PQ17 An Artic Convoy Disaster.Thursday 2nd Jan BBC2

[Frederick Lacey]

Post replaced by #2

[Frederick Lacey]

Arctic Rant.....Jeremy Clarkson is angry and tearful after his sub-zero World War 2 exploration,
I think he speaks for the rest of us.

Jeremy Clarkson is not a happy man. He's just watched the edited version of his new documentary - for which he spent
a week in the freezing Arctic - about a bungled World War 2 mission in which 153 Allied officers died....
he says... "I've just heard a report that people who work for Amazon complained that they have to walk 11 miles a day around
their warehouse within a certain time. I'm sorry but are you f****ng mad?!" rants Jeremy, 53. "Come on, I won't listen to that
If you think you have a tough life working for Amazon, watch my programme and then shut up."
The Top Gear host swapped supercars for sub-zero temperatures to explore the tragedy of a failed 1942 mission, Convoy PQ17.
The Anglo-American convoy of 35 merchant ships was travelling from Iceland to Russia transporting vital supplies and was
by the British Admiralty in London to scatter, leaving the ships open to attack from German forces. It was the 20th century's
biggest naval disaster - 24 of the ships were destroyed.
"Because of a decision made by an idiot in Whitehall, these men were left entirely at the mercy of the Germans," he sighs, "They
were inevitably going to be killed. One particular story stands out is that that of Lt Leo Gradwell, who was in charge of three
American cargo ships carrying tanks, planes and guns, and all he had to navigate was a pocket size atlas.

Arctic convoy. PQ17. BBC 2 Thursday 9pm.


Fred.

[Ron B Manderson]

Yes. We had it soft
The convoy sailed from west coast of Scotland. They are making a museum now at the starting point.
Our late member , (and a good friend of some of the members) sailed on that convoy and never spoke of it.Sadly Bob Fairly died never to get his medal, that the nutters in Whitehall refused to give these men. I still have a copy of the Russian program made of PQ17.
Bob never ever blamed anyone for this mess.
When I travel to Owen sound in 2014 I hope to pay my respects to Bob at the graveside. I will meet his family, whom I spoke to many times on Skype. If interested in Bob you can call up the web page at Tannahill Funeral Home in Owen sound Canada.
Ron the batcave

[E.Martin]

Idiots in Whitehall namely Admiral Dudley Pound against the advice from his advisers,noway should a decision like that
fall on the shoulders of one man who I might add was not in the best of health.
Royal Navy lads were not very happy having to abandon the merchantmen but were under orders.
I was too young to have been involved but to my way of thinking the Royal Navy should have stayed with the convoy and any attack by any German capital ship the navy should have been allowed to have a go.
It beggers belief that we lost 24 ships.