RACM Veterans` Reunion and Medal Ceremony 2013

3
Contents
Loch Ewe Naval Defences during WWII
and Russian Arctic Convoy routes
5
John Allen
6
Bill Bannerman
7
Vic Bashford
8
Bob Brighton
9
James Brown
10
Reay Clarke
11
David Craig
12
Jock Dempster
13
Leonard Dibb-Western
14
Roy Elwood
15
John Farrow
16
Bert Glazebrook
17
George Gray
18
Gordon Grayson
19
Harold Green
20
Murray Haddow
21
Ivan Hall
22
Philip Harrison
23
Glanville Hart
24
Ernest Hodkinson
25
4
Geoff Holmes
26
Jack Humble
27
Gordon Kilner
28
James Kirk
29
George Langton
30
Francis Lee
31
Ron Leslie
32
Donald Macfarlane
33
Jim Osler
34
Robin Owen
35
Kenneth Reith
36
Mervyn Salter
37
James Simpson
38
Jack Sleigh
39
John Turvill
40
Kenneth Watson
41
James Wilkie
42
Rex Willcox
43
George Young
44
Information about Russian Arctic Convoy
Museum Project
45
Loch Ewe Naval Defences during WWII and Russian Arctic Convoy routes
The planned Russian Arctic Convoy
Museum at Aultbea, Loch Ewe aims to be
a lasting legacy for future generations to
commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of
the men of the convoys.
Mellon
Udrigle
■
Wreck 1
William H Welch
sunk 26.2.44
Guard
Eilean Furadh Mòr
Achgarve
Loop
Promotive sunk 23.12.39
✖ Glen Albyn sunk 23.12.39
Wreck 2
✖
6” GUNS
Lifeboats
Mine Loops
➋■
➑ ✖
Cove
ry
ra
l
ina
ig
Or
➋
■
o
mp
Te
ANTI AIRCRAFT GUNS
■ LOOKOUT POST
➋
Mellon Charles
Ne
➐
Ormiscaig
Merchant
Ships
Anchorage
Isle Ewe
Firemore
➍ ROAD BARRIERS
➎ WRENS
➏ CINEMAS
➐ INDIAN CAMP (RIASC)
➑ PIONEER CORPS AND
ROYAL ENGINEERS
➒ POLISH ARMY
➓ WELSH REGIMENT
RAF
t
Laide
➏■
Tr
ip
➊ HIGHLAND FIELDCRAFT
TRAINING CENTRE
➋ NAAFI
➌ YMCA
➎
Mines laid by U-31
HMS Nelson 27.10.39
detonates mine
4.12.39
Mellangaun
Many men left Loch Ewe on the convoys
and made the perilous journey north to
ports in Russia, and many others gave
support in the form of cover from air or
sea in and around the Arctic, or from landbased artillery batteries situated around
Loch Ewe and in Iceland. They all played
their part…
Opinan
Bo
om
)
A few weeks previously the British
government had agreed to the awarding of
the Arctic Star medal to the few remaining
veterans of the Russian Arctic Convoys
(1941-1945). This event marked the award of
their medals and took place at Poolewe on
the shores of Loch Ewe on 9th May 2013.
LOCH EWE NAVAL DEFENCES
DURING WWII
le
Ne
t(
40 veterans who served on, or gave support
to the Arctic convoys to Russia, came to Loch
Ewe in May 2013 to commemorate their
colleagues and friends who were no longer
able to be with them at this occasion.
Inverasdale
Midtown
Aultbea
➏➐
➎
➎
➋
➍
Pier
Jetty
Munitions Store
Home Fleet
Anchorage
Jetty
Naast
Jetty
Munitions Store
Barrage Balloon Shed
(Giant Nissen hut)
Jetty
Inverewe
❀Garde
n (NTS)
➊ ➒
➏ ➋
Poolewe ➍➌
5
Present NATO
refuelling base
Royal Navy
Anchorage
Boor
RUSSIAN ARCTIC CONVOY
ROUTES
MUSEUM
Loch Ewe
➓
North Erradale
Planned
Museum
Site
R U SSI AN
ARCTIC
CONVOY
➍
John Allen
John served as Able Seaman aboard the frigate
HMS Bahamas. At the end of November 1944 they
sailed from Londonderry to the assembly point at
Loch Ewe and joined convoy JW62 with the 20th
Escort Group which arrived unscathed at Kola Inlet
in Russia on 7th December 1944.
The return convoy RA62 left Kola Inlet on
10th December 1944. On 11th December
HMS Cassandra had her bow completely
blown away by a torpedo from U-boat U365,
with considerable loss of life. More than a
third of the ship’s company were killed in
the explosion and the survivors prepared
to abandon ship. Realising the sea was too
rough to bring another ship alongside, they
shored up the forward bulkheads. It was
decided to save the Cassandra by towing her
stern first.
John at Buckingham Pa
lace
Garden Party
take off the wounded en route but medical
supplies, including morphine, were sent
aboard by means of an overhead line from
HMS Tortola. Later the tow was passed over
to a Russian tug, which towed her into Kola
Inlet. On arrival at Kola Inlet, some survivors
stayed in Russia and others took passage
aboard the HMS Bahamas back to the UK.
On 13th December that U-boat - U365,
was sunk with loss of all hands by depth
charges from two Swordfish aircraft from 813
Squadron aboard HMS Campania.
John told us: “My friend and shipmate,
On 11th December 2004 John was invited to a
Service of Reconciliation and Remembrance
in Portsmouth concerning the events, which
took place 60 years before, where he met
several survivors from HMS Cassandra.
Leading Seaman Alf Rising, secured a
heaving line to HMS Cassandra.”
HMS Cassandra was towed by HMS
Bahamas back towards the Kola Inlet for
emergency repairs. It remained too rough to
Kola Inlet
HMS Bahamas
6
Bill Bannerman
Bill served on the navy destroyer HMS Verulam, and
was on one northbound convoy (JW57) and three
homebound convoys (RA56, RA57 and RA59) from
February to May 1944. Bill had started training as an
apprentice engineer and when he joined up he had
hoped to use this training but was told he needed to
have had three years’ experience and he had only
two, and so he began naval life as a seaman, then
later as a stoker working in the engine room.
By the end of April 1944 there were large
numbers of personnel requiring transport
from North Russia, so consequently on
convoy RA59 many of the empty merchant
ships carried considerable numbers of
Officers and ratings as passengers. There
were also numbers of US navy personnel
(which were in the ships of the convoy) and
a number of Russians (who were in the
merchant ships). HMS Verulam carried an
extra 17 personnel. Atrocious weather made
carrier operations on this convoy extremely
hazardous with up to six inches of snow
being recorded on flight decks at one point.
Twelve U-boats had been stationed near
Bear Island and one merchant ship was
sunk on 30th April by U711, with a loss of
43 of her crew and passengers, which had
totalled 235.
Bill recalls: “It was bitterly cold on
deck. I once saw a tanker blow up – it was
gone in minutes…”
After the war Bill joined the Royal Fleet
Auxilliary for a while, working on supply
ships and oil tankers, and then he worked in
John Brown’s in Glasgow.
HMS Verulam
7
Vic Bashford
Vic volunteered for Royal Air Force service in
December 1938. He trained as an electrical fitter,
joined No 615 Squadron at RAF Kenley, equipped
with Gloster ‘Gladiator’ fighters, and was deployed to
France in December 1939.
of a ‘Hurricane’
force, and
ready to receive
almost a
further 3000
later sent to
them by many of the convoys over the
following years.”
The pace of war quickened, and on 10 May
1940 the Luftwaffe attacked his airfield at
Abbeville. They were evacuated over the
Dunkirk beaches, and so consequently he
was at Kenley at the time of the Battle of
Britain. Following this came a series of
postings, before he was finally sent to No
134 Squadron, at RAF Leconfield in August
1941. This was the prelude for ‘Operation
Dervish’ – the very first Arctic Convoy,
which left Liverpool on 12 August 1941 and
delivered a full RAF ‘Hurricane’ fighter Wing
to Russia (the full story of which is in the film
‘Hurricanes to Murmansk’).
“We left Russia at the end of November
1941, and my trip home was aboard HMS
Kenya, with a captain who enjoyed giving
the Germans a bloody nose. So it was that
instead of a straight passage as escort to
the returning convoy (QP3), we spent some
exhilarating moments bombarding the
German coastal installations at Vardo. This
lost us our position as escort, and there was
some confusion when it was thought that
a radar contact was ‘Tirpitz’. It turned out
to be HMS Berwick, inbound with another
convoy, and due to pick up some of my
colleagues for their return journey. Never a
dull moment! That’s why I joined the RAF –
for a quiet life!!”
Vic recalls: “I travelled out on the convoy
Commodore’s vessel, the merchant ship
‘Llanstephan Castle’, with some of the
Wing’s ‘Hurricanes’ as deck cargo aboard.
I remember our escorts: one was HMS
Active, another was HMS Electra (which,
a couple of months before, picked up the
only three survivors of the ‘Hood’). We
arrived in Archangel on 31 August. It was
on HMS Active that I was ferried across the
White Sea to our operating base at Vaenga,
by Murmansk (now the Russian air base
Severomorsk). I was with our Squadron’s
advance party of fitters and riggers, sent
to be ready for the arrival of some of the
Wing’s ‘Hurricanes’. Our activity at Vaenga
was successful in every respect – as shown
in the film – so we could feel that we had
done what we’d been tasked to do when we
left, leaving the Russians with the nucleus
Vic was on another string of postings in
the Middle East from late 1942 – Egypt,
Palestine, Iraq, and Greece, until his return
to UK in December 1945 for demobilisation
on 05 January 1946.
Vic sums it up: “…but that convoy
experience is the part of my life that is truly
unforgettable…”
8
Bob Brighton
Bob joined the corvette HMS Bamborough Castle
and completed six convoys to and from Russia from
September 1944 till May 1945 – JW/RA60, JW/RA62,
JW/RA63, JW/RA64, JW/RA65 and JW/RA66.
