Frank Laskier Frank Laskier ( 1912 – July 8 , 1949 ) was a British seaman who came to public attention during World War II . In late 1940 , Laskier was a gunner in the Merchant Navy when his ship was attacked and sunk by a German raider off the coast of West Africa . Rescued from a raft and returned to England , he was interviewed by BBC radio . His famous " My Name is Frank " broadcasts during the Battle of the Atlantic affected popular opinion about the war and helped Merchant Navy recruitment efforts in America and Britain . " Seaman Frank " became a figurehead of the Merchant Navy in newsreels , speaking tours and autobiographical books . By war ' s end , sentiment had moved on and he was largely forgotten . At age 37 , he died in a car accident in New York City . Today , the little that is remembered about Laskier is mixed ; one observer described him as just an icon of wartime propaganda , but another critic considers Laskier ' s autobiographical writing to be " powerful " and the " genuine article " about a seaman ' s life . Biography . Laskier was born and raised near the wharves of Liverpool . At age 15 he ran away from home and spent the next ten years working his way around the world from one merchant ship to the next . He drank heavily , patronized prostitutes and even spent a few years in prison for theft ; he was the black sheep of his family . In late 1940 , Laskier ' s ship , " Eurylochus " , on which he served as gunner , was attacked and sunk by a merchant raider , the German auxiliary cruiser " Kormoran " , off the coast of West Africa . He lost a foot to machine gun fire . After two days on a raft , with no water and fending off sharks , he and the remaining crew were rescued by a neutral Spanish merchant ship , " Monte Tiede " . Laskier was repatriated to England where , it was said , a young BBC radio producer overheard him tell his story in a Liverpool public house . He was convinced to recount his story on J . B . Priestley ' s " Postscript " show ( Sunday 5 October 1941 ) , so - named because it aired following the news . The " Postscript " episode , and an encore appearance in which " a merchant seaman talks " , reached a wide audience and proved popular with listeners . Laskier was lionised by the press . British journalist Douglas Reed described him : The stories were collected in the book " My Name is Frank " ( 1941 ) of which a reviewer in " The Spectator " said , " Frank Laskier ’ s broadcasts had the stuff of greatness ; put into print they lose nothing in the reading . By a natural genius this seaman has found an expression and a rhythm which the poets and artists of the modern world have been striving after for generations . " Soon after , Frank appeared in propaganda films to encourage enlistment in the Merchant Marines and went on speaking tours around the United States . One film is called " Seaman Frank Goes Back to Sea " and shows Frank re - enlisting for the Merchant Navy ; the narrator calls him a " real Englishman " who does his duty . In another clip for British Pathé , in 1941 , Laskier says he wants to go out fighting again ( re - enlist ) to avenge the deaths of his friends , while the romantic interest with " Mary " would have to wait . He finishes with a rousing statement about losing his foot to machine gun fire from the German raider " Kormoran " : " Do you think I ' m going to let them get away with that ? " he vows , " Not pygmalion likely ! " Laskier ' s second book , " Log Book " ( 1942 ) , was positioned as fiction but is clearly autobiographical , with the main character being called " Jack " . Reviewing the book in the " New York Herald Tribune " Lincoln Colcord called it , " a work of art so simple and acute , that one often pauses to wonder . " After the war Laskier moved to the US , where he tried to garner interest for an autobiographical film , but to little avail . His third and final book , " Unseen Harbor " , was published in 1947 ; it is pure fiction . Laskier died on 8 July 1949 , aged 37 , in a car accident in New York City . " Seaman Frank " and his works have largely been forgotten , " Laskier was quickly forgotten when his propaganda value had faded . " Tony Lane refers to him as a " Stakhanov " , the Russian coal miner made a worker ' s hero by Soviet propagandists . However , his writing still garners praise ; " The Neglected Books Page " , an online site that seeks to uncover neglected but deserving books , found " Log Book " to be " powerful " and the " genuine article " about a seaman ' s life .