Buy Under Pressure | Royal Museums Greenwich Shop
Under Pressure: Living Life and Avoiding Death on a Nuclear Submarine

Under Pressure: Living Life and Avoiding Death on a Nuclear Submarine

Regular price £10.99 Sale

A candid, visceral, and incredibly entertaining account of what it’s like to live in one of the most extreme environments in the world.

Imagine a world without natural light, where you can barely stand up straight for fear of knocking your head, where you have no idea of where in the world you are or what time of day it is, where you sleep in a coffin-sized bunk and sometimes eat a full roast for breakfast.

Now imagine sharing that world with 140 other sweaty bodies, crammed into a 430ft x 33ft steel tube, 300ft underwater, for up to 90 days at a time, with no possibility of escape. And to top it off, a sizeable chunk of your living space is taken up by the most formidably destructive nuclear weapons history has ever known. This is the world of the submariner. This is life under pressure.

As a restless and adventurous 18-year-old, Richard Humphreys joined the submarine service in 1985 and went on to serve aboard the nuclear deterrent for five years at the end of the Cold War. Nothing could have prepared him for life beneath the waves. Aside from the claustrophobia and disorientation, there were the prolonged periods of boredom, the constant dread of discovery by the Soviets, and the smorgasbord of rank odours that only a group of poorly-washed and flatulent submariners can unleash.

But even in this most pressurised of environments, the consolations were unique: where else could you sit peacefully for hours listening to whale song, or…

Based on first-hand experience, Under Pressure is the candid, visceral and incredibly entertaining account of what it’s like to live, work, sleep, eat – and stay sane – in one of the most extreme man-made environments on the planet.

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mudlark (10 Jun. 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.3 x 19.8 cm

‘One of the finest memoirs published in recent years.’ Dan Jones

+ Read more - Show less
  • Subscribe to save 10%*

    Sign up to our newsletter for a 10% discount off your next order. You'll also be the first to discover new products, promotions and inspiration. *Exclusions apply, please see Terms and Conditions.

    Subscribe now

  • Members save 10%*

    Museum Members receive 10% off shopping both online and at the museum sites. *Exclusions apply, please see Terms & Conditions.

    Join as a member today.

  • FREE UK Delivery for orders over £50

    Christmas Ordering and Dispatch

    Over the holiday season, we experience a surge in
    orders and customer inquiries, for these reasons, we have adjusted our expected
    processing and fulfilment times.

    Our Christmas UK standard processing and fulfilment time is 5-7 working days. 

    Our Online Shop dispatch
    team will of course do our very best to dispatch orders sooner, where possible.

    We recommend ordering as early as possible, for the
    best chance of receiving it before Christmas. We appreciate our customer's
    patience during this busy time as we are a small team.

    Standard Delivery: Place orders by 18 December

    Our UK FedEx 1-3 day delivery service will be
    available, excluding Custom Prints, Personalised Clothing, and Online Only
    Telescopes. Place
    order by 19th December.

    Orders placed after these dates can be dispatched
    but delivery in time for Christmas cannot be guaranteed. Royal Museums
    Greenwich cannot accept responsibility for orders placed after these dates
    being received after Christmas.

    All UK orders (excluding personalised clothing) are sent using a tracked service.

    Excludes Custom Prints (those which are customised by choosing a
    size and frame), online-only telescopes, and pre-orders,
    as these are subject to their own delivery terms.

    Custom Prints (those which are customised by choosing a size and frame) and personalised clothing take a little longer to fulfill due to being made to order. Order by 8th December.

    Please see our Delivery & Returns page for more information and last order dates.

    Online-only telescopes are shipped directly from Celestron. To have the best chance to receive in time for Christmas, please place your order before 12 noon on 16th December.

    FREE Standard UK delivery for all orders over £50 (Royal Mail)

    For all other orders, we offer Standard UK delivery for £4.95 per order (Royal Mail).

  • International Delivery Information

    Christmas ordering and dispatch

    We recommend ordering as early as possible, for the
    best chance of receiving before Christmas. We appreciate our customer's
    patience during this busy time as we are a small team.

    Dates shown are for standard orders (excluding custom and online exclusive items).

    Shipping Destination

    Recommended Last Order Date:

    Europe and of the world: Place order by 7th December

    USA & Canada orders: Place order by 13th December

    Delivery rate varies by country and value of order, and starts from as little as £6.95. 

    Please allow 5-7 working days for standard orders to be dispatched.

    Custom Prints (those which are customised by choosing a size and frame) and personalised clothing take a little longer to fulfill due to being made to order. Please see our recommended last order dates for these items on our  Delivery & Returns page.

    Online-only telescopes: Place order by 12 noon on 16 December.

    Orders placed after these dates can be dispatched
    but delivery in time for Christmas cannot be guaranteed. Royal Museums
    Greenwich cannot accept responsibility for orders placed after these dates
    being received after Christmas.

    We send using a Royal Mail/FedEx tracked delivery service (excluding personalised products). Please allow 7-10 working days to receive after we have dispatched.

    Please see our Delivery & Returns page for all information.

  • Returns Policy

    For all returns, please contact us as soon as possible using the contact form, expressing your wish to return. Please wait for confirmation from one of our team before returning.

    Custom Prints (those which are customised by choosing a size and frame) and personalised clothing are made to order and therefore we are unable to offer a refund or exchange, unless they are faulty.

    Please see our Delivery & Returns page for full information.

  • Every purchase supports the work of Royal Museums Greenwich

    All proceeds from all purchases made on the Royal Museums Greenwich online shop support the work of the museum. 

    Should you wish to, you can now add a voluntary donation to your order. All donations, big or small, will make a difference.

    Thank you for your continued support.