The escort for RA62 sailed from Kola Inlet
shortly before the main convoy so as to attack
the assembled U-boats, which lay in wait at
the entrance to the inlet. HMS Bamborough
Castle came across and sank U-boat U387 on
9th December 1944.
convoy on 11th December, HMS Cassandra
was torpedoed and had to return to Murmansk
for emergency repairs. The following day the
Norwegian corvette Tunsberg Castle was
mined and sunk. This was followed by an
attack by nine Luftwaffe torpedo bombers but
with no British losses and two German planes
shot down. The convoy arrived at Loch Ewe on
19th December 1944.
Bob recalls: “We were lucky in the ASDIC
cabinet as it was usually warm there. I was
always in the ASDIC cabinet until Action
Stations and then I would go onto the bridge.
I’d use the oscillator and compass to get an
accurate bearing on the submarines. We
had 3 ‘squids’ (depth charges), which we
would throw ahead of the ship’s bows. If that
didn’t get a sub we’d go over it and attack it
again. We had to write a resume of the attack
sequence of what we did and send it back to
the Admiralty. They put the details into the
Attack Training Machine and could tell if we’d
sunk it or not. We must have, as she never
returned to Germany.”
Bob also remembers the sinking of HMS Lark
on convoy RA64: “I remember we picked up
U968 by its hydrophone effect – it was along
by HMS Lark. It had just torpedoed the Lark
whose stern was blown straight over onto the
4” gun. Just folded up...”
Also on convoy RA64 Bob recalls: “I was called
up onto the bridge by the skipper when HMS
Bluebell was hit. I hadn’t far to go but when I
got there, there was only steam coming from
where she had sunk. It went down in under
two minutes. I think only one man got off.”
The convoy then left Kola Inlet on 10th
December 1944. During the passage of the
Bob’s last convoy was RA66, which returned to
the Clyde on VE Day, 8th May 1945.
e 1945
e in Dazzle Camouflag
HMS Bamborough Castl
Some of the crew aboard
HMS Bamborough, coming
through ‘The Minches’ 8th
May 1945 – VE Day
9
James Brown
James registered for service in the Royal Navy in
October 1942, after his 18th birthday. He was sent
for training at a school for Supply Branch ratings
and Writers in Highgate, London. Completing this
course he became Supply Assistant and he had to
report to Portsmouth. He was told to check the
noticeboard each day for his posting. A day or two
later the board had a notice that he and another
were to report to Berwick.
Says James: “Great, we thought –
morning! That was my first introduction to
life on the Berwick!”
home at weekends – me to Kelso and
he to Newcastle!! We were handed our
transit papers and – glory be! – it was HMS
Berwick!”
“I was allocated an Action Station in one of
the cordite handling compartments for the
8” guns. This was down in the bowels of the
ship. When all watertight doors and hatches
were closed it was, at times, rather scary.
Being down in the depths I never really
knew was happening. I can’t say I saw a lot
of action, but I heard plenty!”
He joined HMS Berwick in August 1943. It
was a three-funnelled County Class Cruiser,
which was supposed to be at Scapa Flow, but
was actually in for a re-fit at Rosyth.
James recalls: “We arrived the following
afternoon after lunch and the CPO Cook
fixed us up with a big fry-up on the mess
deck. We ate up and sat back and lit up our
‘ciggies’ and thought ‘this was the life!’ Then
all hell broke loose – we shouldn’t have
been smoking at that time of the day. This
charming gentleman, the QM very politely
brought this to our attention and threatened
us with Captain’s Orders the following
Apart from the Murmansk escort duties,
the Berwick was, on one occasion used
to transport army personnel, food and
equipment to Spitzbergen. Another trip
involved escorting the Queen Mary with
Winston Churchill on board to Halifax, Nova
Scotia for a meeting with the US President in
September 1944.
“Two trips to Loch Ewe, and also one out of
Loch Erribol, created diversions for us.
Some of us were allowed to go ashore
to attend a dance at Aultbea on one
occasion.”
James was demobbed on 14th
November 1946 after having completed
a trip to Colombo and similar trips to
Sydney, Australia – he recalls “these
were much more pleasant than the
extreme cold of the Arctic!”
HMS Berwick
10
Reay Clarke
Reay joined the Royal Navy in April 1942 as an Ordinary
Seaman. After initial training, he joined HMS Farndale,
a Hunt Class destroyer, in July 1942. The ship had just
finished a refit and we were a complete new crew. They
sailed to Scapa Flow for their “Working Up” training
but this was suddenly interrupted and they were
ordered to proceed to Loch Ewe.
Says Reay: “I can well remember entering
Iceland taking the convoy up to a total of 44
merchant ships. We sailed north-eastwards
towards Bear Island. The attacks from
submarines and aircraft were just beginning
when we, along with another Hunt class
destroyer, HMS Eskdale, were despatched
back to Scapa Flow as escort to a merchant
ship which was having trouble with its engines
and unlikely to reach Archangel. We ran into
another storm which swept away the whaler,
damaged the motor boat and cleared all the
guard rails off the starboard side of the ship.”
Loch Ewe late on a fine evening at the end
of August. It was a magnificent spectacle.
The loch was crowded with merchant ships,
the green fields of the crofts rose up from
the shore and, on the eastern horizon, the
mountains of Wester Ross were outlined red
in the sunset. I was one of the fo’c’sle party for
mooring the ship and the matelot next to me,
who had never before been far from Poplar,
said: “Ere, Jock, where are we? This ain’t
England.” To which I was going to reply that we
were in Scotland and that my home was over
there beyond those mountains, when there
was a sharp command from the bosun, who
was standing behind me: ‘Stop talking! Silence
on the upper deck!’ ”
At Scapa Flow they secured alongside HMS
Tyne, the destroyer depot ship, where they
got hot showers, a hot meal and warm fresh
white bread. A signal was awaiting Reay telling
him to leave HMS Farndale and proceed to
Portsmouth to start training as an engineer,
for which he had applied while at the training
ship. Having qualified as a motor mechanic, he
spent the rest of the war with the 25th M.T.B.
Flotilla, Light Coastal Forces, in the Far East.
He came home in February 1946 and was
demobilised in June of that year.
“At 16.00hrs on the 2nd September 1942, we
sailed from Loch Ewe as part of the close
escort to Convoy PQ18. The convoy ran into
a serious storm and we were despatched
to gather some of the scattered merchant
ships when a German submarine suddenly
surfaced just astern of us. We attacked with
gunfire, the submarine crash-dived and
we followed up with depth charges. That
submarine did sustain some damage but
continued with her patrol, attacking the
convoy again some days later.”
HMS Farndale
“We went in to Hvalfjord to oil and then
continued north into the Greenland Strait
where we were joined by more vessels from
11
David Craig
David joined the Merchant Navy and found
himself aboard SS Dover Hill on its way to
Russia as part of convoy JW53 (known as The
Forgotten Convoy). In February 1943 he sailed
to North Russia. After arriving in Murmansk
and having discharged their cargo, they
anchored in the Kola Inlet. On 4th April Action
Stations sounded and two JU88 bombers
attacked the ship.
Says David: “ I wrongly assumed we
had beaten them off, only to be blown off
my feet as their bombs exploded in the
sea on either side. On getting up I noticed
a few yards from me a round hole in the
steel deck where a bomb had obviously
penetrated our coal bunkers underneath
and had not exploded.”
Taken on my
return from R
ussia
Dec 1943 (Rad
io Officer)
Nineteen crew members, including the
Captain, formed a team of volunteers and
began digging down into the coal bunkers.
“We had no equipment, only the shovels
borrowed from our stokehold and 19 stout
hearts.” The Russians sent one of their
experts but they had to get the bomb on
deck first. The bombers returned while
they were trying to extricate what turned
out to be a 1000lb bomb. After two days
and nights, and having dug down about
22 feet, they managed to get the bomb on
deck, allowing the Russian expert to start
unscrewing the detonator.
On being informed that there were no
British Bomb Disposal experts in North
Russia, the crew realised it was down
to them to deal with the situation for, as
David says, “she was only an old battered
Merchantman but she was still our home
and no German was going to make us leave
her while she was still afloat.”
Using a small hammer to free the extractor,
which had stuck, he eventually removed
the detonator and primer. “I was standing
beside the bomb with two of my fellow
officers as our Russian friends started to
unscrew the detonator using an extractor.
After a few turns it stuck. He took a small
hammer and a punch and tapped it. At each
tap the hairs stood up on the back of my
neck against the hood of my duffel coat.”
The bomb was dumped overboard into the
Kola Inlet, where it probably lies to this
day. Five men were awarded the OBE and
fourteen, the King’s Commendation for
brave conduct.
uise to
Taken on a Cr
etired)
Russia 2012 (R
12
Jock Dempster
Jock joined the Merchant Navy at the age of sixteen
in 1944 and after basic training as a junior ordinary
seaman signed on his first ship – a tanker, MV San
Venancio.
Jock made a couple of trips on this ship
across the Atlantic, loaded with aircraft fuel.
His ship joined convoy JW65 to Murmansk
and he recalls the extreme cold and snow
showers. “The ship’s deck was soon like
a skating rink and extreme care had to be
taken never to touch metal with bare hands
as the skin would have been torn off. The
appalling weather did have its benefits in
that German U-boats and aircraft never
made contact with the convoy. The usual
packs of U-boats also failed to spot us. Our
luck continued until we were approaching
Kola Inlet, north of Murmansk, another
haunt where the U-boats lay in wait. The
snow blizzards prevented our carrierbased aircraft from making contact with the
enemy and the inevitable happened – the
U-boats struck. Ahead of us the ‘Horace
Bushnell’ was torpedoed then two or three
minutes later the ‘Thomas Donaldson’ was
also torpedoed. As we lowered our lifeboats
a periscope was sighted and all hell broke
loose! The guns on the Merchant ships
opened up and everyone was shouting and
yelling. A corvette dropped depth charges
and returned flying the ‘Sub-sunk’ pennant.
The noise which followed scared the wits
out of me. We all appreciated that as a
tanker we would be a prime target. The
thought of death didn’t frighten me but I
was terrified of being badly burned, losing
a limb or my sense. We all experienced the
same emotions.”
