"I enjoyed this, and read it quicker than expected. Recommended, especially for those interested in the social history of the times."

South West Soundings - The Newsletter of the South West Maritime History Society - June 2023, No 124

"Years of Endurance is a fascinating read and an outstanding description of a ship’s operation during a period that should be better understood by today’s generation. Thoroughly recommended."

Warship Annual - 2023

Years of Endurance is a most worthwhile read, and the new edition includes an introduction by retired RN Surgeon Rear Admiral Mike Farquharson-Roberts.

The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord

"Recommended, especially for those interested in the social history of the times."

South West Soundings - The Newsletter of the South West Maritime History Society

The loyal, efficient, robust, wry and humane character of the author shines out, and the reader's brief meeting with him in this book is not only an education but a privilege. It is well produced and represents good value for its modest price. It is recommended to any reader interested in the history of the Royal Navy in the 20th century.

The Mariner's Mirror Vol. 108 No. 4 Nov 2022

Muir’s memoir also makes for an instructive, entertaining, well-written, and often amusing read, chock-full of anecdotes and insights into the Royal Navy’s early twentieth-century medical service. Especially recommended to those interested in that service, the Great War at sea, and HMS Tiger

Nautical Research Journal 67:4 (Winter 2022)

I have reviewed a number of first hand accounts of wartime life at sea, often edited from letters and contemporary diaries. A common theme in the better books is the matter of fact acceptance of wartime conditions and the simple courage of all concerned. This book is no different and it is both stimulating and hugely enjoyable.

Peter Wykeham-Martin - Navy Books and Warship World

"Pen & Sword are to be congratulated for republishing this virtually unique first-hand account of life in the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet during the first half of the Great War, including the Battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland."

Adrian Roberts

"The book provides a first-hand account."

John M Bingeman - Royal Naval Sailing Association

One of the interesting feature of the book is that it was originally published in 1937 (and some parts feel like they were written much earlier), when many of the scars of the war were still fresh – in particular the failure to catch the Germans after the Scarborough raid, the negative reaction to the battlecruisers’ performance at Dogger Bank, and public scepticism about the official report on the battle of Jutland. The title is well chosen – the general tone of the book is one of frustration combined with pride in the author’s ship – frustration at the tedium of life onboard, the inability to get to grips with the Germans, frustration with the public reaction to the Navy’s efforts. However this doesn’t mean that the book has a negative feel – Muir was clearly very proud of what his ship did, and that also comes across, making this one of the most interesting First World War memoirs I’ve read.

Read the full review here

History of War

This beautifully written and highly readable book must surely rank among the very best memoirs of the First World War. There is an authenticity about Muir's writing which brings the words out of the pages in a way that rarely happens. Whether the author is describing what it was like to live a troglodyte day-to-day existence in the bowels of the ship or the adrenalin rush of ship-on-ship action one can't help but be totally captivated by the narrative. Unusually in this genre, Muir's book serves to stimulate, educate and entertain. Recommended without reservation.

Phil Curme, Western Front Association

I am usually no fan of the writing style of the Victorian or Edwardian periods, finding the language used impenetrably dull (apart from Kipling). This book definitely doesn’t fall into that category; Muir writes in an engaging and accessible way, and his story is a page turner from start to end. Indeed, I can’t find anything to detract from this book.

Five mushrooms out of five!

Read the full review here

ARRSE (Army Rumour Service)

"This outstanding memoir must be rated as one of the best about what it was like to serve on a battlecruiser or any other warship during the First World War."

Roger Coleman, The Wessex Branch of the Western Front Association

Regular readers of this blog will know I have a soft spot for memoirs from Old Salts. Muir’s book is a vivid recollection of life in a Royal Navy battlecruiser during World War I. The author was the senior medical officer aboard HMS Tiger, from her commissioning in October 1914 until his departure in the autumn of 1916, when she sailed to Rosyth for repairs to the damage incurred at the battle of Jutland. Muir takes the reader right to the centre of the action in the first years of the war, his story also about the officers and men who were his comrades in those years; their qualities, their anxieties and the emotional dimension of their experiences. His insights are those of a man sensitive to the human condition in all its facets, and they bring vividly to life a generation of men who fought at sea more than one hundred years ago. Published in the late 30s, this new reprint edition is a valuable contribution to our present appreciation of the life in the Royal Navy afloat in the Great War.

Read the full review here

Julian Stockwin

"This book provides a somewhat unusual perspective on the Royal Navy in World War I, but is written in such a way, that all with any interest in this period, will find it enthralling and informative."

Les Brown, Small Warships

This beautifully written and highly readable book must surely rank among the very best memoirs of the First World War. There is an authenticity about Muir's writing which brings the words out of the pages in a way that rarely happens. Whether the author is describing what it was like to live a troglodyte day-to-day existence in the bowels of the ship or the adrenalin rush of ship-on-ship action one can't help but be totally captivated by the narrative. Unusually in this genre, Muir's book serves to stimulate, educate and entertain. Recommended without reservation.

Read the full review here

Phil Curme

Featured in

Great War IPMS, Great War SIG newsletter – October 2021

Vivid, authoritative, empathetic and beautifully written, this memoir takes the reader right to the centre of the action in the first years of the War. This is a spellbinding and gripping memoir.

Dreadnought, The Newsletter of the Battleship Special Interest Group: No. 179 October 2021