Captain Kettle on the war-path

Captain Sir Owen Kettle is a brilliant, if slightly eccentric, naval officer who spends more time tinkering with patents for rose‑mildew spray than polishing his uniform. With a high‑class American prosthetic leg and a relentless streak of ingenuity, he navigates the endless paperwork of enlistment, only to be repeatedly turned away for being “too old” or “physically unfit.” His banter with Lady Kettle, who keeps his domestic life in check, reveals a man who refuses to let bureaucracy dictate his sense of duty.

When a determined Member of Parliament, Martin Carnforth, proposes a private raid on a German submarine that has been terrorising the Irish coast, Kettle sees his chance. The duo debates daring tactics while the Captain’s reputation for unconventional thinking promises a high‑stakes, humor‑laden chase. Listeners are invited into a world where cunning improvisation meets wartime urgency, all narrated with the dry wit that defines Kettle’s larger‑than‑life personality.