The Search

'A thrilling adventure story - expertly crafted with wit, heart, and captivating research' Nick Hayes, author of Book of Trespass

In 2016, archaeologist John Henry Phillips was volunteering with a charity that took D-Day veterans back to Normandy. Due to an administrative error he found himself without a hotel room and reliant on the generosity of one of the veterans who had a spare bed. That veteran was Patrick Thomas - and it was an encounter that would change both their lives forever. Patrick's landing craft, LCH 185, had led the first wave into Sword Beach on D-Day, and stayed off Normandy until 25 June when an acoustic mine sent it to the seabed along with most of the crew. His story transfixed John, and the resulting search for the shipwreck consumed him. Jumping back and forth in time, between vivid descriptions of the final days onboard LCH 185 and John's thrilling search to find the shipwreck, The Search is an emotional story of a devastating time in history, an unlikely lifechanging friendship and a quest to honour a wartime home and family lost over seventy-five years ago.