Percy F. Westerman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Percy Francis Westerman (1876 - February 22, 1959) was a prolific author of children's literature, many of his books adventures with military themes.
He was born in Portsmouth, England in 1876, and educated at Portsmouth Grammar School, before taking up a clerical appointment at Portsmouth Dockyard at the age of twenty. He married Florence Wager, of Portsmouth, in 1900. Always a keen sailor, they spent part of their honeymoon sailing in the Solent. Their son, John Francis Cyril Westerman, was born in 1901. His writing career allegedly began with a sixpence bet made with his wife that he could write a better story than the one he was reading to his son, who was at the time ill with chicken pox.
His first book for boys, 'A Lad of Grit', was published by Blackie and Son Limited in 1908. In the same year, Baden-Powell founded the Scouting movement, which strongly influenced many of Westerman's books - he was a particularly keen supporter of the Sea Scouts.
He published a further three books in 1911, which were so successful that he gave up his Admiralty appointment that year to become a full-time author. He lived on board a houseboat - a converted Thames barge - on the River Frome at Wareham in Dorset, where he wrote the majority of his books.
During the First World War he was initially employed on coastal duties by the Royal Navy, but in 1918 he was commissioned, like W. E. Johns, in the Royal Flying Corps, as an instructor of navigation. During the Second World War he commanded a company of the Dorset Home Guard. He wrote to Blackie of his service in the two wars that "neither appointment seriously interfered with my literary output."
During the 1930s Westerman was voted the most popular author of stories for boys. His books sold over one and a half million copies in his lifetime (total sales at his death were 1,599,000). He published at least 174 books, with 12 different firms.
At the age of 70 he was reluctantly forced by a fall to leave his houseboat for dry land, but he continued writing apace. He died at the age of 82, and his last book, 'Mistaken Identity' was published posthumously in 1959.
His son John F.C. Westerman also wrote adventure books for boys.
[edit] Sources
J.F.C. and Percy Westerman
Obituary of Mr. Percy F. Westerman, The Times (London). February 25, 1959.
[edit] Bibliography
Publication dates as listed by British Library. Many titles were reissued subsequently, some several times.
| No. | Title | Subtitle | Publisher | Place | Year | Illustrator | Notes |
| 1 | A Lad of Grit | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1908 | Edward S. Hodgson | ||
| 2 | The Young Cavalier | C. Arthur Pearson | London | 1909 | Gordon Browne | ||
| 3 | The Winning of the Golden Spurs | James Nisbet and Co. | London | 1911 | |||
| 4 | The Quest of the "Golden Hope" | A seventeenth century story of adventure | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1912 | Frank E. Wiles | |
| 5 | The Flying Submarine | James Nisbet and Co. | London | 1912 | |||
| 6 | Captured at Tripoli | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1912 | Charles M. Sheldon | ||
| 7 | The Sea Monarch | Adam and Charles Black | London | 1912 | Edward S. Hodgson | ||
| 8 | The Scouts of Seal Island | Adam and Charles Black | London | 1913 | Ernest Prater | ||
| 9 | The Rival Submarines | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1913 | C. Fleming Williams | ||
| 10 | The Stolen Cruiser | Jarrold and Sons | London | 1913 | |||
| 11 | When East Meets West | A story of the yellow peril | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1913 | C. M. Padday | |
| 12 | Under King Henry's Banners | A story of the days of Agincourt | Pilgrim Press | London | 1914 | John Campbell | |
| 13 | The Sea-Girt Fortress | A story of Heligoland | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1914 | ||
| 14 | The Sea Scouts of the "Petrel" | Adam and Charles Black | London | 1914 | |||
| 15 | The Log of a Snob | Chapman and Hall | London | 1914 | W. Edward Wigfull | ||
| 16 | 'Gainst the Might of Spain | A story of the days of the Great Armada | Pilgrim Press | London | 1914 | ||
| 17 | Building the Empire | A story of the North-West Frontier | Jarrold and Sons | London | 1914 | ||
| 18 | The Dreadnaught of the Air | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1914 | |||
| 19 | The Dispatch-Riders | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1915 | |||
| 20 | The Nameless Island | A story of some modern Robinson Crusoes | C. Arthur Pearson | London | 1915 | ||
| 21 | The Fight for Constantinople | A story of the Gallipoli Peninsula | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1915 | ||
| 22 | A Sub of the R. N. R. | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1915 | |||
| 23 | Rounding up the Raider | A naval story of the Great War | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1916 | ||
| 24 | The Secret Battleplane | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1916 | Ernest Prater | ||
| 25 | The Treasure of the "San Philipo" | Religious Tract Society / Boy's Own Paper | London | 1916 | |||
