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Norma Hudson found her father's diaries and letters from the 1940s and '50s in his naval "ditty" box in the loft of the family home in Smalewell Road.

They inspired her to write Sole Survivor - One Man's Journey which charts the story of Norman Walton's escape from one of Britain's worst naval disasters.

Norma, who lived in Pudsey most of her life but moved to Doncaster, said: "I knew that my father was the sole survivor of the Neptune disaster but I was never really interested in it when I was growing up. My father never really talked about it.

"I think I know him better than anyone else now. By reading the letters I got a real feel for how he must have felt which I never really realised before.

"I wish that he could have seen the finished book. I think he would be really proud."

Norman was 20 when he sailed with 765 men, including 150 New Zealand officers, aboard HMS Neptune on a secret mission to intercept an Italian Second World War convoy.

He was one of 16 sailors who clung on to a liferaft as the Neptune went down and waited for six days before he was rescued by an Italian torpedo boat.

After 15 months in a PoW camp, he returned to England and then served on three more ships. In 1944, he set off again for the Mediterranean to sweep for mines off Italy and in the Adriatic.

On his repatriotisation, Norman settled in Leeds and became a professional boxer fighting under the name Patsy Dodds.

He was then called up again for the Korean War, serving another five years in the RN and after retiring as a Petty Officer, he became a successful businessman. He died in 2005, aged 84.

Norma added: "My dad always said that he when he died he wanted to go back with his mates in the Mediterranean Sea but I never thought it would be possible. We went on a remembrance journey to Tripoli and I scattered his ashes where they believe the wreck of the Neptune lies, which was really emotional.

"I am so pleased that I have finished the book and now I just hope that I have done him justice because he was such a character."
The book is available now to order at The Memoir Club on 01913735660.