HMS Lapwing was torpedoed and sank. Says
Jock: “Throughout this action the stench of
burning metal and screeching as it was torn
apart and the screams of the wounded filled
the air. We had to steam rapidly away from
the scene. I saw men clinging desperately
to lifeboats and rafts, many because of the
intense cold coupled with sodden clothing
were sliding back into the sea.”
The crews of HMS Savage and HMS Allington
Castle rescued many from the HMS Lapwing
but the loss of life was huge.
Jock and his ship returned on convoy RA66
six weeks later. As they left, HMS Goodall
was torpedoed at the entrance to Kola Inlet,
again with huge loss of life. The convoy
returned to the Clyde on VE Day, 8 May 1945.
Jock (now Chairman of the Russian Arctic
Convoy Club, Scotland) and some fellow
veterans made a trip to Murmansk in
July 2009 and as Jock says: “The day in
Murmansk proved to be one of the most
memorable in our lives!”
The ship made a dash for the safety inside
the boom which lay ahead. At the same time
13
Leonard Dibb-Western
Len first went to sea in June 1941, aged 15 years. He served on a number
of Norwegian merchant ships, crossing the Atlantic. He then joined the
SS Fort McMurray in Barry. This was his first British ship.
Len says: “I was getting less than half the
guarding the cargo and the huge amount
of snow. The cargo was being unloaded by
political prisoners, mostly women, poor
devils. The ‘Empire Carpenter’ was left there
for the Russians and we brought some of
her crew home as passengers. We returned
to Murmansk and then back home in convoy
(RA58). I do not really remember any action
on the return trip. I was paid off from the ‘SS
Fort McMurray’ and then I was back to sea
within two weeks.”
pay I had been receiving on the Norwegian
ships and there were no pillow cases, bed
sheets or extra blankets. In addition the food
was rationed. Everybody knew where we
were going because everything was marked
in Russian. We went to Loch Ewe and then
sailed for Russia on February 14th 1944.”
This convoy (JW57) was sighted by a Condor,
but luckily the weather closed in. They
did lose one escort from an attack (HMS
Mahratta).
Len continued with trips in the North Atlantic.
Len continues: “The night-time was the
worst; keeping our correct position and
knowing that U-Boats could be inside
the convoy. We arrived at Murmansk and
anchored in the Kola Inlet. From there we,
and the ‘Empire Carpenter’, were sent
through the White Sea. We were towed by
an icebreaker and there was a man with an
axe ready at all times to cut the tow free in
case of an attack by aircraft. The ‘Empire
Carpenter’ followed in our wake. We passed
Archangel and went onto a little port called
Bakaritsa. The icebreaker cleared the ice by
the quayside and we were frozen in again
soon after.”
“I spent the next winter on the North Atlantic
again and on a very slow ship. We lost our
position in the convoy a couple of times and,
as we neared the coast, a ship astern of us
was hit. We did not stop but kept going and
there were depth charges in the convoy
very close to us. At night we thought we had
been hit and my mate (sadly now gone) and I
grabbed our clothes and rushed out onto the
deck. It was snowing and I was glad to get
my trousers on, but it ended up another trip
made safely.”
Len was in Bombay when the war finished
there. He continued as a Merchant seaman
until 1949.
“It is hard to believe but a notice was put up
in our mess rooms informing us that if we
were caught associating with any woman
or bartering we could get five years in the
salt mines. It made us very wary, that’s all
I can say! We attended some dances in the
local hall where they read out the news to
the Russians there. The things I remember
are the soldiers marching up and down
14
Roy Elwood
Roy was brought up near Manchester and was at
school when war broke out. In September 1939
he joined HMS Glendower, a shore base in North
Wales for basic training, followed by training
as a radar operator on the Isle of Man. He was
posted to HMS Zambesi, a newly built ‘Z’ class
destroyer still alongside at Cammell Laird yard
on Merseyside. The ship became part of the
Home Fleet based at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys.
As well as a seaman, Roy was a radar
operator, ship’s painter and barber. The ship’s
duties included convoy escort and made three
winter trips to Russia from December 1944,
escorting the pairs of convoys JW/RA63, JW/
RA64 & JW/RA65 - the last of these arriving
at Scapa Flow on 1st April 1945.
north Norway. Accordingly, the Flag Officer in
JW64 detached four destroyers, including the
Zambesi, to Sørøy where they embarked the
starving population of just over five hundred.
Roy recalls: “It was a cold clear February day
and at a prearranged signal they came down
the snow covered slopes to the shore and
were ferried to the ships. Most were women
and children and they were in a very poor
condition.”
Says Roy: “I was a radar operator and
for some reason in charge of the paint
shop. Watch keeping and my ‘action station’
involved scanning a screen to spot enemy
ships or aircraft. The radar cabin was a
dimly-lit, smoke-filled room, and on Arctic
convoys we often spent hours at action
stations. Sleep deprivation was acute so we
struggled to keep awake.”
They brought them to Murmansk to be
distributed among homeward bound ships in
the next convoy. This convoy, RA64, departed
Kola Inlet on 17th February and subsequently
suffered severe weather conditions, as
a result of which the convoy was greatly
scattered and numerous ships suffered
serious damage. On 20th February further
hurricane force winds scattered the convoy
again and they were only able to reform in
convoy formation by 23rd February. By this
time German torpedo bombers had already
located the merchant ship ‘Henry Bacon’
– one of the ships carrying some of the
Norwegians from Sørøy Island. As the ship
sank, some of the crew gave up their places in
the boats to ensure the safety of the civilians.
Convoy JW64 included the evacuation of
Norwegians from the Island of Sørøy. News
was received on 14th February 1945 that the
enemy were attacking the island of Sørøy in
HMS Zambesi
Roy remained on HMS Zambesi until
demobilisation in 1947. He now lives on
Tyneside.
15
John Farrow
John was born and brought up in Salford qualifying
as a cabinet maker and French polisher before
volunteering for the navy, aged 19.
In spring 1941 he joined the newly launched HMS
Trinidad at Devonport for the Arctic convoys from
Scapa Flow to Murmansk via Iceland but also later
served on HMS Quality running down to South Africa.
John recalls: “When the Trindad left
their rum ration which combined with your
own full ration knocked you out cold. The
choice was 3d extra per day or a ration of
rum - I always took the rum!”
port we were not told where we were
heading but were issued with ‘Whites’ and
were hopeful of going some where warm
however when we sailed up past Blackpool
we knew the ‘Whites’ wouldn’t be much
use.”
He also remembers seeing the Northern
Lights night after night ~ but had no camera
to record it.
“This was the commissioning voyage, she
wasn’t commissioned until October 1941
and we actually still had workmen aboard
who were put ashore at Scapa Flow. I
remember the Murmansk run because I
celebrated my 21st birthday on board in
1942. Your sleeping / eating / living area
contained twenty places with hammocks
above and the tradition was, when
celebrating a 21st birthday, that each of the
other nineteen men allowed you a sip of
John’s family tells that he rarely talks about
the terrible things that happened. In March
1942, following the sinking of a German
destroyer Z26, HMS Trinidad, due to a
technical malfunction, torpedoed itself killing
32. She then limped into Murmansk for
repair and he remembers her being bombed
in May 1942 on the run home with the loss
of 63 lives, including 20 survivors of the HMS
Edinburgh. He was rescued by HMS Forester.
HMS Trinidad
16
Bert Glazebrook
Bert joined the Royal Navy at the age of 17
and from September 1942 was OrdinarySeaman. He was on Arctic convoy duty
aboard HMS Serapis and then HMS Walker
– convoys JW57, RA57, RA58 and RA59 – the
last of these experienced atrocious weather
conditions with U-boat attacks lasting two
days. Bert was also on Convoy EZR27 in
support of the Normandy landings.
Says Bert: “I was not sorry to see
the end of the Walker (WW1 Destroyer). I
found it very old, freezing cold, sleeping
where you could when you had your
duty to concentrate on such as lookouts,
never knowing when it was our turn for
a torpedo. With the mountainous seas
and the full icy killer conditions you could
not put enough clothing on. I remember
wearing 2 vests, long johns, pullover, 2
sets of sea boot socks, grey issued coat
and duffle coat on top, 2 balaclavas and 2
pairs of gloves - all at the same time, and
you would wear your clothes constantly.
You could not take any chance of removing
your gloves, as the cold would still take
your skin off.”
HMS Walker
“Our duty was to knock the
ice off the guardrails and the
guns, which was a frequent
occurrence.”
“The memories I do have left
is of the ship’s company photo
taken on board. I often think of
the lads and of the veterans that
are not with us now.”
17
George Gray
After being bombed out of his home in the
Greenock Blitz, George Gray joined the Dutch
ship SS Zaanstroom as a merchant seaman, at
the age of fifteen and a half. They supplied the
Army with munitions and materials for road
making in the small fjords in Iceland. Following
this, he served on a series of other merchant
ships sailing to the USA and West Indies.
George says that: “there were
ferocious gales on those convoys with
deck cargoes, lifeboats and gunpits lost
overboard, but nevertheless it helped to
keep the U-boats down”.
He then signed on the MV San Venancio
which was bound for the USA, then later
took aviation fuel to Cherbourg – “dicey
work as the Germans were going out as we
were going in”.
He then joined MV Ninella and proceeded
to sail between the U.S.A., the Dutch West
Indies, Curacao, etc, with petrol and aviation
spirits, and gave support to the forces in
West and North Africa as they topped up the
Forces transport and planes.
Convoys JW61, JW62, RA62 and RA66 saw
the MV San Venancio sailing to and from
Russia. George’s wartime experiences
ended when he was paid off in Greenock on
9 May 1945.
Another trip took him to Montreal to deliver
the troop ship MV Letitia where she was
converted into a hospital ship.
©Rossparry.co.uk/syndication
18
Gordon Grayson
From Cambridge, Gordon joined the Royal Navy
at HMS Ganges near Harwich in June 1943 and
served for about 3 years. First he was posted
to an anti-submarine sloop, HMS Woodpecker.