| 26 | A Watch-dog of the North Sea | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1917 | |||
| 27 | Deeds of Pluck and Daring in the Great War | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1917 | |||
| 28 | To the Fore with the Tanks! | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1918 | |||
| 29 | Under the White Ensign | A naval story of the Great War | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1918 | ||
| 30 | The Fritz-Strafers | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1918 | Reissued as 'The Keepers of the Narrow Seas', 1931 | ||
| 31 | Billy Barcroft R. N. A. S. | A story of the Great War | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1918 | ||
| 32 | A Lively Bit of the Front | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1918 | |||
| 33 | The Secret Channel and Other Stories of the Great War | Adam and Charles Black | London | 1918 | |||
| 34 | The Submarine Hunters | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1918 | |||
| 35 | With Beatty off Jutland | A romance of the great sea fight | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1918 | ||
| 36 | Wilmshurst of the Frontier Force | A story of the conquest of German East Africa | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1918 | ||
| 37 | A Sub. And a Submarine | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1919 | |||
| 38 | Winning his Wings | A story of the R.A.F. | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1919 | ||
| 39 | The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge, April 1918 | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1919 | |||
| 40 | Midst Arctic Perils | C. Arthur Pearson | London | 1919 | |||
| 41 | The Airship "Golden Hind" | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1920 | |||
| 42 | The Mystery Ship | A naval story of the Great War | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1920 | ||
| 43 | The Salving of the "Fusi Yama" | A post-war story of the sea | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1920 | ||
| 44 | Sea Scouts All | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1920 | |||
| 45 | Sea Scouts Abroad | Further adventures of the "Olivette" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1921 | ||
| 46 | The Third Officer | A present-day pirate story | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1921 | Edward S. Hodgson | |
| 47 | Sea Scouts Up-Channel | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1922 | |||
| 48 | The Wireless Officer | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1922 | |||
| 49 | The War of the Wireless Waves | Oxford University Press & Humphrey Milford | London | 1923 | |||
| 50 | The Pirate Submarine | James Nisbet and Co. | London | 1923 | |||
| 51 | A Cadet of the Mercantile Marine | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1923 | W. Edward Wigfull | ||
| 52 | Clipped Wings | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1923 | |||
| 53 | The Mystery of Stockmere School | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1924 | |||
| 54 | Sinclair's Luck | A story of adventure in East Africa | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1924 | ||
| 55 | Captain Cain | James Nisbet and Co. | London | 1924 | |||
| 56 | The Good Ship "Golden Effort" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1924 | |||
| 57 | The Treasure of the Sacred Lake | C. Arthur Pearson | London | 1924 | |||
| 58 | Unconquered Wings | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1924 | |||
| 59 | Clinton's Quest | C. Arthur Pearson | London | 1925 | |||
| 60 | East in the "Golden Gain" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1925 | |||
| 61 | The Boys of the "Puffin" | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1925 | |||
| 62 | The Buccaneers of Boya | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1925 | |||
| 63 | The Sea Scouts of the "Kestrel" | Seeley, Service and Co. | London | 1926 | |||
| 64 | Annesley's Double | Adam and Charles Black | London | 1926 | |||
| 65 | King of Kilba | Ward, Lock | London and Melbourne | 1926 | |||
| 66 | The Luck of the "Golden Dawn" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1926 | |||
| 67 | The Riddle of the Air | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1926 | |||
| 68 | The Terror of the Seas | Ward, Lock | London and Melbourne | 1927 | |||
| 69 | Mystery Island | Oxford University Press & Humphrey Milford | London | 1927 | |||
| 70 | Captain Blundell's Treasure | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1927 | |||
| 71 | Chums of the "Golden Vanity" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1927 | |||
| 72 | In the Clutches of the Dyaks | S. W. Partridge and Co. | London | 1927 | |||
| 73 | The Junior Cadet | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1928 | Reissued as 'Norman goes to Sea', 1934 | ||
| 74 | On the Wings of the Wind | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1928 | |||
| 75 | A Shanghai Adventure | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1928 | |||
| 76 | Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1929 | |||
