home Fleet and West Indies for four months ' training . On return to England in 1934 , he passed his Board of Trade examinations in London . " When we had passed , our brand new Board of Trade Certificates of Competence were useless . In the depression of the early Thirties there were so many [ merchant ] ships laid up that jobs afloat were virtually unobtainable . " Keen to learn to fly , Lamb joined the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) in 1935 and flew for RAF Coastal Command for three years . The RAF controlled British naval aviation up to 1938 . When the Fleet Air Arm was constituted in 1938 Lamb transferred to the Air Branch of the Royal Navy , becoming a sub - lieutenant ( aviation ) on 13 June 1938 with seniority dated 28 October 1936 He was promoted to lieutenant ( aviation ) on 28 October 1938 . On 27 February 1939 he joined Torpedo Strike Reconnaissance Squadron 822 on the aircraft carrier HMS " Courageous " in the Home Fleet . Boxing . Lamb was taught to box by a padre called Canon Brady at a mission in Buenos Aires when he was an apprentice for " Clan Line " . He made one professional appearance as a boxer under the name of ' Seaman Benson ' , to gain experience and to raise money for the mission . As a midshipman on " Rodney " he boxed for the Navy as a light - weight in the 1934 Inter - Service Championships . In 1936 he won the RAF Officers ' championships as a light - weight , and boxed for the RAF in the 1936 Inter - Service Championships . Two years later , he boxed for the Navy in the 1938 Inter - Service Championships . World War II . In the early part of the war , he was a Swordfish pilot . " Charles Lamb flew in the thick of the action , mine - laying and U - boat hunting over northern Europe , harrying E - boats at Dunkirk , to being one of the two Swordfish Pathfinder pilots with 815 Squadron FAA at the Battle of Taranto . " He flew in the Greek campaign of 1941 and was shot down during an air raid on Malta . In September 1941 Lamb ' s aircraft was wrecked while landing a secret agent in French North Africa and he was imprisoned by the Vichy French government for a year , until the Allied invasion of Algeria , November 1942 . After treatment for malnutrition , he spent a year recruiting flying cadets for the Fleet Air Arm , until passed fit for flying in December 1943 , and joined the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable as Lieutenant - Commander ( Flying ) , with an acting rank of lieutenant - commander . Aboard HMS " Indefatigable " as Lieutenant - Commander ( Flying ) from May 1944 , he escorted Arctic convoys and launched air strikes against the German battleship Tirpitz . He served in " Implacable " again as Lieutenant - Commander ( Flying ) from 8 January 1945 until July 1945 ; after a catastrophic flight deck injury ( struck by a broken propellor ) he was hospitalized for two years before returning to naval duty . Post war . Lamb was given a permanent commission in the Executive Branch of the Royal Navy as lieutenant - commander on 1 August 1945 , with seniority from 28 June 1944 . He served on the staff of Flag Officer ( Air ) ( Home ) at RN Air Station , Lee - on - Solent ( HMS Daedalus ) . He was promoted to commander on 31 December 1949 , and served at RN Air Station , Lossiemouth ( HMS Fulmar ) from 21 January 1950 . He was commanding officer of the fishery protection vessel HMS " Welcome " from 7 March 1953 . " Welcome " was an " Algerine " class ocean minesweeper displacing about 1000 tons , completed in 1945 , and used for fishery protection . From 23 October 1953 , he was Commander ( General Training ) and Staff Officer ( Flying ) to Flag Officer Ground Training at RN Air Station , Lee - on - Solent ( HMS Daedalus ) . He was on the books of HMS " President " for miscellaneous duties from 26 September 1955 . He was Assistant Commandant , Joint School of Warfare ( Old Sarum ) , 1956 – 1958 ; and retired on 29 July 1958 . Retirement . Lamb remained active in naval and public affairs until his death on 28 May 1981 . He founded & managed the White Ensign Association , 1958 – 1973 , a financial advisory service for redundant and retiring naval officers . He wrote his memoirs " To War in a Stringbag " , published in 1977 , republished several times and still in print .