His first voyage was very successful as six
Gordon (left)
submarines were sunk including U202, U119,
and Derek Gra
yson
U449 and U504. They picked up a lot of survivors
including those of U462 which had been sunk
by aircraft. After a period of leave most of the crew of HMS Woodpecker
was transferred to a new-build, HMS Lark, where he served as an ASDIC
officer. Gordon sailed on his first of four convoys in October 1944.
Gordon says: “These were winter
disintegrated. It completely disappeared.
There were only 12 survivors. The night
before, HMS Lark had been out on patrol
and sank U425. The following morning,
at first light, a life raft was spotted and it
was found to contain 4 German sailors all
frozen solid. More than 15 minutes in the
sea (even in a raft) led to death. The saying
was that drinking a lot of gin helped!”
convoys so they had to sail closer to the
Norwegian coast due to the ice floes (so
were more vulnerable to attack than
in summer). It was very cold, so heavy
clothing was needed especially for standing
outside for four hours on an open deck. The
first 3 convoys were fairly uneventful. But
on the final convoy there was quite a pack
of U-boats awaiting the convoy outside the
Kola inlet. It was a right old battle. One
of the escorts HMS Bluebell was within
sight of HMS Lark and was torpedoed by
U711. It must have been a direct hit to its
magazine as the whole vessel blew up and
On 17th February 1945, during preliminary
assembly of the convoy, HMS Lark was hit
by a torpedo fired by U968 in the Kola Inlet.
The acoustic homing torpedo hit the stern,
which was wrecked, and the vessel had to
be abandoned. Survivors were rescued by
other escorts.
Gordon added: “The worse the weather
was, the more difficult it was to be
attacked by air or sea. The whole deck
was covered in ice which every so often
had to be chipped off by a working
party to prevent the ship becoming top
heavy and capsizing.”
HMS Lark
19
Harold Green
Harold attempted to enlist in the Welsh Guards early in 1941 as his brother,
seven years his senior, was already a Guardsman. However, Harold was rejected
due to his lack of height. He remarks: “However, by 1946 I had gained another
inch and a half!”
Harold applied to, and was accepted by the Royal Marines and started training in
Plymouth in October 1941 and become one of HO 129 Squad.
Harold recalls: “Training was comprehensive and hard (not only square bashing)
and training covered all types of weaponry finally up to naval 6” guns.”
In August 1942 Harold was posted to make up
the numbers for the detachment due to man
HMS Bermuda, a Colony Class cruiser. They
were attached to the 10th Cruiser Squadron for
North Atlantic duties but in November were
directed to join Force H (Operation Torch) for
North African landings.
One summer, Harold is not sure when, they
paid a brief visit to Loch Ewe and the Wrens
were allowed on board to visit or sightsee.
Harold continues: “A friend and I were dressing
to go ashore when we heard a loud crack – like
a 4” gun being fired. One of the guns was being
used by a seaman to demonstrate the loading
and firing to a Wren, but unfortunately he was
using live ammunition! I believe the shell hit
the hill near a signal station. The only loss of
life was a sheep (a case of friendly fire!). The
Wren was discovered some time later in one of
the messes shaking like a leaf!”
His first trip for Russian convoy duties was
in December 1942 providing cover for one
northbound and two returning convoys (JW52,
RA51 and RA52).
In June 1943 they carried troops and equipment
to Spitzbergen. Harold remembers: “It was
strange to see the sun circling without going
below the horizon. Fortunately the ‘Tirpitz’,
based in Norway, did not put to sea. We would
have been no match for her!”
In August 1944 they returned to Glasgow where
HMS Bermuda underwent a refit and their
detachment of Marines returned to Plymouth.
After some retraining, he was posted to
Belfast and it was here he met his future wife.
Returning to Plymouth, he trained as a signaller
on landing craft between February and May
1945, ready for the Far East but fortunately VJ
Day happened before they were drafted and
Harold never went to sea again.
After further Atlantic and Biscay patrols, they
returned to convoy duties again and from
November 1943 to February 1944 covered six
convoys – four northbound (JW54A, JW54B,
JW56A and JW56B) and two returning convoys
(RA54B and RA56). Says Harold: “This was
the last of our Arctic tours, I’m glad to say,
because it was b….y cold! Only those who have
experienced these conditions can understand
what can happen when a ship gets top heavy
with ice.”
HMS Bermuda
20
Murray Haddow
Murray Haddow joined the Royal Navy (as
a conscript) straight from school at 18 and
after training, was posted to HMS Caprice,
a destroyer, in March 1944, just before her
commissioning, and was one of the first
members of the ship’s company. He was a
Leading Writer.
Some of my shipmate
s on HMS
“Caprice” Left to right:
Myself, Malachy
(Tony) Conroy from Ru
therglen near
Glasgow, Wireless Op
erator and Mick
Maher from Exeter, As
dic Operator
Murray took part in 6 Russian Convoys JW59 to Murmansk in June 1944 and the
return convoy RA59A, convoy JW61A to the
Kola Inlet in November 1944 with the return
Convoy RA61A later that month, and then
Convoy JW62 in December 1944.
“After taking the convoy to Murmansk, on
leaving the Kola Inlet into the Barents Sea
at dawn, the Cassandra was torpedoed by a
German U-boat. It blew her bows off almost
as far as the bridge and 62 men were killed.
We got permission to go alongside to take
off survivors and then torpedo the wreck.
It was too rough to get near her and all we
could do was to watch the little red lights on
the lads’ lifebelts as they swept by.”
Murray recalls this incident: “On
the eve of the outward bound convoy JW62,
we were gathered at Scapa Flow waiting
to pick up the merchant ships and escort
them to Murmansk. It was arranged that
our sister ship HMS Cassandra (whose
skipper was senior to ours) should take
the spearhead and we would be off the
port quarter. However he fell down a
companionway and broke his leg. There
was no time for a replacement for him and
so the First Lieutenant took command. That
now made our skipper Lt Commander
McKendrick, senior, so he insisted we
should change places. Thus we took
the spearhead.”
Murray came back from Russia on the return
Convoy RA62 from the Kola Inlet later that
same month.
HMS Caprice
HMS Cassandra
21
Ivan Hall
In January 1939 Ivan joined the B & S Shipping
Company of Cardiff (later known as the South
American Saint Line) as a sixteen year old
apprentice deck officer. He made seven voyages
to the east coast of South America on the SS St.
Merriel before joining the SS St. Clears on the
River Tyne in November 1941.
At North Shields they loaded war materials
and sailed for Iceland. Here they formed
up with four other British and two Russian
merchant ships as convoy PQ5 with a
Royal Navy escort of three or four small
minesweepers, two destroyers and the
cruiser Sheffield. The convoy sailed north
eastwards in the increasing cold and
overcast weather, relying on the Royal
Navy for navigation. Although continuously
tracked by German reconnaissance aircraft
they were not attacked and at the entrance
to the White Sea the Royal Navy escort
left them in the charge of two Russian
icebreakers which smashed a passage
through the ice until they were able to dock
at Bakaritza, on the opposite bank of the
River Dvina to Archangel.
On July 2nd they passed the ill-fated
outward-bound convoy PQ17. Says Ivan:
“Blohm und Voss found us both but the
Germans concentrated on the potentially
more rewarding target of the outward
bound convoy.”
On July 2nd convoy QP13 divided off Iceland,
Ivan’s being one of 16 ships which turned
south for Loch Ewe. “Loch Ewe was a
wonderful sight,” he says.
The other 19 ships rounded Iceland heading
for Reykjavik but lost position in bad
weather and ran into a minefield. Five were
sunk and one damaged.
Released from his indentures, Ivan gained
the Second Mate’s Certificate and in June
1942 joined the SS Fort a la Corne carrying
war materials to North Africa. On the
second voyage they were torpedoed in
the Mediterranean but with no loss of life.
Thence followed other ships and invasions
in Sicily, Salerno and to Bari in Italy, and the
south of France.
After the cargo was unloaded they became
frozen in with two other British ships for the
duration of the Russian winter.
It was not until May 1942 that the ice on the
Dvina began to break up. They eventually
crossed the river to load a full cargo of
timber and at the end of June they were
finally able to leave, picking up a contingent
from Murmansk so that 35 ships formed up
as convoy QP13 for the return voyage.
With the end of the war Ivan retired from the
Merchant Service and became a teacher. He
has recounted his wartime experiences in
the Merchant Navy in the book “Christmas
in Archangel.”
22
Philip Harrison
Philip served as Signalman aboard HMS
Intrepid. He recalls that at the outset they were
provided with no special clothing. Then came
duffle coats followed by ‘Kapok’ lined inner suits
with Russian type hats. Their convoy missions
used to alternate between (i) a trip with the
merchant convoy and (ii) a stand-off with the
fleet waiting for enemy craft to emerge from
the Norwegian fjords.
Recalls Philip: “From our ship we
Philip’s naval aspiratio
ns
began early in life
and their pilots. “The Russians accepted
the aircraft but sent the pilots home. One
Squadron Leader pilot was a terrible sailor
and spent most of the return journey
lashed up in the Captain’s bunk in the day
cabin. Only in a relatively calm spell, which
permitted us to perform some burials at
sea, did he pull through.”
witnessed no surface fleet action from the
fjords before March 1943 - only air activity
and U-boats which was formidable. The
enemy ‘Junkers 88’, a low level bomber,
was used extensively against the convoys
and suffered many casualties. I remember
one being shot down from our ship – the
crew scrambling on to the wings as we
sailed past, hoping to be picked up by the
large German Blom and Vosse rescue
planes which followed the convoy.”
“As a signalman invariably on the bridge,
I realised that life could have been worse
for the seamen chipping ice from the guns
and superstructure. In a sea mist you
could hardly see the forecastle though
visibility was quite clear at higher levels.
In these conditions the Swordfish aircraft
would appear and signal where
the convoy was. I was always
impressed with the efficiency of
the ‘observers’ in these aircraft
who were able to operate Aldis
lamps from open cockpits in
adverse weather conditions.”
