North Atlantic 1943: Raymond Edwards MN

[Doc Vernon]

My mate and I had just ended our 8 days leave after a trip of 4 months to South Africa and New York in which we lost 13 ships. As we went into the Prince Street Shipping Office, Captain Hillier said "just the two men I need for the Gloucester City, a Fireman and a Trimmer". So we joined the Gloucester City on 11th March 1943. After a few days of cleaning boiler tubes, etc., we set sail up through the Irish Sea and met up with a convoy of about 35 ships.

The weather was fairly good but after a few days it became rougher. We had a full cargo of coal but our bunkers were empty and we were scratching for coal on a top shelf and, being ankle deep in water out on the plate, we were having trouble keeping steam pressure. We were only doing 4 knots so the convoy left us on our own and we plodded on regardless. After about 6 days we went thought the wreckage of the convoy 48 hours ahead of us. They had lost over twenty ships. There was even the bow of a ship sticking out of the water and hatch covers, etc. We continued on and after about 33 days we got to Nova Scotia. Most of the time there were blizzards and while they were unloading the cargo of coal the dust covered the entire place.

The homeward bound journey was uneventful with wind behind us and plenty of coal in the bunkers. We sailed into Avonmouth on the Friday and off-loaded some cargo. On the Sunday we sailed up the River Avon and paid off on Monday 16th May 1943 in the Centre of Bristol

Notes:
1.0 The terrible toll of merchant ships mentioned above most likely occurred between the 16th and 20th of March 1943 in the largest convoy battle of the war - around convoys HX229 and SC122. Over 40 U-boats are deployed against the two as they slowly coalesce in the mid-Atlantic air gap until there are 100 ships plus their escorts. Twenty U-boats take part in the attacks and sink 21 merchantmen before additional air and surface escorts finally drive them off. A RAF Sunderland accounts for the one U-boat destroyed. Again the German B-Service is responsible for providing Doenitz' packs with accurate convoy details and routeing.

2.0 The Gloucester City, commanded by Captain Smith OBE was instrumental in saving 92 survivors from the action in which the tanker San Demetrio was damaged in November 1940.

With thanks to the BBC

[WG Smith]

Convoy would have been ONS.1. See Arnold Hague convoy database - ONS convoys

[Colin Duncan]

Thanks for this repost Doc. Interested to read this. I have just finished reading 'The Real Cruel Sea: The Merchant Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1943' by Richard Woodman. It looks at the Battle of the Atlantic from a predominately Merchant Navy perspective. Woodman mentions the Gloucester City a couple of times. She appears to have been involved in a rescue earlier in the war when she altered course to steam through the location of distress calls due to u-boot sinkings. There is also a reference to her falling behind in a convoy (but I cannot be sure if it was this particular event referred to in the post) where the Convoy Commander was critical of an engine room crew member - Woodman writes: "there was a false allegation against a fireman in the Gloucester City accused of ‘deliberately disobeying orders’ and causing his ship to drop astern...". Interesting to read in this account the problems they were having with coal and maintaining steam pressure. Woodman also makes a point the the quality of the coal could be variable, and it would appear from this account also the quantity!
Regards


If the convoy survivors they came across were indeed HX229 and SC122, as seems most probable, this was the turning point in the war. From the end of March 1943 the balance of power switched dramatically in favour of the allies.

[nick sivertsen]

Hi Doc,sorry I think my reply was posted to soon,however—luckily all his crew members were picked up(25 Norwegians and 11 British) by the Melrose Abbey a recovery ship. Unfortunately 3 of the crew off the Antigone lost their lives.U-402 continued to sink ships up until later during the year when after his tally of 14 ships sunk he was caught on the surface and was sunk with all lives lost by an aircraft From the USS CARD. Justice done.As you said that during that period of time in 1943 40 uboats were sunk which made the German high command withdraw its policy got the North Atlantic.My father continued his career in the Norwegian MN until the late sixties before retiring and unfortunately passed away in 2002.
Interesting in reading you dit.
Stay safe
Aye Olav Sivertsen.

[Catherine Patricia Davis]

My Dad was on the MV Modavia and was torpedoed in Lyme Bay in February 1943. Prior to that voyage he was on the Clan MacDonald from March 1942 through December 1942. During that time he contracted smallpox between Sri Lanka and Freemantle Australia. I have the entire file from the National Archives of Australia outlining all on board and the survival of my dad. Robert P McLean. Dennis Barrington 17 year old radio operator was removed from the Clan MacDonald in Freemantle and also survived. If anyone would like more information please feel free to reach out. Also, an unrelated question. I have a friend looking for their fathers navy records. Would K37599 be his registration number? She only has one document and it shows that number. Thank you,

[Keith at Tregenna]

Thanks Catherine, very interesting article.

Could you add more information on your friends father,
full name, date of birth - death etc.

Regards, Keith.

