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INFORMATION ABOVE COURTESY SHIPSPOTTING.COM
Honour at last for ‘journey to hell’
awarded to local ex merchantman, now aged 92 years
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ESTHER ASHBY-COVENTRY
MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/ Fairfax NZ
PROUD: Former Merchant Navy bosun Jim Lester wears his medals with pride.
MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/ Fairfax NZ
RECOGNITION: Jim Lester’s Arctic star medal which he received two weeks ago for his time on the “most dangerous run of the war”.
SUPPLIED
FRESH FACED: A young Jim Lester in the Merchant Navy.
| The Arctic Star |
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| A retrospective campaign medal awarded this year for any length of service above the Arctic Circle by members of the British Armed Forces and Merchant Navy. It had not been awarded widely earlier because the medals were for people who had served at sea for six months or more which disqualified many, as the arctic runs usually took between 18 and 21 days. |
Jim Lester was 14 when he joined the British Merchant Navy during the Depression in 1935.
But it was the particularly terrifying missions to Russia called “the most dangerous run of the war” for which he was finally awarded an Arctic Star medal, two weeks ago.
When World War II broke out in 1939 the Lancashire deck boy was on a tramp steamer named, Rossington Court, in the Mediterranean.
“We had no idea what was going on, so we carried on to America.”
He said as war progressed the ships formed convoys, eye distance apart with about 20 or 30 in a group, zig zagging every 10 minutes or up to an hour to try to confuse the enemy submarines.
During the vital supply trips to assist Russia after its invasion by Germany, ships and tankers around him were sunk. Mr Lester was “one of the lucky ones” to survive.
“When the tankers were hit there was nothing left but a ball of flames. A rescue ship at the back of the convoy picked up survivors in the water.”
He lost count of how many friends he lost on torpedoed vessels. They were picked off by air, sea and U-boats. “That’s war,” he said.
Earning 27 shillings a month for 84-hour weeks was hard going and there was no break other than a few hours shore leave while in port.
“As long as we were fed that’s all that mattered.”
After each trip the men left were allocated to another ship for the next run. In 1942, just after being promoted to bosun, Mr Lester went to Russia on a ship carrying arms, tanks and aeroplanes. They were one of 35 merchant ships with an escort of 21 Royal Navy vessels heading for Archangel in the Arctic Circle during winter. Fear of German attack led to the Admiralty ordering the ships to scatter and make their own way to Russia. Twenty-four of the ships with crews of about 30 on each of the 10,000 tonne ships were sunk by U-boats and bombers.
Mr Lester’s ship was safe but in the White Sea on the northwest coast of Russia they were ice bound for several months in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius. The crew had to chip the ice to clear the deck of the steel encased ship.
“We couldn’t wash as there was no running water.”
It was a coal burning ship but the only melted water they had was for cups of tea. There was no daylight and meals soon got down to porridge and winter beans.
“Russia had no food either. It was very harsh.”
Mr Lester, along with most of the crew, coped with the hardship though a few suffered from acute anxiety.
“We were brought up to work hard in those days. We knew nothing else.”
According to the Russian Convoy Club of New Zealand more than 95,000 men made the dangerous 3219 kilometre run from Scotland via Iceland to Russia between 1941 and 1945, and more than 3000 died. Of the 790 ships which sailed in 40 convoys, 22 warships and 104 merchant vessels were sunk.
It became known as the “journey to hell” but the men on the hazardous supply missions were not recognised with a medal from the British Government until this year.
It is estimated only 200 of the surviving men are still alive to receive it with most in their 90s.
The day the war ended Mr Lester was on a tanker carrying food from the United States to Britain. It was redirected to Holland.
After returning home to England he could not settle but continued working in the navy until emigrating to New Zealand in 1949. He was one of 300 ex-servicemen and 300 ex-servicewomen to be offered resettlement in New Zealand, Australia or the US after the war.
“I landed in Wellington and it was marvellous.”
He married Patricia Robertson from Wanaka a year later and they had two children. He worked as a rigger on a hydro scheme and then joined the police.
“I was a country cop and worked in Timaru, Temuka, Otematata, Tekapo and Russell in the Bay of Islands.”
After 30 years in the force Mr Lester retired at the age of 60 and moved to Geraldine.
He said it reminds him of an English village though he has never been homesick.
“I took a prisoner there (England) once and had three months leave but couldn’t leave quick enough. They can keep the place and the weather.”
At the age of 91 Mr Lester has remarkable recall of the events of the past and still has the grit that got him through the difficult times. He was delighted to receive his retrospective award, the Arctic Star medal, after such a long time but he said the highlight of his working life was actually being a policeman.
“That’s the best thing I ever did.”
COURTESY OF FAIRFAX MEDIA. This article was published in The Timaru Herald this week.