He remembers one occasion when Intrepid
had accompanied a convoy carrying a
consignment of ‘Hurricane’ fighter aircraft
HMS Intrepid
23
Glanville Hart
Glanville Hart was born in London in 1922 and
joined the Royal Navy in April 1941, aged just 18,
as a Signalman. After initial training he was posted
to HMS Edinburgh, which was based at the time in
Scapa Flow. His first patrols were in the Denmark
Strait. By Christmas 1941 he was stationed around
the Kola Peninsula and was escorting convoys
en-route to Murmansk (PQ6 and QP4).
Glanville recalls: “The cold was beyond
Glanville remembers: “My only possession
(apart from my uniform) was a simple
wooden spoon, which I used to eat the
meagre rations provided by the Russians.
This spoon now takes pride of place in my
display cabinet.”
belief and we had to chip the ice off the deck
every morning.”
In March 1942 HMS Edinburgh completed
two more convoy trips (PQ 13 and QP9). She
then returned to the area to carry out another
convoy patrol in late April 1942 (QP11) but
on the way back to the UK, the ship was
torpedoed by a German submarine (U456). The
cruiser’s stern was blown off but she tried to
return to Murmansk, escorted by two British
ships (HMS Foresight and HMS Forester).
Three German vessels were ordered to seek
out and attack the crippled Edinburgh. She
opened up with some spirited salvos and
managed to hit the ‘Schoemann’ and caused
so much damage that the ‘Schoemann’ was
eventually abandoned and sank. However,
one of the torpedoes had hit and effectively
cut HMS Edinburgh in two. Orders were given
to abandon her and she was finally sunk by
a torpedo from HMS Foresight). 57 crewmen
were lost, but Glanville was rescued by a
nearby trawler and transported to Murmansk,
where he spent a few months ashore.
Following his return to the UK after
spending four months effectively stranded
in Murmansk, Glanville was sent to HMS
King Alfred for officer commissioning. He
eventually left as a sub-lieutenant, had further
training in Troon, Scotland, and was appointed
in charge of a Landing Craft. Glanville
commanded his craft (LCT1138) as it landed
on Gold Beach on the first wave of D-Day.
Post-war Glanville spent 30 years in the
Royal Naval Reserve, retiring at the rank of
Captain. He is now based very much inland in
Guilsborough, Northamptonshire, where he is
actively involved in village life.
HMS Edinburgh
Glanville in 2009 at his local
Remembrance Day parade.
24
Ernest Hodkinson
Ernest joined the Royal Navy
in February 1943, at HMS
Impregnable, Devonport. He was
transferred to a radio mechanics
course and after 3 months basic
training was transferred to
FAA FX593745. He continued
training at HMS Ariel, Culcheth,
Fleet Air Arm Mechanic
s – ship’s company HM
S Nairana.
Ernest – 3rd from left,
Lancashire and passed out as
back row
L/RM (AW) in November 1943. He
was then posted to HMS Nairana, a
brand new escort carrier, based at Greenock. Their first operation was in
support of No 2 Escort group (led by the famous Captain Walker) on antisubmarine sweeps. Following that some convoys to Gibraltar followed.
the sergeants was Thor Heyerdahl, by then
famous for Kon Tiki expedition.”
Towards the end of 1944 HMS Nairana was
based at Scapa Flow and they did 3 convoys
to Murmansk (Vayenga) - and fortunately
came back. (JW61, 62 & 64 and RA61, 62 &
64). HMS Nairana made history by flying a
fighter at night. Their Squadron was 835.
In May 1945, at the end of the European
War, Ernest was posted to Middle Wallop
and kitted out in army battle dress. In
August 1945, whilst on embarkation for
the Far East, the Atom Bomb brought a
quick end to the war. Nevertheless, he
went to Singapore via NZ and Australia by
troop ship, arriving on 5 Nov 1945. He was
demobbed from there in June 1946.
In November 1944 they transported
about 100 Norwegian Army personnel
to Murmansk (Operation Crofter). Five
sergeants were guests in the PO’s mess.
Says Ernest, “Twenty years later I met
up with one through work and visited his
home on Oslo Fjord. He told me that one of
HMS Nairana escorting an Arctic
convoy in seas so
rough that the bows of the ship are
hidden behind
the waves
25
Geoff Holmes
Geoff was born in Doncaster and could have spent
the war in relatively safety working down the pits
as a Bevan Boy, but he made a deliberate decision
to exchange ages with a cousin who had lost a
brother on HMS Hood (which was sunk by the
Bismarck). No-one questioned Geoff about his
age (then fifteen) although someone remarked
he looked a bit on the young side for seventeen.
Geoff signed up for the Merchant Navy. He served on the Samaritan
and Fort Yukon and made trips to the US and Canada.
Geoff’s first Arctic convoy came in
November 1943 when they joined convoy
JW54a and formed up off Loch Ewe, setting
sail soon after for Murmansk.
Many sailors found the bitter cold as bad as
the enemy raids. Says Geoff: “The ice was
several inches thick and the fog was came
in so thick that at times you couldn’t see
another crewman a few yards away. The
worst thing was that you knew the enemy
was out there waiting to get you.”
Geoff recalls: “All the Arctic convoys
were in winter because it was dark most
of the time. If we had gone in summer we
would have been exposed to the Germans
for almost 24 hours a day. However, we
were attacked by Heinkel and Dornier
bombers but thankfully they all missed.
The planes came so low that you could see
the faces of the crew and even see that
they were wearing oxygen masks. My ship
was lucky but we lost a number of others
along the way.”
Eventually they reached Murmansk which
had been devastated by almost constant
aerial bombing. Geoff added: “I lost some
good friends. You tried not to get too close
to people because there was a fair chance
you wouldn’t see some of them again.”
Geoff survived three Arctic convoys and
remained in the Merchant Navy until 1951.
26
Jack Humble
On 25th February 1944 Jack Humble was 18 and
in his bunk on the HMS Mahratta. They were just
below Bear Island inside the Arctic Circle. It was
3 hours until his next watch and he was taking
a well-deserved rest. Then the torpedo struck.
There was panic. Men stampeded for the deck.
But what Jack did next possibly saved his life.
All he was wearing was his underwear, it may
have been wool but it was no match for the
Arctic. He put on every piece of clothing he could
find; socks, gloves, boots, mitts… then he went
down the passageway to get on deck. A second
torpedo struck. The men were trapped. Debris
blocked the stairs. After what seemed an age,
they managed to clear the debris and the sailors
rushed on to the deck. The scene that greeted
them was of panic and chaos.
just thought that was the end”.
Jack recalled: “People were throwing
“He saved me but he didn’t save himself. I
remember thinking why do I have to die so
young? I don’t remember much after that”.
themselves overboard because the ship was
sinking. They were shouting for their wives and
their mothers. It was terrible.”
Jack was covered in oil from the ship. It was in
his eyes so he couldn’t see. Then he heard a
voice. Another sailor was alive. The voice shouted
that there was a ship in the distance. Jack,
through his oil-smeared eyes could barely make
out an outline but they started to swim towards
it. The other sailor had been in the water longer
than Jack - he could go no further. Jack never
knew his name.
The crew of HMS Impulsive saw him in the water
and threw him a line. He started to climb but
He saw a friend, Alec Jones. Alec asked for his
he was numb from the cold and fell back into
gloves so Jack gave him his mitts. Alec put them
the water. Life expectancy in the water was five
on his feet. They both knew their prospects that
minutes and Jack had been there for at least
stormy Arctic night were bleak. The ship was at
twenty. He knew the end was close. But it was
the back of the convoy, it would be some time
those same atrocious conditions that saved him.
before another ship came and jumping into the
He was being thrown about in the water and it
sea was just another way to death. Jack and
was a huge wave which pushed him level to the
Alec tried to release the rafts which lined the
deck. “I was being thrown about. The next thing
deck but they were frozen solid. They linked
I knew a wave took me up the side of the ship
arms but, before they could jump, a huge wave
to the level of the deck. They pulled me by the
washed them both into the sea. Jack never saw
hair and pulled me in”. Jack was carried below
Alec again.
and the crew worked on him, putting him on a
Jack recalls: “I was getting sucked under with
table, rubbing his hands and feet, trying to get
the ship. I remember getting pushed round and his circulation going. A petty officer, who was put
round under the water. But with a little bit of
beside Jack, died as the crew worked on him.
luck I suppose I came to the top and managed
to swim away from the ship. Everybody around The next day Jack awoke and was told seventeen
survivors had been pulled from the sea. The
me was dead. I tried speaking to people.
Nobody answered. I couldn’t find anybody alive. Mahratta had a crew of 246. “I lost all my pals,
They had been in the water longer than I had. I really,” he whispers.
27
Gordon Kilner
Gordon’s service in the Royal Navy began in
December 1942. His participation in the Arctic
Convoy Operations took place during the
autumn and winter of 1943-44 and during the
spring of 1944.
In the autumn of 1943 he served in HMS
Anson - a new battleship in the Home Fleet,
based at Scapa Flow, which was part of the
long-range support group for the Convoys to
Russia (Convoys RA54A and RA54B)
From January to May 1944 he served in
HMS Rattlesnake, a Fleet Minesweeper/
Escort of the 18th Flotilla, as part of a close
support group for convoys sailing from Loch
Ewe past Iceland and Jan Mayen Island en
route to Russia, especially during February
and March of that year (Convoys RA56 and
JW58).
HMS Anson was also involved in activities
aimed at enticing German capital ships to
put to sea e.g. Operation Leader in October
1943, which attacked German shipping
along the coast of northwest Norway.
In May 1944 Gordon was transferred to
Combined Operations and remained there
until he was demobilised in October 1946.
Gordon says, “This was something I
remember well as I was down in the shell
room of B Turret at action stations.”
HMS Anson
28
James Kirk
James volunteered for the Royal Navy, aged 17,
on 10th November 1943. Being born and brought
up in the fishing village of Carsethorn, near
Kirkbean, on the Solway coast of Scotland it was
a natural choice. He did his basic training as an
ordinary seaman at HMS Raleigh in Devonport
from November 1943 until January 1944, then
spent two months on HMS Valkyrie in the Isle
of Man, training as a radar operator, cutting
edge technology of its day. In early May 1944 he
crossed the Atlantic on board the Queen Elizabeth liner, by then converted
to war service.
