Event to mark 75th anniversary of the Arctic convoys postponed

An event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Arctic convoys
due to be held at Loch Ewe this weekend has had to be postponed because of the
Covid-19 pandemic.

There were 78 convoys, starting in August 1941, after
Germany invaded the Soviet Union and more than 3,000 Allied seamen lost their
lives to the freezing conditions and attacks by U-boats or aircraft.

The ships assembled in the easily defended Loch Ewe in Wester Ross and travelled by sea via Iceland to the Russian ports of Archangel and Murmansk.

They transported four million tons of supplies and munitions
in what wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill described as the “worst
journey in the world”.

Eight years ago after a long-running campaign by survivors a
decision was taken to award the Arctic Star medal for operational service of
any length north of the Arctic Circle (66 degrees, 32’N) from September 3 1939
to May 8 1945, inclusive.

One recipient was Hibernian legend Eddie Turnbull who was posthumously
awarded the military campaign medal in recognition of his part in the four-year
struggle.

Eddie joined the Royal Navy as a teenager and was assigned to the destroyer HMS Bulldog as a torpedo loader.

The ship, which had previously played a vital role in
capturing U110 and its Enigma Code machine was deployed to the Arctic convoys.

At the time Norway was filled with occupying German Forces
and the convoys were attacked on a regular basis by Luftwaffe dive bombers and
U Boats. The crew also had to deal with mountainous seas and freezing
conditions.

On several occasions HMS Bulldog came under attack and the
sailors were aware that one direct hit would result in certain death. During
that time Eddie lost several close shipmates and many of his former colleagues
who had transferred to other ships were killed in action.

After leaving HMS Bulldog, Eddie was transferred to HMS
Alnwick Castle where he served as an Able Seaman responsible for deploying
depth charges then HMS Plover where he carried out dangerous work clearing
mines until being demobbed in 1946.

He later recalled: “Plenty of records and statistics show
how dangerous the convoys were and we sailors were only too aware of the
casualty rates, but it is virtually impossible to adequately portray the
hardship we went through as we escorted ships carrying vital supplies for the
Russian war effort.

“Every journey was fraught with danger and you lived with
the constant knowledge that underneath you could be men in submarines trying to
kill you and that every sight of an aeroplane might be your last.

“We were really under the cosh round the clock. Every single
person on the ship had to be alert to the dangers that were all around us. Each
individual member of the crew had his part to play when the ship went into
action or came under fire , and you knew that not only might your life depend
on the man next to you, his might equally depend on you.

“One of the many things I took from the Navy into my later
life: the knowledge that you can’t do things for yourself all the time and that
teamwork is essential for success. I also learned that practice makes perfect.

“We could never see the point of endless drills the captain
put us through – until the day we had to do the things for real and everything
went like clockwork. When action stations sounded, you knew exactly what your
specific task was.

“I emerged from active service a stronger, better person as
I knew nothing I would face in later life could ever be worse than the dangers
I had experienced on the Arctic convoys. We lived under the constant pressure
of knowing that we might not survive another hour or day but it all made me
tougher.”