大象传媒

My father, Captain John Francis Spears, was the English Master of an American ship registered in Antwerp, Belgium during WW2. The ship was called "Ville d'Anvers" and was previously the "American Banker". My father called her "The Old Lady of the Atlantic"

1n 1939 President Roosevelt had forbidden American ships to operate in belligerent waters and a company was formed in Antwerp, Belgium called S.A. Maritime Anversoise. Eight ships owned by the United States Lines were transferred to that company. They remained the property of the United States Lines but carried the Belgian Flag and a Belgian Name. Of the eight ships only one, "Ville d'Anvers" survived the war, all of the others having been sunk by April 1941.

My father called her "The Old Lady of the Atlantic" and she made 35 voyages on Atlantic and Russian convoys. My father was her Captain between 17th August 1940 and 8th March 1944.

He had a silver dollar which was his lucky charm. If possible he liked to cross on his own without the convoys. He would toss it to decide which route to take across the Atlantic. If it landed head downwards he sailed to the north: if it landed tails he would sail to the south. Once it landed on edge between the deck planks. At that time the ship was awaiting further orders expecting to sail on a Russian convoy. Strangely the orders were changed and another ship took her cargo at a time when the German battleship "Tirpitz" was threatening the routes to the North Rusian ports.
Who knows what might have happened if it had landed heads or tails.

He did take "The Old Lady" on Russian convoys PQ1 and QP2.

Arriving in Liverpool in January 1941 he found that his home had been destroyed by enemy action. His wife was seriously injured but his three children,of whom I am one ,were unhurt.

I heard many stories from my father of his Atlantic crossings and these were recorded in a Belgian Magazine "Wandelaer sur l'eau" in 1949. One of them involved the sinking of U-Boat - U175. She was trailing his convoy which was escorted by US Coastguard cutters and the British corvettes "Bergamot", "Bryony" and Dianthus. The submarine was forced to surface by depth charges and was actually rammed by my father's ship before the U-Boat, commanded by Captain Heinrich Burns, sank.

Captain Spears was the only Captain of a Belgian ship who contributed directly to putting a U-Boat at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Sadly, neither the Belgian,British or American governments recognied this. I understand that the Russian government have awarded medals to Merchant Seamen who took part in Russian convoys.

As my father is now dead I wonder if anybody knows if either the British, American, Belgian or Russian governments make posthumous awards for such services.

So there is a part of the story of an English Captain of a Belgian ship owned by the United States Lines and his Atlantic and Russian convoy crossings.

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