They Couldn't Have Done It Without Us:

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They Couldn't Have Done It Without Us:

The British merchant seamen faced up to the difficulties and horrors of war with courage and composure.

"Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten".

Many have perished in and out of wartime: We are generally aware of much and attempt to remember them, as far as we can. With the “Festive Season” approaching, can we remember those that were lost both in the months of December and near or on Christmas? It would seem that if looking into the names on our local Merchant Navy monument many from Barry and the Vale as elsewhere crossed the bar during Decembers throughout the war years. In what should have been the festive periods, loss of life seldom paused in such conflicts.

Every name on all monuments represent a person, little of the life of all is known, what is known is that they not only died, but they died for us. Thoughts at present are with those lost. As we celebrate depending on faith or belief or just venture into another year. 2013 is to be the Year of the Convoy and needs to be recorded in tribute.

Although no attempt is made to defer from the many lost from all combined services, it is important that our forgotten service the British Merchant Navy is spared some thought. Barry and the Vale at war supported all services and service people and all that assisted in the war effort and suffered losses of our families and friends, but built on black gold she was a Merchant Navy town.

Many or most gifts that will enhance this and every years merriment will generally have been imported, as an island most goods come by sea. Little thought is given to the dangers faced by seamen today, they deliver the game boys and goods, the food and much more, many think it just comes from the supermarket? Although todays seamen still have a tough life, they no longer fear the U Boats.

So as “Year of the Convoy” approaches it is hoped to look further, behind the lists and names of those recorded and find more on the lives or even deaths of those that were lost to save us all. We owe them at least enough to remember them as best that we can. More is known of a few, all is intended to remember the many.

It is intended to follow up similar month by month throughout 2013 during the year of the convoy and any assistance from friends, relatives and loved ones would be welcomed.

Many sail what can be a “Cruel Sea”, not always in times of conflict, we ask that our God will “Bless this Ship and all who Sail In Her” at a launch and many pray for a safe voyage and early return for vessels leaving harbour. All ships and crew from liners to fishing vessels, rowing boat to super tanker, require safe passage, a flag to fly under and protection from danger. Safe harbour to rest in and when tragedy occurs a lifeboat to help them. We pray for the safety, support those that may rescue and ask our god to guide and protect. But we must also remember, LEST WE FORGET.

In Memory of: All those Good Men and the women and children, still not Home From the Sea and those of all lost from this world with “No Known Grave but the Sea” the many just not remembered or just forgot and un-commemorated in an unattended grave. The many requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve a nation. “We shall Remember Them”.

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3rd September1939:

Great Britain and France declare war on Germany in accordance with their pre-war pledges to Poland. Australia and New Zealand follow. Irish Free State, however, a British dominion, declares its neutrality.

German submarines (previously deployed to operating areas in late August) begin attacks upon British shipping: during these early operations. The Steamship ATHENIA, a British passenger liner, 13,581 tons, belonging to the Anchor-Donaldson Line, was sunk by German submarine U-30 south of Rockall Bank on the 3rd of September 1938. 1,300 survived, 112 lives lost. No warning was given in spite of the fact that it was only a few hours after the outbreak of war, and contrary to Admiral Doenitz' orders.

At the highest German level it was considered a blunder and they stuck throughout the war with the lie that it was nothing to do with them. She was not sunk immediately with torpedoes, but rather she was at first shelled, and most of the lifeboats were lowered. Whilst causing considerable outrage in Britain, the fact that the Germans had not observed the rules of engagement as they then existed, should not have come as a surprise, since they had, as a population and as individuals, been planning and preparing for war for many years. Their tactic of unrestrained aggression had already been seen to bear fruit elsewhere, and they were rejoicing in the benefits, so the immediate opportunity to attack British interests, after years of resentment and hatred was too difficult to resist.

The British were almost entirely unprepared and had barely begun to grasp just how desperately serious matters were and the 'outrage' should be seen in this context. It was born out of complacency. Later in the war in the Battle of the Atlantic Captain Lemp surrendered his submarine to HMS BROADWAY and HMS BULLDOG. It yielded information of vital importance to Britain resulting in German codes being broken.

Despite having been given strict orders that all merchant vessels are to be treated in accordance with naval prize law (giving a warning before attacking) Lemp's torpedoing ATHENIA in the belief that she is an armed merchant cruiser gives the British the erroneous impression that Germany has commenced unrestricted submarine warfare.

And so it began:

THE YEAR OF THE CONVOY 2013:

The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome.

'Worst journey': Between 1941 and 1945, the Arctic convoys transported more than 4 million tonnes of supplies to the Soviet Union. More than 100 ships were lost with 3,000 sailors losing their lives. Winston Churchill said the arctic convoy mission was "the most dangerous journey in the world"

Named the ‘Fourth Service’ by Winston Churchill, the Merchant Navy has, throughout the nation’s history, ensured that supply lines to our Armed Forces have never been broken.

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A VIRTUAL NEW YEAR LOSS:

The mystery ship HMS Fidelity

“Her Name Was Fidelity” (HMS)

Built in 1920, Le Rhin was an armed merchantman working for the French Colonial Intelligence Service, She was taken over by the British in June 1940. It was only after her hand over to the Royal Navy that she was armed and used as a Q-Ship'. (Disguised Merchant Ship).