Says James: “My family asked recently
Inlet where a Russian naval tug took over.”
Two days later the U-boat was destroyed,
with all hands lost, by a Fairey Swordfish
aircraft launched from HMS Campania.
if the QE had been escorted by a convoy. I
had to laugh – for she didn’t need a convoy!
She was so fast nothing could catch her! On
this voyage I was thrilled to meet and get
the autograph of Jimmy Cagney, a famous
film star of the 1930s and 40s.”
James was transferred to HMS Drake in
September 1945 and then HMS Newcastle,
both in Devonport, where they were kept
busy working on various other ships,
awaiting demobilisation which came in May
1947, when he was aged 21 years.
Next James was on convoys on HMS
Bahamas from Londonderry to Gibraltar
until it joined a convoy (JW62) at Loch Ewe
in November 1944 and headed for Polyarno
near Murmansk. The outward journey was
uneventful, other than cold, but on the
return journey, Convoy RA62 was attacked
by U-boat 365 on 11th December 1944. HMS
Cassandra, a destroyer, sailing just ahead
of HMS Bahamas, was torpedoed, her bows
blown off with 62 men losing their lives.
Says James: “Ropes were thrown over her
and our ship towed her back to the Kola
Postscript from Jim’s family: Like many
men who served in WW2, Jim has said very
little over the years about his war service,
other than he had it easy compared to the
men in the Merchant Navy. Now aged 87
years, it is only in the last two years that
we have discovered that he saw action
during his Royal Navy Service.
HMS Casssandra
HMS Bahamas
29
George Langton
George was on six Arctic convoys – northbound
convoys JW60, JW63, JW65 and returning convoys
RA60, RA63 and RA65, serving on the cruiser HMS
Diadem as leading cook, later promoted to P.O.Cook.
Says George: “Although my memories
leaving harbour
we soon found out. The captain
cleared the lower deck and told us that
three German destroyers had been trying to
find our convoy, missed it and our Admiral
had been ordered to intercept them. We
succeeded just off the coast of Norway,
where a battle was fought in which they
sustained quite a lot of damage but escaped
up a fjord. We were being fired on by shore
batteries and we received slight damage but
sadly one rating was killed and three others
were injured.”
of the convoys are getting dim, what does
stick in my mind are the memories of bitter
cold, darkness and mountainous seas. Of
course, as well as being on watch or at
action stations, we did get a break now
and again, which relieved the stress a little
and gave us a chance for pastimes. I used
to pull my long johns free of wool, for they
were Arctic issue and consisted of pure
wool. I dyed the wool with Condies crystals
[Permanganate of potash crystals which give
an intensely pink or purple colour] and green
vegetable dye, and made rugs, slippers, soft
toys, etc. or did tapestries. Others would get
their heads down where possible, or play
Uckers (which is like Ludo) and was a very
popular game in the Navy.”
“It was a quiet journey back except for
sighting three German aircraft but no action
took place. Later we were sent to dock for
repairs in Hepburn on Tyne, getting a well
earned rest!”
On convoy RA63, the Diadem safely reached
Scapa Flow, but was later sent out to engage
German destroyers off the Norwegian coast,
forcing them to return to port. HMS Diadem
sustained some minor damage.
The Christmas menu on board the ship with some
signatures from fellow shipmates
George recalls it: “There was one convoy
I remember quite well. As far as convoys
went it wasn’t too bad except for rough seas
and cold winds, for it was nearing the end of
the war, or so we thought, but we wouldn’t
been so placid if we’d have known what was
coming.”
“On reaching Scapa, all of us who were
off watch were getting ready for shore, a
pint and a meal at the NAAFI which would
be a nice break but, ‘hands to sea station’
came over the tannoy - we all moaned
and wondered what was happening. On
HMS Diadem
30
Francis Lee
Francis joined the Merchant Navy in January
1943, at the age of 16. The first ship he was
supposed to join was hit by a mine on its way
in to the port and all the crew was lost. He
was given gunnery training and then the first
leg of his trip took him from the Tyne to Loch
Ewe. He was then sent to join the Empire
Ploughman as a cabin boy.
Francis recalls: “The cargo consisted
pick up any survivors, as a safety measure
for our ship.”
of aeroplanes and ammunition which was all
boxed up and stored in the hold. There were
also tanks which were fully assembled and
stored on deck. The ship then sailed from
Loch Ewe. When sailing on to Murmansk we
encountered a storm which caused the convoy
to hove to in Akureyrie, in Iceland. We were
held up in Akureyrie or one or two days. “
“Our ship survived the attack and finally
arrived in Murmansk and onward to
Archangel. We then sailed up the estuary
from Archangel to Bacaritsa. As we entered
the estuary the river was completely frozen.
We had to be escorted by an Ice Breaker. The
traffic was crossing the frozen river in front
of us. The policemen on duty then stopped
the traffic. The Ice Breaker then crushed the
ice and we were able to sail through. I was
situated at the stern and was amazed to see
that within 15 minutes the ice was re-frozen
and traffic was again crossing the frozen
river behind us”
“Whilst at sea I was required to practise
my skills using the Oerlikon gun. One of
the shells hit the mast stay because of the
previous damage, which had occurred whilst
loading one of the tanks. The guide rail of
the gun turret had suffered damage and as
a result the gun was able to move past the
safety stop position. The skipper was on the
bridge and witnessed this damage to the mast
stay. I was then taken before the Master and
told that I would have to pay for the damage
out of my wages. This scared me witless!”
“Whilst ashore, outside a dance hall I was
hustled by a group of young local lads, who
took my pass book. I was then approached
by a young individual who said he could get
my pass book back at a cost of about 200
roubles. I paid the money and got my pass
book back. I knew that I should get this back
as quickly as possible because rumours were
that if I was found to be without a pass book
by the authorities I could be imprisoned and
never heard of again.”
The convoy then sailed on to Murmansk and at
Bear Island the convoy came under attack by
10 U-Boats.
“The Commodore ship was sunk and I was
on the Vice Commodore ship. I witnessed the
attack on this ship and could see small lights
moving down the side of the ship which looked “The return journey was quite uneventful.
The whole round trip took approximately 3
like fireflies. This was the crew climbing
months.”
down the scramble nets, abandoning the
sinking ship. We were not allowed to stop to
31
Ron Leslie
Ron was a member of the Fleet Air Arm, the branch of the Royal Navy
responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. During the Second World
War, the Fleet Air Arm operated both aircraft on ships and land-based
aircraft (fighters, torpedo bombers and reconnaissance aircraft). Members
of the Fleet Air Arm moved to different ships and bases as required. Ron
served on board the aircraft carriers HMS Vindex, HMS Campania and
HMS Nairana and made various trips in support of a number of Arctic
convoys from late 1943 onwards. He had responsibility for the safety
equipment, among other things.
Ron recalls: “We were based under
the flight deck, not in the messes
like the other crew members. I slept
under the table used for packing the
parachutes. We had no proper gear for
the cold. We were sent gloves knitted
by folk back home and distributed by
charities. We also had woollen long
johns – but I never wore mine till I was
back in Greenock!”
HMS Campania
HMS Nairana
HMS Vindex
32
Donald Macfarlane
Donald first went to Aultbea in 1941 when he was posted to 25th Medium
and Heavy Training regiment RA308 Coast Battery. He was there for nine
months and he, and about a hundred other gunners and officers, were
responsible for putting in the Heavy Coast Battery.
He tells us: “it took 76 men to pull the 6”
Following that, Donald was posted to 1st
Maritime Regiment RA aboard SS Nassarius
from April 1944 to March 1945 and went on
some Atlantic convoys from America to North
Africa. He was with five Navy gunners and
four Maritime Artillery men. He recalls that
on some transatlantic crossings they were
forced to go north in to the Arctic Circle near
Iceland and Greenland, and then some ships
would carry on to Russia, while others, like
his, would peel off and head south.
mark 11 gun up to the cliff. It took nine men
in each crew to work this gun.” He recalls
there was a barrier put across at Achnasheen
and that it took such a long time for the Navy,
or whoever, to bring the rations that the locals
would arrive with creels of fish for them.
He also remembers some of his fellow
soldiers who were with him. “There was
Joe Macfealy who couldn’t read or write so
I read all his letters from his wife to him,
and replied on his behalf. There was also
John Nicolson, and a Ruairidh MacRae
from Kyleakin who had the second sight
and predicted many things that actually
happened.”
After leaving active service he was a
gamekeeper in the Cairngorms and worked
for Col. Haig at Inchrory for 25 years, until he
retired with the Colmans at Tarvie.
Coastal gun battery
Convoy ships in Loch Ewe
33
Jim Osler
Convoy PQ17 departed Reykjavik in June 1942.
Following air attacks on 4th July having been
repelled with relatively slight losses, the
Admiralty gave the order to scatter based on
faulty intelligence and information about enemy
movements. The destroyers were unable to keep
close to the merchant ships, which were now all
spread out. What followed was undoubtedly a
disaster as many merchant ships were attacked
and sunk at leisure by enemy aircraft and U-boats.
Jim was a radio operator, aboard the Royal
Naval tanker RFA Aldersdale on the illfated convoy PQ17. Between the 5th and
10th July 1942 his ship was first bombed,
and then torpedoed by U457 and sunk in
the Barents Sea north of Norway. The crew
was rescued by the minesweeper HMS
Salamander and taken to Archangel.
It was Jim who sent the distress signal
from Norway to Scotland regarding up
to five hundred Norwegian civilians who
were stranded in freezing conditions on
Sørøy Island, cut off by the Germans. The
merchant ship ‘Henry Bacon’, which was
part of convoy RA64, picked up some of
the Norwegians but it was subsequently
attacked by German torpedo bombers. As
the ship sank, some of the crew gave up
their places in the boats to ensure the safety
of the civilians.
