Post by Admin on Mar 8, 2013 11:39:14 GMT -5
Bravery of the convoy survivors deserves our recognition:
My grandfather, Edwin James Rice, lived in Cardiff and was Master of the SS Llandaff on convoy JW53 to Russia.
Their convoy left in a gale and was attacked 10 days later by aircraft and U-boats. The weather turned into a hurricane, dispersing the convoy, but also deterring the German attacks. Eight vessels were too damaged to continue.
Some of the Llandaff’s lifeboats broke away in the storms. When the wreckage was found, my grandmother heard twice on Lord Haw Haw’s broadcasts and once via the Government that my grandfather’s ship had been sunk.
As the ships were loaded with munitions (including TNT), they were frequently blown to smithereens if they were hit and as survival time in the Arctic water was three minutes, many perished.
When a merchant ship was sunk, the sailor’s pay stopped immediately, so my grandmother not only thought she had lost her husband, but also her income.
On reaching their destinations of Murmansk and Archangel, my grandfather was told that operations were being suspended and they were being stranded in Russia indefinitely. This turned out to be nine months.
During this time they were on starvation rations, managing to swap limes with the Americans for Spam and being supported by the starving locals, who shared their black bread.
They were subject to air attacks (the Llandaff was bombed by ME-109s and was ablaze for three days before being beached and flooded) and in the height of summer had to endure 24-hour daylight.
Rear Admiral Archer SNBO for North Russia said: “The situation can be summed up very briefly, our life is akin to that of a concentration camp but with the difference that those in one of those establishments at least know who their warders are and what to expect.”
There were mental breakdowns, suicides and a murder.
In November, the merchant convoy finally returned home, my grandfather’s ship with temporary repairs. Much of the detail of what went on is still shrouded in secrecy, but we do know that the convoy carried back Russian gold under the code name caviare.
When the ship finally docked at Loch Ewe in early December, the locals had to rally together to feed the men and send them home as many had no money.
Because of my grandfather’s circumstance and position, he was awarded the OBE and the Russian Medal for Valour, which Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden gave him permission to accept and wear. His chief engineer officer, James Mummery, got the OBE and the Order of the Red Star.
For most of the men serving on the convoys, though, there has been no recognition of what they went through and sacrificed. The advent of the Cold War caused the Government to divorce itself from anything to do with the Stalin regime and no campaign medal was issued.
By contrast, the story of the Arctic Convoys is part of the Russian school curriculum. Recently, Russians have awarded the Medal of Ushakov to the surviving veterans. The medal has been given to the Australians, Canadians and Americans, but the British Government has refused to allow our veterans to accept the award.
If you have the time, could you sign the Merchant Navy’s petition to lobby for these veterans to receive the Ushakov Medal. There are not many of them left (fewer than 200) and their story has been largely forgotten.
Siobhan Palmer
Read more: www.merchant-navy.net/forum/research-help-where-look/16223-information-regarding-my-grandfather-edwin-james-rice.html
LINK: www.walesonline.co.uk/news/letters-to-the-editor/south-wales-echo-letters/2012/12/05/bravery-of-the-convoy-survivors-deserves-our-recognition-91466-32361928/#ixzz2MxUHK8uu
My grandfather, Edwin James Rice, lived in Cardiff and was Master of the SS Llandaff on convoy JW53 to Russia.
Their convoy left in a gale and was attacked 10 days later by aircraft and U-boats. The weather turned into a hurricane, dispersing the convoy, but also deterring the German attacks. Eight vessels were too damaged to continue.
Some of the Llandaff’s lifeboats broke away in the storms. When the wreckage was found, my grandmother heard twice on Lord Haw Haw’s broadcasts and once via the Government that my grandfather’s ship had been sunk.
As the ships were loaded with munitions (including TNT), they were frequently blown to smithereens if they were hit and as survival time in the Arctic water was three minutes, many perished.
When a merchant ship was sunk, the sailor’s pay stopped immediately, so my grandmother not only thought she had lost her husband, but also her income.
On reaching their destinations of Murmansk and Archangel, my grandfather was told that operations were being suspended and they were being stranded in Russia indefinitely. This turned out to be nine months.
During this time they were on starvation rations, managing to swap limes with the Americans for Spam and being supported by the starving locals, who shared their black bread.
They were subject to air attacks (the Llandaff was bombed by ME-109s and was ablaze for three days before being beached and flooded) and in the height of summer had to endure 24-hour daylight.
Rear Admiral Archer SNBO for North Russia said: “The situation can be summed up very briefly, our life is akin to that of a concentration camp but with the difference that those in one of those establishments at least know who their warders are and what to expect.”
There were mental breakdowns, suicides and a murder.
In November, the merchant convoy finally returned home, my grandfather’s ship with temporary repairs. Much of the detail of what went on is still shrouded in secrecy, but we do know that the convoy carried back Russian gold under the code name caviare.
When the ship finally docked at Loch Ewe in early December, the locals had to rally together to feed the men and send them home as many had no money.
Because of my grandfather’s circumstance and position, he was awarded the OBE and the Russian Medal for Valour, which Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden gave him permission to accept and wear. His chief engineer officer, James Mummery, got the OBE and the Order of the Red Star.
For most of the men serving on the convoys, though, there has been no recognition of what they went through and sacrificed. The advent of the Cold War caused the Government to divorce itself from anything to do with the Stalin regime and no campaign medal was issued.
By contrast, the story of the Arctic Convoys is part of the Russian school curriculum. Recently, Russians have awarded the Medal of Ushakov to the surviving veterans. The medal has been given to the Australians, Canadians and Americans, but the British Government has refused to allow our veterans to accept the award.
If you have the time, could you sign the Merchant Navy’s petition to lobby for these veterans to receive the Ushakov Medal. There are not many of them left (fewer than 200) and their story has been largely forgotten.
Siobhan Palmer
Read more: www.merchant-navy.net/forum/research-help-where-look/16223-information-regarding-my-grandfather-edwin-james-rice.html
LINK: www.walesonline.co.uk/news/letters-to-the-editor/south-wales-echo-letters/2012/12/05/bravery-of-the-convoy-survivors-deserves-our-recognition-91466-32361928/#ixzz2MxUHK8uu