One Dover Patrol captain saved almost 2,000 people from a torpedoed ship.

And Ramsgate became England’s most bombed town by the end of the First World War.

These are some of the amazing stories told in a new book, Securing the Narrow Sea by naval historian Steve Dunn.

The book focuses on the Dover Patrol safeguarding the English Channel during the 1914-1918 war.

Captain Robert Edward Carey, who was born in Townwall Street, Dover, in 1864, helped to rescue Belgian refugees after their ship had been torpedoed.

Thanks to his skill only 40 of the 2,000 refugees lost their lives that day.

Ramsgate was also home to many of the Patrol’s vessels, making the area a prime target for the Germans.

By the end of the war 45 people had been killed in the town, 93 injured and the population halved from pre-war levels as people fled.

The Dover Patrol’s members were virtually untrained but were involved in the longest, most arduous, continuous naval campaign during the conflict.

“I hope I have done justice to this incredible story and my book acts as a tribute and a permanent reminder of the contribution made by the Patrol and Dover.” - Author Steve Dunn

Mr Dunn explains: “What makes the story particularly poignant is the patrol was an amateur show made up of hundreds of fishermen, yachtsmen, merchant sailors and volunteers.

“With little or no Royal Navy training they fought against the U-boat threat and helped to make sure that Germany’s attempts to destroy British freedom of the Channel, and commerce and trade were unsuccessful.

“Their involvement in the allied victory was enormous, and yet it’s often overlooked.”

Using first-hand accounts, the book examines the wide-ranging exploits of the Patrol, from maintaining a safe passage for men and supplies from England to France to laying and clearing mines.

It also includes many human stories that demonstrate acts of bravery, like captain Carey’s.

The book also focuses on Dover and how its citizens had to adapt to being at the centre of such an important command, which transformed it into an army garrison town of 10,000 men.

Edwin Farley was mayor throughout the war. At the time, Admiral Reginald Bacon paid tribute to Farley and the people of Dover for their “kindness and generosity.”

Author Mr Dunn, of Worcestershire, says: “I hope I have done justice to this incredible story and my book acts as a tribute and a permanent reminder of the contribution made by the Patrol and Dover.”

A total of 2,000 men of the Dover Patrol died, which is 6% of Royal Navy sea losses during the First World War. Also 1,260,000 wounded men passed through Dover on their way back from the Western Front.

A total 2,094 troop transporters sailed from the port, carrying four million British, Commonwealth and America troops and 11,938 vessels were despatched from there to the continent.

At the end of the war, more than 55,000 POWs came home via Dover.

Securing the Narrow Sea, by Steve Dunn, is published by Seaforth Publishing, price £25 and is available in bookshops, through Amazon and at www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/