He was held for about 3 months in Russia
before being sent to England where his
radio skills led to a posting to what became,
GCHQ at Bletchley Park (where staff
were working on the breaking of the
Enigma codes). He was subsequently
sent to Norway where he worked with the
Norwegian resistance.
Escorts and merch
ant ships at Hvalfjo
rd before the sailin
of Convoy PQ 17.
g
Image shows RFA Bishopsdale,
sistership of the Aldersdale.
34
Robin Owen
Robin joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1936. Robin
retired as Commander in 1972. In 1942/43 he was
Navigating Officer on board HMS Ledbury on several Arctic
Convoys, including PQ17. The air attacks of the 4 July on
PQ17, having been repelled with relatively slight loss, the convoy was in good
spirits and perfect order so the order to scatter came as somewhat of a shock.
Robin writes about the scattering of PQ17:
“The convoy was ordered to scatter and its
ships to “proceed independently to their
destinations”. At the time, on Ledbury’s
bridge, we knew only that we were to reverse
course, abandon our station as one of the
close escorts and join the cruiser squadron
some miles distant. Our designed maximum
speed was 24 knots, several knots slower than
the cruisers and fleet destroyers we were
supposed to rejoin but now rapidly receding
to the west. At any moment we expected to
see the masts of the Tirpitz appear over the
eastern horizon, followed by salvos of fifteeninch shells. The telegraphs were put to Full
Ahead, the captain sent below for the Chief
and urged him to squeeze all the revs he
could. The boiler fans roared, the funnel paint
began to blister and in the flat calm sea, low
sea temperature and a high barometer, he
actually got one and a half knots more than
had been obtained on our acceptance trials in
the Solent six months earlier. But the rest of
the fleet was still getting away from us.”
often preceded by a German reconnaissance
plane, a large amphibian Blohm & Voss BV138,
nicknamed the “shad”, that persistently
circled the convoy just above the horizon
transmitting radio homing signals to guide the
approaching high level and torpedo bombing
force. The convoy and escorts’ air defence guns
attempted to shoot down this “shad” and after
several attempts, it was seen to catch fire and
crash. This was later confirmed by German
Records which reported this aircraft missing
at relevant date/time. In the meantime an
attack by Heinkel torpedo bombers had been
pressed home, one flying close enough for
us to get a shot at it with our 20mm Oerlikon
before it too crashed. ‘Ledbury’ then went Full
Speed in the flat calm sea to try to rescue any
survivors. As we came up with them, the plane
had sunk and the four crewmen were in their
inflatable dinghy. As Roger Hill manoeuvered
the ship as close to them as possible, most of
our crew gathered on deck to watch this oftenrehearsed Survivors Drill being done for real.
To our sailors’ encouraging shouts of “Pull Up
My Hearties”, “Give Way Together” and a few
of a more ribald nature, the Germans were
hauled up the scrambling nets and dumped
in wet oily heaps on the iron deck. They were
then turned over to the Sick Bay crew to wash
them down, put them in dry survivors clothing
and provide one of our crew as a “minder”.
They were fed and given camp beds on the
messdecks. As befitted his commissioned
rank the pilot was accommodated in the
wardroom.”
What followed was a disaster with 21 merchant
ships sunk at leisure by aircraft and U-boats
with little or no convoy cover. As Robin says:
“The German Navy did not appear but the
convoy was almost totally destroyed.”
Robin tells of a rescue of some German
airmen: “At this time of Arctic midsummer
there was continuous daylight and as PQ
17 approached the vicinity of Bear Island,
German air attacks intensified. They were
35
Kenneth Reith
Kenneth was born in 1927 and joined the
Royal Navy in 1943 at the age of 15. Kenneth
was 17 when he was on the Russian Convoys,
serving on HMS Diadem, a light AA cruiser
from 1944-1945 as a Signalman. This was a
particularly important job as all manoeuvres
and administrative messages had to be sent by
flags or Morse light as radio signals could be
picked up by the enemy.
Ken recalls: “I participated in four
were waiting for us off the entrance to the
Kola inlet but we managed to avoid them by
the subterfuge of sending four destroyers
firing pyrotechnics to simulate the convoy
going by the normal route, while we got
away through a channel in the minefield
which the Russian minesweepers had
cleared. The ruse was successful as we got
away without any casualties.”
convoys. We were lucky for the first
two convoys as we had no casualties,
possibly because the atrocious weather
conditions were unsuitable for the enemy
to attack but our luck ran out on the third
convoy, JW 65, when we were attacked
by 6 U-boats. The corvette ‘Lapwing’ and
two American merchant ships ‘ Horace
Bushnell’ and ‘Thomas Donaldson’ were
sunk. On the next convoy nine U-boats
HMS Diadem
36
Mervyn Salter
Mervyn served from 1942 to 1946. Having trained
at HMS Raleigh and HMS Drake, in June 1943 he
joined HMS Saumarez, an ‘S’ class Destroyer.
He was on a series of Arctic convoys from
12th November 1943 to 2nd November 1944.
The most notable of these might be said to be
JW55B, which sailed from Kola Inlet on 22nd
December 1943 and engaged in the Battle of
North Cape.
HMS Saumarez was providing cover to the
Home Fleet. On Christmas Day 1943 the
Scharnhorst sailed to intercept this convoy.
Early on the 26th December, knowing
that Scharnhorst was in the vicinity, the
Commander-in-Chief ordered his own
force and the cruiser cover to close up
in anticipation of imminent action. At
the same time the Scharnhorst became
detached from her destroyers. Throughout
that day various cruisers and destroyers
sighted the Scharnhorst and engaged in
action with her. Eventually a torpedo attack
in poor weather and visibility brought about
her end. She sank in the Arctic gloom and
in spite of a search, only 35 survivors were
picked up.
Following his time in the Arctic, Mervyn,
aboard HMS Saumarez, took part in
supporting landings and patrolling Juno,
Gold and Sword beaches on D Day (6th
June 1944). In 1945 Mervyn found himself
variously in Trincomalee, the Andaman
Seas and Nicobar Islands, taking part in
‘Operation Dracula’ – invasion of Rangoon,
when he celebrated his 21st birthday
and notes “no tot!” Then on to Durban,
Singapore, Malta, Gibraltar and finally
demobilisation in May 1946.
HMS Saumarez
Scharnhorst
37
James Simpson
James joined the HMS Devonshire in November
1942 and remained on her until 1945.
HMS Devonshire provided cover for air operations
by HM Aircraft Carriers against the German
battleship ‘Tirpitz’ lying in Altenfjord, Norway.
There were at least fifty ships in the convoys in the
North Atlantic, round Iceland, Northern Norway
into the Barents Sea and the Russian ports. The
convoys were frequently attacked by planes and
U-boats firing torpedoes at the ships night and day.
James says: “We were fortunate to have
overshot and crashed into the sea. There was
no time to rescue them as there were other
planes coming in to land. It was horrendous
for all concerned.”
a brilliant captain – Captain Bain, who could
dodge the torpedoes and the mines. He could
turn the ship on a sixpence.”
“We slept in our clothes, as we were at Action
Stations most of the time. We were four
hours on and four hours off, but we had to
be ready at all times, and we crashed down
wherever we could. The waves were huge
and it snowed constantly in the winter. It was
bitterly cold and even the moisture on our
noses froze. When ships were sunk there was
great loss of life as no-one could survive in
the frozen seas.”
“The ‘Devonshire’ led three aircraft carriers
and five destroyers. We fired 8” guns at the
German batteries that were guarding the
heavy water installation site in Norway,
where they were experimenting with an
Atomic bomb. If the Germans had been
successful they would have used it to flatten
Britain. On the last day of the European
war we captured two German battleships
that were in Copenhagen harbour. We also
rounded up U-boats that were in the Atlantic.
They were happy – their war was over. I was
demobbed in November 1946. I was proud to
have been involved in saving our country, but
I wouldn’t like to do it again!”
“We were thirteen times at the ‘Tirpitz’ when
she was holed up in Altenfjord. Our job was
to keep her in the harbour, while the aircraft
carriers sent off their planes to bomb her.
Some of the planes didn’t make it back; some
HMS Devonshire
38
Jack Sleigh
Jack joined the Royal Navy aged 18 in
January 1943. From December 1943 until
August 1944 he was on HMS Anson with
the home fleet at Scapa Flow.
Says Jack: “We (on HMS Anson) were
with the Home Fleet providing distant
cover. We were guarding the convoys
and provided cover for them between
Greenland and Iceland. At other times we
patrolled between the Norway coast and
the convoys. In November 1944 we heard a
buzz that the Tirpitz might be coming out
and we looked forward to finding her – but
thank goodness! - it was just as well we
didn’t for she was a formidable vessel!”
“We provided the escort force for the
aircraft carriers – on board were the planes
that were to try to attack the Tirpitz. By
then so much damage had been inflicted
on the Tirpitz that she had to get back
to Germany for repairs. As she neared
Tromso she came within flying distance
of the land-based planes - Hurricane
bombers from Lossiemouth - which hit
her with their huge bombs to penetrate
the ship’s heavy armour. She turned turtle
and we heard afterwards that knocking
had been heard on her hull for some time
and some German sailors were rescued
through the hull.”
“We had to stay there (north of
Bear Island) till the weather
improved and we could move
down the Norway coast to
attack. As we went down the
Norway coast there were no
signs of any German aircraft.
I was sent up to the bridge to
answer the phone and I counted
in excess of 60 vessels, mainly
British. The weather could be
very rough – even on a huge
battleship we suffered damage on the
upper deck from the waves.”
HMS Anson
39
John Turvill
John joined the Merchant Navy in March 1941 as a deck apprentice and
stayed at sea until 1955 with various companies, working his way up as
2nd Mate, 1st Mate and then gaining his Master Foreign-going Certificates
by 1953. After losing the SS Nailsea Meadow through torpedoing off the
South African coast in May 1943, John was back home by August 1943. In
London he joined the SS Fort Hall, a Canadian government cargo ship on
loan to the UK government, in September/October 1943.