The 2,455-ton, HMS Fidelity (Formerly the French merchant ship Le Rhin) was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted into a Special Service Vessel (a heavily armed merchant ship), as an SSV and also renamed Fidelity she is believed to have operated some secret missions, Fidelity was armed with 4-inch guns, torpedoes, and depth charges, carrying also two seaplanes, a motor torpedo boat and two small landing craft– believed by some of the crew to be totally unseaworthy, she was able to carry out operations of an extremely hazardous nature such as the landing of secret agents on enemy territory.

Due to the secrecy surrounding such a ship, the 334-man crew had to be made up of volunteers, with the non-British members of the crew sailing under assumed names and with the French and other foreign members of the crew members taking specially anglicized names. Its captain, Claude Peri, had once been a French spy, had assumed the name Jacques Langlais, and (to the amazement of the crew) brought aboard with him a mistress, WRNS Officer Madeleine Barclay.

After special secret operations in the Mediterranean, the former French merchant, now Fidelity was assigned to the Far East Fleet and sailed from Portsmouth to Colombo via the Cape, part of the way with convoy ONS-154. In an area of the Atlantic known as the Black Pit, an area beyond the protection of aircraft, the convoy, escorted by five Canadian corvettes, was attacked by U-boat wolf packs and over the next five days fourteen of the forty-five ships were sunk with 510 lives lost.

The Fidelity, lagging behind with engine failure, was torpedoed by the U-435 (Kpt. S. Strelow) on the night of December 30/31, 1942. She went to the bottom with almost all her complement of 280 crew, fifty-one Royal Marine Commandos and the WRNS officer plus four civilians. About fifty survivors rescued earlier from the SS Empire Shackelton were also on board. Two LCVs (Landing Craft Vehicles) Nos. 752 and 754, being carried by the Fidelity were also sunk. There were only ten men who survived the sinking of the Fidelity. HMS Fidelity was hit by a torpedo fired by U-435. She was sunk with all her 327 crew and other previous survivors.

Known as the second most secret ship of the war. The ship was based at Barry, South Wales.

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Remembering all especially at festive time.

“Her Name Was Fidelity (SS / HMS?)”

“WE REMEMBER THEM”

Ships of The British Merchant Navy
Captains and Crew and loved ones.
Including the lesser well known,
yet may they not be forgotten.

Her name was SS. She was a lady of the waves, named Daybreak, Tregenna, DudleyRose, “Fidelity” etc, whatever her title she was not designed intentionally to face enemy action.

She was generally a Steamship born or rather built to serve her masters, carry safely her crew, passengers and cargo and supply a Nation. Those who sailed upon her, leaving families and loved ones ashore, at home, behind them and often during conflict alone and forever. Many that promised to remember them, are here no more, re-united possibly as time has gone by. The ships, travelers and crews, sail on in a different world now and loved ones hopefully passage eternally with those brave men and voyagers once more.

It was a hard way to earn a crust, especially during Wartime, with so many vessels seeking safe haven. With often her journeys end not reached and a final resting place, the Ocean bed and no known grave but the sea, for the men, women and boys or children that sailed these graceful steel ladies. “We must remember them all”. The many that survived attacks by those that would do them harm, haunted forever by the sights and sounds of ships and fellow men of the sea becoming extinct in such a horrible way and those that escaped the hunters time and time again, with no thought of giving in will always remember “These men that died to save us all”.

We, as an island race, are steeped in Maritime history and owe so much to so many, the Merchant Navy have until recently seemed to be the forgotten service, the backbone of our country’s Navy, yet a distant relative when the honours are
bestowed. These good men worked for a living, for bread and butter and maybe a love of the sea, others just to work, as times were hard.

Whatever reason seamen sail, they expect at some time to go home. Faced with the hardships of life at sea, many would be deterred from such a life. To sail knowing that any voyage could be the last, facing war time dangers and a watery grave, did not deter these brave men and our Maritime life line was kept open by these sailors from many homes and ports.

Many sail what can be a “Cruel Sea”, not always in times of conflict, we ask that our God will “Bless this Ship and all who Sail In Her” at a launch and many pray for a safe voyage and early return for vessels leaving harbour. All ships and crew from liners to fishing vessels, rowing boat to super tanker, require safe passage, a flag to fly under and protection from danger. Safe harbour to rest in and when tragedy occurs a lifeboat to help them. We pray for the safety, support those that may rescue and ask our god to guide and protect. But we must also remember, LEST WE FORGET.

In Memory of: All those Good Men and the women and children, still not Home From the Sea and those of all lost from this world with “No Known Grave but the Sea” the many just not remembered or just forgot and un-commemorated in anunattended grave. The many requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve a nation.

We shall Remember Them.

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S.S. Stanholme:

BAUM, Second Officer, DAVID, S.S. Stanholme (London). Merchant Navy. 25th December 1939. Age 68. Son of Henry and Ellen Baum, of Nevin, Carnarvonshire; husband of Louisa Jane Baum, of Gabalfa, Cardiff.

'U-BOAT SINKS STEAMER.

]NO WARNING.

Christmas Day Tragedy.

A U-boat sank the British steamer Stanholme (2,473 tons), without warn- ing, on the morning of Christmas Day, three hours after the vessel had left a port on the west coast of England.
Fourteen persons are missing. Pre- sumably they have been drowned.

A deck hand saw the U-boat, but too late to raise an effective alarm.

After two terrific explosions, the ship began to sink.