Frederic George Trayes

author

Frederic George Trayes

b. 1871

A firsthand wartime memoir puts readers aboard a ship seized by the German raider Wolf, turning an ordinary voyage into a story of danger, captivity, and endurance at sea. It offers a vivid, personal window into World War I far from the main battlefields.

1 Audiobook

Five Months on a German Raider

Five Months on a German Raider

by Frederic George Trayes

About the author

Born in 1871, Frederic George Trayes is known for Five Months on a German Raider, a World War I memoir based on his own capture during the war. The book recounts his experiences after being taken prisoner when the Japanese ship Hitachi Maru was intercepted by the German raider Wolf.

His writing stands out for its plain, direct storytelling and its close-up view of life at sea under extreme pressure. Rather than giving a distant military history, he describes the confusion, fear, and resilience of people suddenly caught in wartime violence.

Today, Trayes is remembered mainly through this account, which remains of interest to readers of naval history, personal narratives, and survival stories from the First World War.