Ship Of The Week

Ship Of The WeekAuthor Johan Luidens was serving on a Dutch merchant navy when his ship was chosen to be on Ship of the Week, a radio programme from 1947 1972 that gave crew members and their loved ones an opportunity for one way communication. Because some crew members might be away for up to two years and telephone calls were difficult and expensive, this programme helped fill part of the communication void. Luidenss fond memories of the excitement leading up to,

Author Johan Luidens was serving on a Dutch merchant navy when his ship was chosen to be on Ship of the Week, a radio programme from 1947-1972 that gave crew members and their loved ones an opportunity for one-way communication. Because some crew members might be away for up to two years and telephone calls were difficult and expensive, this programme helped fill part of the communication void. Luidens’s fond memories of the excitement leading up to, during, and after the programme come to life in the historical novel of the same name, Ship of the Week. In this fictional account, Luidens brings real-world experience to the joy, sadness, embarrassment, and sometimes anger of the crew members as their relatives, sometimes inadvertently, talk about things unexpected or unwelcome. Luidens’s novel is a funny, heartwarming, and sometimes sad story that will leave readers wanting more.

About the Author

Johan Luidens was born in the Netherlands during World War II. He served for two years in the Dutch Royal Navy, then signed on with the merchant navy until he was twenty-seven years old. He migrated to Australia in 1972 and worked at Sydney’s domestic airport. He enjoys jogging, writing, reading and doing volunteer work.