大象传媒

This is the story of my father鈥檚 first trip as a young 18 year old .
He wrote his story after reading the book by Henry Revely,
O.N.S. 154 The Convoy That Nearly Died.

I did my seamen鈥檚 training at the Vindacatrix. Then in 1942 went to the firemen鈥檚 training school Newcastle.
I signed on the Empire Union on the 8鈥檛h December 1942 at Methyl. They took me out to the ship in a pilot boat, as the ship was preparing to sail. The police were taking a fireman off the ship as he had attacked an officer , and I was to replace him.

We sailed round the coast of Scotland to Lock Ewe to assemble the convoy. (ONS 154 THE CONVOY THAT NEARLY DIED the book by Henry Revely) There was to be twelve column鈥檚 of approx. four deep. We were to be No 1 in column 12. We sailed for Canada on the 18鈥檛h December. On the 23鈥檙d a full gale was raging. The foul weather had made all the ships lose their way during the night. Each ship was battling for survival. The U boat鈥檚 were forgotten, this was a battle against the Atlantic.

By noon visibility had improved and the convoy had reassembled. The Empire Union was the leading ship of column 12. Being in this vulnerable position had not gone unnoticed by the crew. The ships on the outside columns were the first to get the hammer.

U664 spotted the convoy and sent the signal to Admiral U Boats. At U Boat H.Q. the staff were Jubilant, after the massive losses of 1942, here was a chance in the last four days of the year to pile the figures higher. The order was not to attack until ordered, ONS 154 ploughed on while 19 U Boats assembled. The signals had been picked up by the admiralty and it was evident that the U Boats were converging for an attack and that the target was ONS 154. It was 2.30 am and pitch black. Suddenly a brilliant white light burst over the convoy and hung low, another appeared and another, filling the sky like snowflakes. The second mate was on the bridge when he saw a gigantic fireball strike the ship, between No 4 and 5 holds. On the starboard side. The whole ship was pushed bodily round by the stern. In the wireless room a message was being sent repeatedly SS 121 (our No in the convoy) torpedoed.

I had come off watch at midnight and had been trying to get some sleep, when the torpedo struck at 2 30 am. I jumped out of my bunk, grabbed my lifejacket, and put my rain coat round my neck, because I knew it would be damn cold out there. I ran down the alleyway, then I remembered I had forgotten my wallet with the photograph of Doris in it, (His future wife of 60 years). The captain pulled a snowflake lanyard and it screeched high in the sky and burst into a brilliant light hanging on a small parachute. Suddenly scores of snowflakes went up across the convoy, lighting the night as if it were day.

The deck was crowded with men struggling to reach their boat stations. My boat had been lowered but with it being on the weather side, It was riding up and down on the big waves and it had become unhooked and had drifted off with only four people in it. I ran to the next boat but the same thing had happened with a cadet and three others in it. I ran with the crowd to the other side but both boats were overcrowded . Next we tried the big raft. You knock the pin out and it slides down the ramp into the sea, but it would not move. It had been painted over that many times it would not budge no matter how we hammered it. The same thing happened with the next one. I could feel the ship shuddering so I knew it would not be long before she went down. I went to the rail and looked down at the sea, the next thing I knew there was a man next to me, it was the second engineer. We were pretty high up, but the waves kept coming right up then dropping right down. He looked at me then at the sea and said you will not last two minutes in that. On that he turned round and went back across the deck, I don鈥檛 know where to. I only know he did not survive.

I decided to go over the side, I thought a slim chance is better than none at all. I jumped a hell of a long way down it seemed and went a hell of a long way under. I was under a longer time than I thought I should have been and thought I was being sucked down, so I pulled the rain coat off my neck and struck out harder for the surface. It was dark and that made it worse, I was scared but I broke the surface, my lungs ready to burst. The ship was right in front of me so I turned round and struck out to get as far from the ship as I could. I had swam about twenty yards when I heard a man shouting! Over here! Over here! He was stood on a small raft Five or six feet square. He threw me a line and pulled me in. He was a jock fireman. There was soon plenty of men hanging on to the raft. We watched the ship as her stern went deeper her bows went higher and she started to slide down, slowly at first, then quicker and with a rumbling she went down. The convoy had passed right by us, but we could hear the sound of battle in the distance

