Seventy years ago this month my dad arrived in the the Russian port city of Murmansk to a rapturous welcome. The welcome wasn't just for him of course as he was with the other members of the crew of HMS Whimbrel which had arrived in port as part of the escort of the convoy JW58. He never said too much about the actual voyage only remarking it had been "bloody cold" so that the young crew were happy to accept whatever kind of warm welcome the young women of the town were prepared to offer. Dad being 44 and the oldest member of the crew opined that he would look for some quieter relaxation for the two days that they were in port before turning round and going back, to Loch Ewe in Scotland.
Dad had been a member of the crew of HMS Whimbrel since it left the shipyard at Yarrow in January 1943. Whimbrel was a sloop of the Black Swan class designed as fast escort vessels.
Convoy JW 58 was one of a series of convoys of merchant ships sailing from British ports to Russia carrying supplies to help in resisting the advance of the German armies into the Soviet Union . The convoy had left Loch Ewe on 27th March 1944 and consisted of 47 merchant ships with an escort of three destroyers and three corvettes plus the US cruiser Milwaukee. Further ships and escorts joined from Iceland and then the Second Escort group which included HMS Whimbrel.
Two days out the convoy was encountered by a lone U boat U.91 which was depth charged and sunk by HMS Starling and HMS Magpie, both sloops of the Second Escort Group. This group is said to be the most successful anti-submarine unit of the war, being credited with the destruction of 23 U-boats during two years of active service.
On 31 March JW 58 met a patrol line of enemy U boats. Over a 48 hour period the submarines mounted eighteen attacks on the convoy. None of the ships were hit, but
three U-boats were destroyed.
On 2 April during another submarine attack HMS Keppel destroyed U-360 and later U-288 was destroyed in a machine gun attack from HMS Avenger.
On the following day the convoy wa joined by a local escort and arrived safely off Kola inlet on 4th April, with all the merchant and escort ships intact.
This was to be the last Arctic convoy for many months.
The return voyage to Lock Ewe with convoy RA58 was uneventful and the crew were given leave as the ship required "weather repairs". The cold obviously affected the vessel as well as the crew.
Eventually all the sailors, Merchant as well as Royal Navy were awarded the Arctic Star, but by the time this happened, most of them including Ernie McKie, were dead.
On 2 April during another submarine attack HMS Keppel destroyed U-360 and later U-288 was destroyed in a machine gun attack from HMS Avenger.
On the following day the convoy wa joined by a local escort and arrived safely off Kola inlet on 4th April, with all the merchant and escort ships intact.
This was to be the last Arctic convoy for many months.
The return voyage to Lock Ewe with convoy RA58 was uneventful and the crew were given leave as the ship required "weather repairs". The cold obviously affected the vessel as well as the crew.
Eventually all the sailors, Merchant as well as Royal Navy were awarded the Arctic Star, but by the time this happened, most of them including Ernie McKie, were dead.