[nick sivertsen]

Hi Doc made a complete balls up in my previous reply.You only got the tale end of my reply to convoys 1943 So I’ll start again.My father Harold Sivertsen was 2nd officer on the Norwegian merchant ship GRADO doing a convoy run SC129 only a few weeks after your experience and left Sydney N S for Ipswich with a cargo of steel and timber.On the11th of May 1943U-boat 402 captained by Von Forstner torpedoed the GRADO and the ship ahead the ANTIGONE fortunately all the crew on the Grado(21 Norwegians and 11 British) were picked up by the Melrose Abbey a rescue vessel.Sadly 3 members of ANTIGONE lost their live including the captain.U-Boat 402 continued to sink merchant ships into the later part of the year when eventually it was caught on the surface and was sunk with all lives lost by an aircraft from the USS CARD. How sad.Forstner sank 14 ships during that year and Germany having lost 40 odd submarines during that period as you rightly said changed the event of the war.German high command decided to withdraw their boats and the rest is history.
Enjoyed reading your dit and I do apologise for the original reply to have the beginning missing.My father continued in the Norwegian MN captained many ships until the late sixties and unfortunately passed away in 2202.
When all these events were taking place I was just 4 weeks old.
Thanks once again and stay safe
Olav Sivetrsen

[Doc Vernon]

K37599

Could well be his Service Number but will have to have a name at least to check on that!
Cheers

[Ian Malcolm]

Extracted from my book, SHIPPING COMPANY LOSSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

CANADIAN STAR (Captain R.D. Miller). Bound for Liverpool from Australia, sailed in Convoy HX.229 which left New York on 8 March, 1943. Torpedoed twice by U.221 (Kptlt. Hans-Hartwig Trojer) at about 2.40pm on the 18^th, and sank about half-an-hour later in approximate position 53º35´N 28º05´W. The after fall of No.3 boat ran free, so that, hanging almost vertically, 3 passengers were tipped into the sea and lost. And, when it hit the rough sea, its remaining 12 occupants were also lost. Many people entered the waterlogged boat when it was righted, but most were washed out of it and only 5 or 6 of its occupants survived. No.1 boat was the only other boat which got away, and Mr Hunt, the 1^st Mate, in charge, picked up as many people from the rafts and in the water as he could. The survivors in both lifeboats were picked up some two hours later by the corvettes HMS Anemone (LtCdr. P.G.A. King) and Pennywort (Lt. O.G. Stuart) which caught up with the Convoy and subsequently landed them at Gourock. Of the 69 crew and 22 passengers on the Canadian Star, 32, including Captain Miller, died.

Forty-three u-boats were involved in the simultaneous attacks on Convoys HX.229 and SC.122, also bound for the UK and travelling on the same course some hours ahead. A total of 9 ships were sunk in SC.122 and 13 in HX.229. The u-boats were eventually driven off on the night of the 19^th by RAF Liberators, one of which sank U.384.

Other ships sunk in Convoy HX.229

Zaanland (Dutch with lascar crew and British gunners.) (Captain Gerardus Franken). Sunk by U.758 (Kplt. Helmut Manseck). All 53 picked up by the escorts.
Elin K (Nor.) (Captain Robert Johannessen). Sunk by U.603 (Oblt. Hans-Joachim Bertelsmann). All 40 picked up by HMS Pennywort.
Coracero. See under DONALDSON LINE.
Harry Luckenbach (US) (Captain Ralph McKinnon). Sunk by U.91 (Kptlt. Heinz Walkerling). Abandoned in 3 lifeboats, but not picked up when seen by escorts and could not later been found by HMS Anemone. All 80 died.
Irénée Du Pont (US) (Captain Christian Simonson). Damaged by U.600 (KrvKpt. Bernhard Zurmühlen) and straggled. Sunk by U.91 (Kptlt. Heinz Walkerling). Survivors picked up by the Tekoa and HMS Mansfield. Fourteen died and 70 survived.
Nariva (Captain B.C Dodds). Torpedoed by U.600. Straggled and sunk by U.91. All 94 picked up by the corvette HMS Anemone (LtCdr. P.G.A. King).
James Oglethorpe (US) (Captain Albert W. Long). Liberty Ship on maiden voyage. Torpedoed by U.758 (Kptlt. Helmut Manseck). Forty-four abandoned ship without orders. All fourteen in one boat were thrown into the water and drowned when the boat tipped in the falls, but 30 in the other boat were rescued by HMS Pennywort. Captain Long, and the 29 men who remained on board, tried to sail the ship to St. John’s, but she was never heard of again. Forty-four died and 30 survived.
Southern Princess. See see under CHRISTIAN SALVESEN.
Terkoelei (Du.) Sunk by U.631 (Oblt. Jürgen Krüger). Thirty-six died and 61 picked up by HMS Mansfield.
William Eustis (US) (Captain Cecil Desmond). Torpedoed by U.435 (Kptlt. Siegfried Strelow) and abandoned. All 72 picked up by the destroyer HMS Volunteer which scuttled the ship.
Walter Q Gresham (US) (Captain B.W. Miller). Liberty Ship on maiden voyage. Sunk by U.221. Twenty-seven died and 42 picked up by HMS Pennywort and HMS Anemone.
Matthew Luckenbach (US) (Captain A.N. Borden). Left the Convoy the previous day because the master thought they’d be safer on their own. Found themselves in the area of Convoy SC.122. Severely damaged by U.527 (Kptlt. Herbert Uhlig) and abandoned. Sunk later in the day by U.523 (Kptlt. Werner Pietzsch). All 68 picked up by USCG Ingham (Cdr.George E. McCabe) and landed at Londonderry.
U.631. Depth charged by the corvette HMS Sunflower (A/Lt.Cdr. J. Plomer) and all 54 died.

[James Domleo]

In 1959,I completed 8 months on the Woldingham Hill as 3rd mate which was an 'empire boat' wartime built ship in Canada. The bridge clock was divided into 20minute segments which I was told was nicknamed the 'zig zag' clock for use on convoys so that the convoy could alter course at the same time.The master told me that he had survived the war partly due to this type of clock.