British Coastal Convoys WWII

[Des Taff Jenkins]

That was was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but they didn't factor in money and greed.
I was just reading an article on the war in Afghanistan, where our politicians did nothing to alleviate the suffering of returning troops. between 2001 and 2019, 1,273 veterans from that war committed suicide in Australia, most being denied help from the very people set up to help them
Des

[j.sabourn]

Those who glamourise war and take an unhealthy delight in describing imaginary deaths in their tiny minds , have a screw loose Des , if they want to relive other people’s lives they should try and imagine themselves lying there with limbs blown off and lying there in extreme agony wishing for death. Most of those suicides of returning troops would have been in most cases their memories and feelings of guilt that they should have gone also with those who were killed. The nearest I would say that immortalises such from a Hollywood John Wayne movie hero extraordinaire would be where he said in one movie, “ a mans gotta do , what a mans gotta do “ , out of the two possible options I would take the second one and get drunk. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

While war rages the media will heap praise on the men at the front.

But when the conflict is over and there is no news they are forgotten.
Many suffer long lasting problems as a result of their involement.
But there is little help for them, no one wants to know them anymore.

Yes we remember then on Anzac day, Rembrance day and the Polis who sent them stand so ,proud as they lay a wreath.
Yes they sit in their ivory towers saying all the right things about the boys, but if push comes to shove how many would pick up a rifle???

[Des Taff Jenkins]

One of our biggest problems here in Aus, is that the Public service has been decimated, and the few that are left just can't keep up with the load, I don't like others believe in war, but at least look after the blokes you sent overseas.
Des

[WG Smith]

Often overlooked is the role played by the RNLI in rescuing sailors and airman in coastal waters.

Details of services performed can be researched in the RNLI archives. Visit RNLI.ORG for more information.

[WG Smith]

Further to my previous post I attach an example of an extract from the RNLI Archive to illustrate information available.

Date was 23 august 1940. Ship was S.S. Beacon Grange. Convoy was OA.203

‘Services by the Life-boats of the Institution and by Shore-boats during 1940’.

'AUGUST 23RD. - WICK, CAITHNESSSHIRE. At 10.10 P.M. a message was received from the coastguard that gun-fire and an explosion, followed by tracer bullets, had been observed 9 miles S.E. of Wick. A further message was received that a vessel was on fire about ten miles away in the same direction A moderate N.N.W. wind was blowing, and the sea was choppy, with a cross swell, At 10.50 P.M. the motor life-boat City of Edinburgh was launched. Two vessels could be seen to be on fire. The life-boat found the nearer vessel to be the S.S. Beacon Grange, of London. She was on fire aft, and the life-boat accompanied her, while she steamed towards the land, until the fire was under control. The captain of the Beacon Grange then told the coxswain that two boats had been lowered from another vessel about twelve miles to the S.E. The life-boat put back on a southerly course so as to intercept these boats, but although she searched until well after daylight, and passed through a lot of wreckage, she found no trace of the boats. It was thought probable that they had been picked up by other vessels. The life-boat returned to her station at 9 A.M. on the 24th August. - Rewards, £13 11s. 6d.'

[Allen Fraser]

[QUOTE=Patricia Meiring;391105]I would be grateful if members can assist me with the following question :

During WWII my father served as an engineer in the merchant navy. Many of his voyages in the Atlantic and Mediterranean were escorted but the following trips were sailed in convoy but not escorted. I believe that generally ships did not stop to assist another in the convoy if a ship was attacked as it put the whole convoy in danger. Was this the case with coastal convoys where there was no rescue ships?


FN convoys - Thames to Firth of Forth

8 December, 1942 – no escorts
May, 1943 – no escorts
November, 1943 – no escorts

EN convoys - from Methil, Fife, Scotland to Oban via Loch Ewe.
December, 1942 – no escorts
May, 1943 - no escorts
December, 1943 – no escorts

WN convoys - from Clyde, Oban, Loch Ewe around the north of Scotland to Firth of Forth
April, 1943 – no escorts
October, 1943 – no escorts from Loch Ewe


FS – Firth of Forth to the Thames
April, 1943 – no escorts
October, 1943 – no escorts

