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It was all going swimmingly, but I've come to a shuddering halt in the left hand corner. I've got the B work at 3d and the H poisoner T 5d. I have an 8 letter I (answer to clue 6) at 11a and an American President as a J word at 18d. A lemony Z is at 14a and X is at 20d. 15 d then becomes an E that I can't work out 25a is probably a smelly C but 23 as an A has me defeated - letters would be A??n?i?n and be either discharge or warmer with 15 d being the other one.

As to B I had something more like a d'oh d'oh d'oh d'oh moment....

Captain Jack - what a great user name (assuming it's not your real one)
The definition for 'A' is 'capital' and your namesake wouldn't have sailed there as it's in a landlocked SA country.
Definition of 'E' is 'discharge.'

Ok. Got 15d (one of those it's so obvious I couldn't see it clues!) and the smelly C at 25a. So 23a is an A.

Thanks, rh142. It's a very clear clue read properly!

I'm not a relative; just one of O'Brian's many devotees.

I've finished this one except for one answer, the R word (and. yes, I've seen the initial discussions about this).. Chambers only gees two possibilities for the three letters I have, the first of which is a definition of "Describe," and so is probably correct The last five letters do make a word, but I can't relate that to L. I can see the two-letter railway. but where do the last three letters come from? Awaiting my "D'oh" moment ...

Forget trains (and boats and planes). Think about the 5 letter word and then think about 'L' in a completely different way.

Ready......."D...o....!"

I think simond9x is correct, ie look at the L-word (in this puzzle)...my idea is rather more convoluted where the word preceding railway is a synonym of the word following R albeit in an archaic sense...does this make sense?

to clarify my original idea even further (now preferring simonxd's version)...

Defn in Wiktionary of the word following R...

Adj
(obsolete) Lifted up; raised; elevated

ixion

Ah, now I understand what you meant. It works but I still think Paul meant the other interpretation.

Thanks for all your replies about the R-word. I have mulled them over, and I'm still not sure ... but there's only really one word that fits, so it will have to do. I don't see why the archaic "Lifted up " word relates to L, and the only explanation I can think of is along the lines of the adjective Italianate, i.e., like L. Which doesn't convince me! Thanks.