大象传媒

I have just received my 3rd medal from Russia this is the 40th, 50th, and 60th anniversary Medal and one from Poland for service in the Arctic Convoys but up to now none from U.K.
I served on Ammunition ships sailing from Middlesbrough at the start of WW2; the Ammunition we were carrying was made in Newton Ayclife where my Wife worked.
My first Ammunition ship was the s/s Empire Nightingale from Middlesbrough in a convoy of 11 ships, we unload the cargo of ammunition at Lisbon a 9 day trip expecting to be attacked at any time as the German Army could have come through Spain, on the return trip we loaded another Deadly cargo of Iron ore from Casablanca to Aberdeen.
On our return we reloaded more Ammunition at Middlesbrough for Landing in Oran for the troops in North Africa and reloaded Iron Ore at Benisaf to be delivered back to Middlesbrough on return we were paid off for a break of a month.
I went to New York on board S/S Welsh Trader while there I was invited to see Frank Sinatra first time on stage with Hundreds of seaman in Times Square waiting to form a convoy for UK, the biggest convoy gathering ever, As the U.S.A. was not in the war yet Russia were or first Allies in the war.
On my return to UK. and after leave I worked on some Coastal ships I went to see my family in Fraserburgh. I joined the s/s Jevington Court in Leith, and sailed to South Shields in to a dry dock, at this time a lot of collier ships were getting sunk, we pulled out of dry dock with no Degousan gear fitted this was to stop magnetic mines, Load a cargo of coal for Parliament House on the 27th of February 1940 we struck a mine near Outer Douson Light Ship started to sink and in the lifeboat I managed to save the galley boy and a deck boy, the lifeboat was swamped with water and it was freezing cold, which was a black ice , we were the last lifeboat to be picked up, we were rescued by H.M.S.Dunoon and taken into Grimsby and into Hospital, I still suffer with Permicious Anaemia and White Finger.
I then served on the s/s/ Dickie, s/s/ Mistley and s/s/ Empire Law an Oil Tanker fastest in the world 22 knots, I then joined s/s/Adolf-s-Ochs a Liberty Built Ship, the ship was named after the man that Launched it the editor of the New York Times.
Load with ammunition at Middlesbrough and then sailed to Liverpool to load up with war supplies, during this time I went on a AA gunnery course, even though I was a Water Tender in the engine room, one of my jobs was to go though a watertight door down a tunnel for the prop shaft from amidships underneath thousands of tons of Ammunition to check the bearings of the shaft for 20 minutes this had to be done four times on each watch we worked four hours on eight hours off. From Liverpool we sailed to Glasgow to load 19 or twelve steam railway loc,os engines shackled to deck once this was done we sailed to Lock Ewe to await for the convoy we were anchored there for two weeks we got our orders and joined a convoy most of the other ships had Ammunition on board as all flying red flag on signals, plenty of Escort ships and Drifters running with their orders, our orders were still sealed but I got to know our ship was picked for the Vice Commodore, as he was on board getting used to our ship every one of our crew was on sea watches,
I was asked by the D.E.M.S. party to show any Certificates I had, and he told me as I was in the engine room I would be exempt from the Gum party unless there was a emergency, steam was ordered for sailing as we had lead one column of ships out of Lock Ewe following a Destroyer, at this time I was on duty to stand down and that we were heading for Iceland and then towards Bear Island, and though the 鈥淕ates of Hell鈥� it is called this as it is the nearest point to the tip of Norway where German Air Forces had a base.
While I was on deck going out of Lock Ewe I noticed our Kite a defence against dive bombers was a square on a wire as on other ships connected on top of fore mast over the top of signals, flying much higher then a child kite as the wire was much thicker. We were told one of Sub or U Boat chasers were going to drop a Dept Charge off close to us to get use to the sound of its exploding and the wall of water in the air, plus or Spitfires were flying round or convoy as we picked up speed on or way to Iceland.
On our second day out a German plane spotted our convoy our first contact this was early on as we were just clearing Scotland s coast line so from now on all eyes where on the clouds when we where on deck off watch.
We were approaching Iceland and the orders were to by-pass it, and head for bear isle on the next weeks we were on standby most of the time, on the look for dive bombers and U, boats on one of my watches I was down checking the prop bearings in the tunnel and I heard and felt a big thump on our ships structure but carried on checking the bearings, when I had finished and came out of the tunnel the men in the engine room told me one of the ships of the line had been hit by a torpedo from a U boat only smoke was left, when I was relived of duty and on deck we were told by the destroyers to close up and zig zag at full speed, and more was to come as we were name the sitting ducks?
I got over my scare as I still had my job to do we were in cloud cover which the dive bombers used there advantage as they dived out of the low cloud, the sound of the popular orlican gun was the first to fire on them as they were the quickest to turn around, but it was best to stay under cover if you off watch, our ships were not allowed to stop to pick up survivors this job fell to the trawles come warships to pick them up, as we had dive bombers U boats 24 hours a day, even in the Barents sea. We also had German surface ships out looking for us. In the end half our convoys hit and sunk. Truly the arctic convoys deserve the description as a (northern saga of bravery, heroism and endurance) given to them by Ivan maisky, but there is more to it than that, the running of these convoys was a master of honour, that British assistance to the USSR laid the basses for a wartime alliance which alone could defeat the menace of Nazi Germany and save Brittan from being invaded, due to heroism of the men who served in the arctic convoys, and the war supplies landed at archangels which were used in the defence of Leningrad, and helped to turn the tide of the war.
To continue my story on the o`chs which was or pet name for our ship, yes I was frightened plenty of times, but as it was my job to check the bearings in that tunnel of hell as I was locked in behind a water tight door all alone if we had been hit I would not be blown up but blown down ha ha when I returned for my donkeys breakfast I would sob to myself, when ships of our colloum were blown to kingdom come along with most of the crew, as the attacks continued 24 hours a day till we reached the kola inlet.
What I cannot understand is how the R.N. would desert a convoy of merchant seaman to there own fate convoy PQ 17 was left like this after the escorts were recalled by R.N. headquarters. Out of 36 ships which sailed bravely from Iceland 23 ships were sunk and two were badly damaged most in the first 24 hours a scattering 13 reached Russia either molotovsk of archangels not one navel ship was lost or damaged, lord haw-haw made much of this feature. It still upsets us veterans of the arctic convoys after all we had to endure that we have received a medal from Russia but none from the UK lately Tony Blair PM said he will give us a badge to wear as I am not in the boys scout brigade I don鈥檛 think I will bother with it.
No honour for the merchant seaman or the royal naval escorts who braved (鈥済ates of hell鈥�) in the arctic sea.

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