'We must all remember the Arctic convoys, the danger and those we lost. This must never be forgotten'

Published on Thursday 9 October 2008 21:53

THEY were told they were heading for the most dangerous waters in the world – and reality bore out the description.

Fighting horrendous weather and sea temperatures of minus 60 degrees, the wartime heroes were under near constant attack from above and below sea, as well as from the air.

During the Second World War the Arctic convoys travelled from the UK and America to deliver vital supplies to the northern ports of the Soviet Union.

About 1,400 merchant ships and their naval escorts made the hazardous journey between August 1941 and May 1945.

In all, 85 merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships were lost.

The convoys initially ran from Iceland, but from September 1942 they assembled and sailed from Loch Ewe in Wester Ross.

Yesterday, some of the survivors returned, their numbers depleted, for a ceremony to mark their achievements and in honour of those who did not come back.

An RAF flypast was followed by a religious service and two-minute silence before prayers were said at a permanent memorial to the sailors who made, in the word of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, "the worst journey in the world".

As a mark of respect, warships deployed in the Minch for a modern-day exercise, Joint Warrior, also assembled in Loch Ewe to pay silent tribute.

The event, at Pool House, the convoy's former headquarters and now a hotel, was also attended by Royal Navy officers and representatives from Russia and Norway, as well as local people and schoolchildren.

The Russian Convoy Club has now disbanded and a bell given to the memory of the convoy sailors was handed to the hotel where it will be kept on display.

The hotel's proprietor, Elizabeth Miles, who helped organise the event, said handfuls of veterans had visited the area over the years, but old age and ill health had taken its toll on those who survived the convoys.

She said: "This is a local tribute to the veterans of the Second World War convoys to Russia – a celebration of what they did. It is part of our history.

"For many of the poor souls this area was the last sight of land they saw."

One of the veterans, Jim Osler, 82, from Glasgow, served on the RFA Aldersdale, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship that was sunk during convoy PQ17.

PQ17 sailed in June and July 1942 and suffered the heaviest losses of any Russia-bound convoy, with 25 vessels out of 36 lost to enemy action.

Under attack from German aircraft and U-boats, the convoy was ordered to scatter, following reports that a battle group, which included the battleship Tirpitz, had sailed to intercept the ships.

Only 11 of the merchant ships in the convoy succeeded in running the gauntlet of U-boats and bombers. This convoy is said to have inspired author Alistair MacLean to write his first novel HMS Ulysses.

'They must never be forgotten'Jim Osler, 82, from Glasgow, was in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Aldersdale, which sank in convoy PQ17 in 1942.

"I have a memory of everyone on that ship being determined to get to Russia, which unfortunately we failed to do because of bombers.

"The U-boat attacks were horrendous. You could hear the thuds of torpedos while you were lying in the dark. You cannot mistake torpedos and you just leapt up to get to your station.

"Dawn was a desperate time, because that's when they attacked, as the ships were black against the rising sun.

"One of the biggest things in a battle at sea is the noise factor. There were 36 merchant ships and another 24 escorts, as well as maybe 30 aircraft that came at once, all firing at the same time. If you put that all together when you're standing outside with no ear protectors, the noise is just unbelievable.

"This was an important port for the Russian convoys, the first stopping-off point towards Iceland and these things should be remembered.

"It's very important that events like this are held. People should remember the convoys, the hazards people faced and the people who were lost. They must never be allowed to be forgotten."

'Ice on the deck'

Sandy Manson, aged 83 when he spoke last year, from John o' Groats, served in HMS Matchless on convoys in 1943-44.

"The weather was terrible. It was regularly 40 degrees below zero in winter and there would only be about half an hour of daylight at that time.

"There was ice in the sea, and on occasions ice-breakers had to cut through it.

"There was also ice on the deck and we had to wear special suits and gloves.

"You could not touch the steel rails without them or your hands would stick to them.

"We also had to wear a special harness, hoods and leather boots, a life belt and a special light, but if you went overboard you would not have lasted long in that water anyway.

"I never experienced cold like that before or since."

'Hundreds of men were lost'George Murdoch, from South Queensferry, was a telegraphy officer in HMS Zodiac, which helped escort the final convoy in March 1945. He spoke two years ago, aged 82.

"Every convoy had a lot of pressure on it, the eyes of the Luftwaffe watching them. The main difference with the Arctic run was that if you were sunk, you would only last about five minutes in the icy water.

"I was only on that one run, and the trip there was fine. We went around Bear Island and into the Kola Inlet to Archangel. But on the way back, we were hit as soon as we left the inlet; the first escort ship was sunk by a German submarine.

"I think maybe 35 men were rescued, but hundreds would have been lost."

'Terrible cold'

Geoffrey Shelton, 83, from Glasgow, who served on the aircraft carrier HMS Vindex.

"It was so cold. You came off watch and went down into the mess deck to get some sleep, but there was no heating down there and you could break the icicles off the deck head.

"But sometimes you wanted the terrible cold and the weather because it kept the U-boats down below and the aircraft couldn't fly.

"In the summer, there was almost 24-hour daylight – that was when you were most vulnerable to attack.

"The Fleet Air Arm pilots were the bravest of the brave, taking off and then trying to land an old string bag on a deck rising and falling 10-20-30ft.

"I watched one guy come in to land and end up in the sea alongside the carrier. The plane went straight down.

"The pilot had his lifejacket on and the captain put a blue search light on him, which was very dangerous because it could show us to the enemy.

"The admiral wasn't very pleased about this. I watched that lad calling out for help and the arm he was waving get lower and lower.

"By the time he was picked up 15 minutes later, he was dead."

'The worst weather'

"Spud" Campbell, 86, from Alabama, was in the SS Henry Bacon, right,the last Allied ship sunk by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War in 1945.

"We started at Loch Ewe and were told we were going into the most dangerous water in the world and it was. We went to deliver war materials which helped win the war I'm sure.

"We picked up some Norwegian refugees, who the Royal Navy had rescued. On the way back we had a tremendously difficult time, with the worst weather of the war, and then 23 aircraft came in and finally sunk the Henry Bacon.

"I went into the lifeboat with the Norwegians and, fortunately, HMS Opportune found us in the darkness of that Arctic area.

"The captain and 26 of our crew went down with the ship because we had insufficient lifeboats."

'It is simply too gruesome'

Keith Dyble, from Penicuik, was a gunner's yeoman on board HMS Cumberland. Speaking in 2006, when he was 86.

"Suddenly there was an explosion, and I saw that a merchant ship had been torpedoed and was sinking fast. I had to watch and listen to the screams of men in the water begging us to save them, but we couldn't stop. You had to go on, otherwise you would be destroyed. It was heartbreaking.

"People have no idea what we went through, and there is so much that will never be revealed because it is simply too gruesome.

"What I remember most vividly was PQ17, which was the 17th convoy to Russia. We had left Iceland as part of an escort fleet for 37 merchant ships. Only 11 of the ships made it through."