| 77 | Rivals of the Reef | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1929 | |||
| 78 | Captain Starlight | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1929 | |||
| 79 | Captain Sang | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1930 | |||
| 80 | Leslie Dexter, Cadet | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1930 | |||
| 81 | A Mystery of the Broads | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1930 | |||
| 82 | The Secret of the Plateau | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1931 | |||
| 83 | The Senior Cadet | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1931 | |||
| 84 | In Defiance of the Ban | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1931 | |||
| 85 | The Amir's Ruby | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1932 | |||
| 86 | 'All Hands to the Boats' | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1932 | |||
| 87 | Captain Fosdyke's Gold | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1932 | |||
| 88 | King for a Month | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1933 | |||
| 89 | Rocks Ahead! | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1933 | |||
| 90 | The White Arab | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1933 | |||
| 91 | The Disappearing Dhow | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1933 | |||
| 92 | Chasing the "Pleiad" | The Mystery of the S.S. Aracluta | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1933 | ||
| 93 | Tales of the Sea | R. Tuck and Sons | London | 1934 | Terence T. Cuneo | with C. Gilson et al. | |
| 94 | The Westow Talisman | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1934 | |||
| 95 | Andy-All-Alone | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1934 | |||
| 96 | The Black Hawk | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1934 | |||
| 97 | Standish of the Air Police | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1935 | |||
| 98 | Sleuths of the Air | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1935 | |||
| 99 | On Board the "Golden Effort" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1935 | |||
| 100 | The Call of the Sea | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1935 | |||
| 101 | The Red Pirate | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1935 | Rowland Hilder | ||
| 102 | Tireless Wings | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1936 | Comerford Watson | ||
| 103 | Captain Flick | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1936 | Edward S. Hodgson | ||
| 104 | His First Ship | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1936 | |||
| 105 | Midshipman Raxworthy | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1936 | |||
| 106 | Ringed by Fire | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1936 | |||
| 107 | The Pearl Fishers and Other Stories | R. Tuck and Sons | London | 1936 | with Major John Thomas Gorman et al. | ||
| 108 | Winged Might | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1937 | |||
| 109 | Under Fire in Spain | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1937 | Ernest Prater | ||
| 110 | The Last of the Buccaneers | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1937 | |||
| 111 | Haunted Harbour | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1937 | |||
| 112 | His Unfinished Voyage | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1937 | |||
| 113 | Midshipman Webb's Treasure | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1937 | D. L. Mays | ||
| 114 | Cadet Alan Carr | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1938 | D. L. Mays | ||
| 115 | Standish Gets his Man | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1938 | W. Edward Wigfull | ||
| 116 | Standish Loses his Man | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1939 | W. Edward Wigfull | ||
| 117 | In Eastern Seas | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1939 | |||
| 118 | The Bulldog Breed | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1939 | E. Boye Uden | ||
| 119 | At Grips with the Swastika | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1940 | Leo Bates | ||
| 120 | Eagles' Talons | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1940 | |||
| 121 | In Dangerous Waters | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1940 | |||
| 122 | Standish Pulls it Off | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1940 | |||
| 123 | When the Allies Swept the Seas | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1940 | J. C. B. Knight | ||
| 124 | The War - and Alan Carr | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1940 | E. Boye Uden | ||
| 125 | War Cargo | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1941 | |||
| 126 | Sea Scouts at Dunkirk | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1941 | |||
| 127 | Standish Holds On | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1941 | |||
| 128 | Fighting for Freedom | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1941 | |||
| 129 | Alan Carr in the Near East | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1942 | |||