We couldn鈥榯 see any of the boats or rafts, it seemed that we were on our own. About half an hour after the ship went down we heard someone shouting for help. It turned out to be one of our D.E.M.S. gunners, his language was choice when we kept missing him with the line. When daylight came we looked round , but we could see nothing. We were ten days out when we were hit, so we were a long way from land and we decided that our chance of being found was nil. I don鈥榯 remember much about being on the raft, maybe it was with the bitter cold, it was like being in suspended animation. In the afternoon one of the lads said that he had seen a ship, we all thought he was off his trolley, but he turned out to be right. It was a destroyer and he had seen us. As he came near an officer shouted that he couldn鈥檛 stop, because the convoy was still under heavy attack and he had been sent to help the escort. He said he would slow down, but if we missed the lines they would throw, he would have to leave us. He came near, but all the lines fell short, then he shouted they would have to go as it was urgent that he got to the convoy as soon as possible, but not to worry as a rescue ship was following on.

Everyone went quiet for a long time, as we knew that was probably it!! I don鈥檛 know how long it was, I think it was in the morning that the rescue ship "Toward" found us. They lowered the scramble nets and came alongside. There was a scramble for the net and the raft tilted, so I threaded my arm through the net and let them struggle to get up the net. I was last up. Seamen came over the rail to help us up because most of our legs wouldn鈥檛 work. I was given a hot cup of tea and some biscuits, they gave me a blanket, but there were too many survivors aboard, there was no room below for us, so we huddled together on deck near the funnel. That was our place every night for the next twelve days. The "Toward" caught up with the convoy which was still under attack, her position was at the rear of column nine.
The ships torpedoed up to the 28th December were:

Empire Union. Ville De Rouen.
Melrose Abbey. Empire Wagtail.
Soekaboemi. Baron Cochrane.
King Edward. Lynton Grange.
Scottish Heather. Zarian.
Norse King. Empire Shackleton.
Melmore Head. President Franqui.

On the night when the Empire Union was hit 27th December 1942 it was the U 356, he also had the Melrose Abbey lined up and put one in her seconds later. The U356 commanded by Oberleutnant Ruppelt, her bow tubes reloaded, sailed inside the convoy. She was trimmed well down with just her conning tower showing. She torpedoed the Soekaboemi (Dutch) and the King Edward, turning to starboard round the leading ship and ran into the path of a destroyer H.M.C.S. Battleford which was trying to head them off. The destroyer opened fire hitting the conning tower and the hull. She went down with all hands.

The atlantic is two miles deep where this battle was fought. They died the same day as some of my shipmates.

The following ten days or so, were the most miserable days you can imagine on the "Toward". The crew did all they could but the facilities were hopeless. No clothes to hand out, very little food. Our group the same as plenty of others huddled together on the open deck. Sometimes it snowed on us, sometimes it rained, and when it was dry it was very cold. Although we owed everything to the "Toward", I can never forget the misery.

There is nothing but praise for the Canadian escort of five corvettes and one destroyer, they were badly outnumbered but they took constant offensive action and the U boats stopped attacking after the 29 December. The U boats still kept in contact right the way over they seemed to have had enough.

We arrived at Halifax Nova Scotia on the 15th January 1943. The "Toward" was refuelled and provisioned then went to New York to join the convoy S.C.118 bound for the UK . The U402 sank six ships the "Toward" was the first to be sunk.

When we arrived in Halifax everywhere was white with snow. An officer on the dockside told us that the press would be waiting for us at the allied seaman鈥檚 club, but we were told not to give names of ships, dates or anything, only experiences. Some navy buses arrived with W.R.N.C. drivers, I must have looked young and pathetic in my tee shirt and life jacket, she took off her woollen gloves and gave them to me. She was very kind as were the people of Halifax, we could not have been treated better. The press climbed all over us when we arrived and me being one of the youngest I had three round me. I rated a couple of paragraphs in the local rag.

The Wrens were very good to us, they put on a concert for us and got some show biz people to help out, it was a smashing night. The food was good and there was plenty of it. I was togged out with shoes and a full set of clothes, then I was to wait to be shipped out back home. A spot of leave, sign on a ship and another convoy.

I can honestly say, I was not looking forward to it.

J. S. Renfrew.

Ps When your ship is sunk your pay stops.

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