Says John: “There were four
operation that had to be done throughout
the trip once we had got into the heavy and
bad weather.”
apprentices all together. We sailed to Hull
where we loaded a full cargo of military
equipment, bound we knew not where,
and it was only when we were issued with
heavy duty clothing for inside and outside
use, we thought we must be going to
Russia on an Arctic convoy.”
“Immediately on anchoring in Kola inlet,
four destroyers of the Fleet escort were
alongside us opening up the No. 2 and
4 hatches and dragging or carrying
sections of depth charges for their return
trip back to UK. I think we were the one
convoy ahead of the one that lured out the
‘Scharnhorst’ from the North Cape for
combat over Christmas and Boxing Day
1943.”
The ‘Fort Hall’ was appointed Commodore
Ship for their first trip to Russia on JW55A
in November 1943.
“We boys, aged nineteen and twenty,
were on lookout watches and when on
standby, we were engaged in removing
the ice which formed on handrails, decks
and deck machinery with a flexible steam
hose and hammers. It was a pretty cold
John returned to the UK on convoy RA56
(with the Vice Commodore on board), then
did a further two trips to Russia and back on
convoys (JW58 and RA59) on SS Fort Hall.
SS Fort Hall
40
Kenneth Watson
Ken joined HMS Vindex as an Ordinary Seaman aged 18
in July 1944. On 4th August 1944 Ken departed Greenock
on his first convoy mission with HMS Vindex under
Captain Bayliss. Ken undertook sentry duties in four-hour
watches (except the dog watches, which were two-hour
stints, 4-6pm and 6-8pm) and was allocated to P1 pompoms. In the lead up to the departure of Convoy JW59 Ken can remember
practising on the pom-pom guns against the rocks along the Clyde. Convoy
JW59 gathered at Scapa Flow. After this the ships journeyed northwards and it
was Ken’s job to keep watch (180 degrees observation) and look out for enemy
submarines in particular (on one occasion a whale was mistaken for a u-boat).
Behind him, on the flight deck, Swordfish aircraft took off and landed.
Ken recalls: “As part of my uniform
and tipping up into the sea. On one occasion
Ken found himself volunteering to climb over
the side of the ship in a tricky manoeuvre
above the sea to secure an Oerlikon gun that
had come loose.
I was kitted out with sea boots and furs
to help counteract the cold weather. On
board ship, I slept in quarters on the port
forehead. Here I slept in a hammock, which
had to be lashed up and stowed away when
not in use. I have never slept so well as
in that hammock. I was allocated to mess
room 13 where we ate meals (the food was
sufficient and quite good, often home made
split pea soup and bacon knuckle). Here I
was served a cup of rum at lunchtime (1200
hours) and played card games.”
In October 1944, Ken was promoted to
Able Seaman. Ken’s biggest memory of the
convoys is of the severe weather conditions
encountered on the return trip in January
1945 when the Vindex found itself in a
hurricane.
Ken says: “Everything had to be secured
down and it became necessary to seal off
the fresh air intakes as water came across
the decks and onto the catwalks and flight
deck. To this day, I have memories of the
frightening mountainous seas and remain
incredulous of how the Vindex managed to
come through this great storm despite the
heavy swell and extreme angles of tilt.”
Ken returned with Convoy RA59, which
departed Murmansk in August 1944. Fog
and snowstorms were commonplace on the
convoys; also Ken remembers witnessing
the Northern Lights, which were an amazing
sight with their vivid colours but added to
the danger as they lit up the sky. During
the winter months, the convoys travelled in
darkness most of the time. Ken made three
more return trips to Murmansk with the
convoys JW/RA 61, JW/RA63 and JW/RA66.
Ken can remember a Swordfish aircraft from
the Vindex crashing into the sea with loss of
life, also aircraft crashing into the barriers,
coming loose or getting snagged on the wire
©Rossparry.co.uk/syndication
41
James Wilkie
James joined the Royal Navy in June 1943. He
trained as a telegraphist at HMS Scotia in Ayr
and in HMS Valkiri in the Isle of Man.
He served on HMS Duckworth, a Captain’s Class
frigate on the American Lease herd project,
from early 1944 for a year.
James says: “Our home port was
“We sank seven U-boats – two off Land’s
End, one off Lizard Point, one in the Bay of
Biscay, one off the Channel Islands, one
off the Isle of Man and one in the Irish Sea.
We sailed from Loch Ewe for Polyarno in
Russia on 19th October 1944 and returned
to Belfast late November 1944.”
Belfast. We sailed south to the English
Channel searching for U-boats. Our search
pattern took in the Bay of Biscay, Eastern
Atlantic, Land’s End, the Channel Islands,
Western France and Northern Spain.”
“We sailed for three weeks, then came in
for oil for one day. This we did four times
(12 weeks) after which we returned to
Belfast when half the ship’s company got
home leave, the other half shore leave.
This we did every three months, alternating
home and shore leave, for a whole year.”
“After leaving HMS Duckworth in early
1945 I joined HMS Stevenstone in spring
1945. I served on this ship for a whole year,
having joined her in St Catherine’s Dock,
London. I received the instructions myself
on the transmitter. I enjoyed my time in the
Royal Navy.”
“Our skipper was Captain Mills, who was
senior officer of all the escort vessels.”
HMS Duckworth
42
Rex Willcox
Rex was on Convoy JW57 aboard the tanker
Daphnella. They had been on a run from Liverpool
to New York and then were loaded with a full
cargo of pure grain alcohol for their trip to Russia.
He was given string vests, a sheepskin waistcoat,
a warm fur-collar coat, etc.
Rex says: “On the way back to the UK
6 ships that went down in the White Sea.
We had two icebreakers, the Stalin and
the Lenin, mostly manned by some very
tough / strong-looking Russian women!
Due to some mishaps the pipe line we
were discharging on broke, and the alcohol
melted the ice which was about 3 feet
thick!”
we broke down in mid-Atlantic due to the
white metal shoes on the thrust block of
the propeller shaft melting, which I think
was put down to sabotage whilst we were
in New York. Sand in the lube oil? We
were hove to for several hours in very bad
weather, but got home safely on our own.”
“Happily we had an easier trip home in
April (Convoy RA58), but it was a very cold
and very rough experience. I’ve nothing
but admiration for those small Navy ships
that protected us; many of them escorted
several of the Convoys. We only went once
and I can assure you that was more than
enough!”
They left Loch Ewe on 20th February 1944.
Rex tells of his memories of that trip:
“Fortunately we didn’t suffer the same fate
as HMS Mahratta, thanks to all those Navy
ships that protected us and the extreme
weather conditions which discouraged the
German aircraft in Norway taking off.”
“From what I can remember of the night
the Mahratta was torpedoed, several of
us, (I was then a just-18-year-old Deck
Apprentice) were standing in the alleyway
outside the ‘Sparks’ room listening to the
distress calls and description of what was
happening on his radio, just listening was
frightening enough! We knew the convoy
was under attack by U-boats and had no
idea how close they may have got. We too
were aware of the time one might survive
in the icy water. We figured that if we got
hit, with our cargo we’d more likely go up
than down!!”
“It was indeed very cold and a very rough
sea for most of the way. I think there were
43
George Young
George (far left) and sh
ipmates
George Young was in 811
Squadron on HMS Vindex
between 29th Sept 1944 and
9th Dec 1944.
George recalls: “We did one
convoy from Greenock. We were
supposed to be going into Murmansk but
this was not allowed as on the previous
convoy one of our sailors was killed in
Murmansk (we were told this happened
whilst fighting with a Russian in a pub). As
far as I can remember we then went back
to Iceland before going back to Russia,
where we stayed with three destroyers in
the danger area to protect the convoys.”
allowed to talk to the sailors but one soldier
grabbed George and showed him a knife.
Says George: “I thought that he was going
to attack me but he wanted my jersey in
exchange for the knife which had a really
fancy handle. We did an exchange and I had
the knife for years before my young son
thought it would be a good idea to take the
handle to bits!!!!”
When in Russia they were at a transit camp
where there were Russian families living
in Nissan huts. George thinks this was
like a rest camp for soldiers coming from
the front. The Russian soldiers were not
George’s role was that of deck hand and one
time when they were on standby to receive
aircraft he says: “I came up on the wrong
side of the flight deck and had to crawl
along the deck on hands and knees
holding onto the trip wire as the deck
was so icy.”
HMS Vindex
Approaching
44
the deck of th
e carrier
RU SSI AN
ARCTIC
CONVOY
MUSEUM
RUSSIAN ARCTIC CONVOY
MUSEUM PROJECT
WESTER ROSS
The importance of highlighting the legacy of the World War II Russian Arctic
Convoys is central to the project plans for a Russian Arctic Convoy Museum on
the shores of Loch Ewe, in Aultbea, Wester Ross. Loch Ewe was where almost
half of the convoys to Russia began their perilous journeys between 1941 and
1945. Over 3000 men lost their lives on the convoys and 104 ships were sunk.
The Arctic Convoys of World War II were Britain’s means of sending vital
supplies and war materials to Northern Russia (then part of the Soviet Union).
Protected by Royal Navy warships, merchant vessels sailed from British
ports to the harbours of Archangel and Murmansk. Although hazardous, this
was the shortest route by which Britain could supply Russia. Keeping as far
north as possible to keep out of range of the German U-boats and aircraft,
the convoys hugged the limit of the ice. Because of this necessity, most of the
convoys ran throughout the coldest winter months when poor visibility would
give them as much cover as possible. For Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
these supplies were a vital demonstration of Allied solidarity. He called the
Arctic Convoys ‘the worst journey in the world’.
The museum Project is a key part in the Aultbea Regeneration Plan, together
with a new Community Centre, to help bring much needed employment and
income potential to the area whose community gave so much to the war effort
in this North West Highland anchorage for the Arctic Convoys. The aim of the
project is to create a lasting legacy to all those who took part in the acts of
heroism and extreme physical endurance that were the World War II Arctic
Convoys. We hope to achieve this within the lifetime of the few remaining
veterans.
For more information about the project and how to donate to the project,
go to www.russianarcticconvoymuseum.co.uk
Picture copyright IWM and RACM. Edited by Leona Thomas on behalf of RACM.
All images not IWM/RACM and text content used in good faith.
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