| 130 | Destroyer's Luck | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1942 | |||
| 131 | Secret Flight | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1942 | |||
| 132 | On Guard for England | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1942 | J. C. B. Knight | ||
| 133 | A Real Boy's Book | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1942 | with others | ||
| 134 | With the Commandos | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1943 | Salomon Van Abbé | ||
| 135 | Sub-Lieutenant John Cloche | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1943 | H. Pym | ||
| 136 | Alan Carr in the Arctic | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1943 | E. Boye Uden | ||
| 137 | Combined Operations | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1944 | Salomon Van Abbé | ||
| 138 | 'Engage the Enemy Closely' | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1944 | Terence T. Cuneo | ||
| 139 | Secret Convoy | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1944 | Terence T. Cuneo | ||
| 140 | Alan Carr in Command | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1945 | Terence T. Cuneo | ||
| 141 | One of the Many | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1945 | Ellis Silas | ||
| 142 | 'Operations Successfully Executed' | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1945 | S. Drigin | ||
| 143 | By Luck and by Pluck | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1946 | Terence T. Cuneo | ||
| 144 | Return to Base | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1946 | Leslie A. Wilcox | ||
| 145 | Squadron Leader | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1946 | Terence T. Cuneo | ||
| 146 | Unfettered Might | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1947 | S. Jezzard | ||
| 147 | Trapped in the Jungle | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1947 | A. S. Forrest | ||
| 148 | The Phantom Submarine | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1947 | J. C. B. Knight | ||
| 149 | The "Golden Gleaner" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1948 | M Mackinlay | ||
| 150 | First Over | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1948 | Ellis Silas | ||
| 151 | The Mystery of the Key | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1948 | Ellis Silas | ||
| 152 | Missing, Believed Lost | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1949 | Will Nickless | ||
| 153 | Contraband | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1949 | A. Barclay | ||
| 154 | Beyond the Burma Road | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1949 | Victor J. Bertoglio | ||
| 155 | Sabarinda Island | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1950 | A. Barclay | ||
| 156 | The Mystery of Nix Hall | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1950 | D. C. Eyles | ||
| 157 | By Sea and Air | Midshipman Doughty and Forced Landing | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1950 | ||
| 158 | Desolation Island | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1950 | W. Gale | ||
| 159 | Held to Ransom | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1951 | Ellis Silas | ||
| 160 | The Isle of Mystery | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1951 | |||
| 161 | Working their Passage | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1951 | Ellis Silas | ||
| 162 | Sabotage! | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1952 | Ellis Silas | ||
| 163 | Round the World in the "Golden Gleaner" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1952 | Jack Matthew | ||
| 164 | Dangerous Cargo | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1952 | |||
| 165 | Bob Strickland's Log | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1953 | Jack Matthew | ||
| 166 | The Missing Diplomat | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1953 | R. G. Campbell | ||
| 167 | Rolling down to Rio | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1953 | R. G. Campbell | ||
| 168 | Wrested from the Deep | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1954 | Robert Johnston | ||
| 169 | A Midshipman of the Fleet | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1954 | P. A. Jobson | ||
| 170 | The Ju-Ju Hand | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1954 | |||
| 171 | The "Dark Secret" | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1954 | Victor J. Bertoglio | ||
| 172 | 'Sea Scouts Alert!' | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1955 | G. Graham | ||
| 173 | Daventry's Quest | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1955 | P. A. Jobson | ||
| 174 | The Lure of the Lagoon | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1955 | E. Kearon | ||
| 175 | Held in the Frozen North | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1956 | Edward Osmond | ||
| 176 | The Mystery of the Sempione | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1957 | P.B. Batchelor | ||
| 177 | Jack Craddock's Commission | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1958 | Edward Osmond | ||
| 178 | Mistaken Identity | Blackie and Son Ltd. | London and Glasgow | 1959 | Robert Johnston |
