Fife's Tin Box - Peter Copley

"Kevin Fife," his teacher started. "To look at you, you wouldn't think butter would melt in your mouth. You look much younger than you are, freckles and glasses. A cheeky little boy face. But for all that, you are always getting into trouble. Always up to some mischief. It was you who put that cat in Mr Olney's cupboard, nearly gave him a heart attack when it jumped out onto his head and clawed off his wig."

In January 1940, when 14-year-old Kevin Fife gets into bother with the law, the Juvenile Court Magistrates disagree that the offences are only minor boyish mischief. They say he beyond parental control, and, as an alternative to being sent to Borstal, they order that he joins the Merchant Navy as a boy-seaman. For the next 12 months, Kevin faces the dangers of the sea and the violence of the enemy.