BB - Belfast to the Bristol channel
June, 1943 – no escorts

My dad was on a few coastal trips in WW2 even sailing as uncertificated 3d Mate at age 19 before Atlantic convoys and then
on a liberty tanker acting as a fleet oiler in the Pacific.
This book is a good one for Coastal Convoys
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coastal-Con.../dp/1844158616

[Allen Fraser]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coastal-Con.../dp/1844158616

[Nicholas Messinger]

I would be grateful if members can assist me with the following question :

During WWII my father served as an engineer in the merchant navy. Many of his voyages in the Atlantic and Mediterranean were escorted but the following trips were sailed in convoy but not escorted. I believe that generally ships did not stop to assist another in the convoy if a ship was attacked as it put the whole convoy in danger. Was this the case with coastal convoys where there was no rescue ships?


FN convoys - Thames to Firth of Forth

8 December, 1942 – no escorts
May, 1943 – no escorts
November, 1943 – no escorts

EN convoys - from Methil, Fife, Scotland to Oban via Loch Ewe.
December, 1942 – no escorts
May, 1943 - no escorts
December, 1943 – no escorts

WN convoys - from Clyde, Oban, Loch Ewe around the north of Scotland to Firth of Forth
April, 1943 – no escorts
October, 1943 – no escorts from Loch Ewe


FS – Firth of Forth to the Thames
April, 1943 – no escorts
October, 1943 – no escorts

BB - Belfast to the Bristol channel
June, 1943 – no escorts

Thankyou in anticipation of your assistance.

Patricia

Thanks Patricia - an interesting topic for me as I held a Dormant Appointment, for many years as a Coastal Convoy Commodore, operating out of Milford Haven - and actually got to fly my flag aboard an offshore patrol vessel, on a major NATO exercise!
Coastal Convoys during WW2 operated along swept channels, often escorted by armed trawlers, due to the acute shortage of ocean convoy escorts such as corvettes and frigates. In theory, the swept channels were guarded by the RAF, operating from UK airfields, but once again, the shortage of assets often meant that no suitable aircraft were available. The swept channels were frequently kept clear of mines by minesweeping trawlers, and when available, inshore minesweepers.

I can thoroughly recommend the following book:-

Coastal Convoys 1939-1945: The Indestructible Highway (Paperback)
Nick Hewitt's excellent book, using official records from the National Archives personal accounts from the Imperial War Museum and other sources, Coastal Convoys 1939 - 1945: The Indestructible Highway describes Britain's dependence on coastal shipping and the introduction of the convoy system in coastal waters at the outset of the war. It beings to life the hazards of the German mining offensive of 1939, the desperate battles fought in coastal waters during 1940 and 1941, and the long struggle against German air and naval forces which lasted to the end of the Second World War.

[David Robins]

[QUOTE=Patricia Meiring;391105]I would be grateful if members can assist me with the following question :

During WWII my father served as an engineer in the merchant navy. Many of his voyages in the Atlantic and Mediterranean were escorted but the following trips were sailed in convoy but not escorted. I believe that generally ships did not stop to assist another in the convoy if a ship was attacked as it put the whole convoy in danger. Was this the case with coastal convoys where there was no rescue ships?

I could be wrong, I was once, but were rescue ships not RN but merchant ships ?

My uncles very first convoy as a fireman was on SS HONTESTROOM. He was rescued from the sinking ship in Iceland. I can't imagine what that was like. 1st trip, working below the water line and sunk.

SS HONTESTROOM was the first British Rescue Ship (research suggests it was a different ship called "Beachy") Her job was to travel with a convoy's naval escorts into the part of the Atlantic known as the Western Approaches, and to pick up survivors from any ships that were sunk in that area. She was a "coaster", designed to sail the more sheltered waters between London and Amsterdam, and once she ventured out into the rougher North Atlantic, she was found to be unseaworthy.
During research I found this quote from a crewmember. "Charlie's main memories from his time aboard her involved putting to sea in pouring rain, being continually wet, and ducking and diving under the waves to such a degree that, in Charlie's own words: "She spent more time under the water than she did on top!" "And," Charlie continued, "I bet not many blokes have sailed on a coal burning submarine!"
My uncle continued serving as a fireman on numerous convoys from the Artic, Atlantic, Med,etc. until the end of 1947 when he "jumped ship" in Australia.