Arctic heroes honoured at last in ceremony by the sea: Veterans gather to collect medals and lay wreaths at memorial
- Heroes finally honoured seven decades after risking lives
- Convoy travelled on what Churchill called the ‘worst journey in the world’
Thursday, May 16 2013 THE DAILY MAIL
Poignant: Arctic convoy veterans gathered at Loch Ewe for a memorial service where they laid wreaths
The proud former sailors were handed the Arctic Star after some 70 years of frustration.
The presentation was a victory for a campaign by the Daily Mail to get official recognition for the seaman who served their country in horrendous conditions.
They gathered at sun-drenched Loch Ewe for a service to remember their fallen colleagues, 3,000 of whom perished in the freezing waters between 1941 and 1945.
Thousands more have died before they could be officially honoured for their part in the convoys. Today, only a few hundred veterans are alive.
Only last Sunday Jock Dempster, a veteran who fought for decades to for an Arctic medal, died aged 85. He received his at a ceremony at Downing Street in March but passed away days before he could wear it in public for the first time
In a moving ceremony at Poolewe, a personal message of thanks from the Queen was read out to the seaman who were just teenagers when they embarked on their missions.
Poppy wreaths were laid at a memorial as RAF jets performed a flypast in long-awaited acknowledgment of their courage.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2322187/Arctic-convoy-heroes-honoured-ceremony-sea-Veterans-gather-collect-medals-lay-wreaths-memorial.html#ixzz2TRMxvOgG
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May 09, 2013
CMF Warship Makes Second Drugs Bust in Six Weeks
BY MAREX
Photo: HMCS Toronto watches over the suspect dhow as her boarding team makes its approach
A warship attached to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) has made its second major drugs bust in six weeks, seizing over 300kgs of heroin.
The Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto intercepted a suspect dhow 118 miles of the coast of Tanzania, having tracked her for several days before finally swooping in to make the boarding.
Once on board, Toronto’s crew discovered the drugs hidden underneath a fake rail in the dhow’s stern. After an extensive search, a total of 317kgs of processed heroin was recovered, along with a small amount of hashish. All the seized drugs have been destroyed.
The success marks Toronto’s second major haul since her deployment to the Middle East began earlier this year, coming hot on the heels of a seizure of 500kgs of heroin from a similar vessel on 29 March.
Toronto’s Commanding Officer, Commander Jeff Hamilton, said: “The success of this operation marks another significant maritime interception of narcotics in the Combined Maritime Forces area of operations.
“Our operations are making a difference to help keep drugs off the streets and out of the hands of criminals.”
Operating under the direction of the French-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, Toronto has been patrolling the waters of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea promoting maritime security and stability in the region.
 Captain Jean-Michel Martinet, Commander of CTF 150, said: “This important seizure of drugs, represents another step toward ensuring a secure maritime environment for legitimate mariners in the region and Toronto can be very proud of her achievement.
“It has been a very productive couple of months for CTF 150. We have shown, and Toronto has shown, thanks to their professionalism and pugnacity, that millions of square miles of ocean are not the property and playground of the smugglers and terrorists.”
CTF150 forms part of the multinational CMF, which draws together assets and expertise from 28 nationsto coordinate maritime security operations across the Middle East.
The CMF mission is to promote security, stability and prosperity across the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The area encompasses approximately 2.5million square miles of international waters, including some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
THIS ARTICLE COURTESY OF ‘THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE’.
Australia: Two Passengers from MS Carnival Spirit Reported Missing, Navy Joins the Search
Posted on May 10th, 2013
Two persons, passengers of Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Spirit, were reported missing Thursday morning after the cruise ship docked at Sydney’s Circular Quay, New South Wales state Police confirmed.
Based on the shots of a surveilance video aboard the ship the two passengers, a 26-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, whose names have not been disclosed, are believed to have fallen overboard the previous night.
The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Choules and her MRH90 helicopter have been involved in the air and sea search for the two people believed lost off the New South Wales mid-north coast.
HMAS Choules joined the search on Thursday afternoon as she was returning from North Queensland where she was conducting amphibious training exercises. The ship and her helicopter have now been released from the search which was co-ordinated by the New South Wales Water Police. Choules is now on her way to her home port in Sydney.
THANKS TO WORLD MARITIME NEWS
HMAS CHOULES L100 – ex RFA LARGS BAY
US NAVY launches carrier-borne drone
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Test flight could eventually open the way for the US to launch unmanned aircraft from almost anywhere in the world.
Last Modified: 15 May 2013 12:53
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USS GEORGE H W BUSH (CVN-77)
Built to take off from a carrier, the drones would mean the US would not need to use other nations’ bases [Reuters]
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A drone the size of a fighter jet has taken off from the deck of an US aircraft carrier for the first time in a test flight that could eventually open the way for the US to launch unmanned aircraft from almost anywhere in the world.
The X-47B is the first drone designed to take off and land on a carrier, meaning the US military would not need permission from other countries to use their bases.
Developed by Northrop Grumman under a 2007 contract at a cost of $1.4bn, the X-47B is capable of carrying weapons and providing around-the-clock intelligence, surveillance and targeting, according to the navy, which has been giving updates on the project over the past few years.
The move to expand the capabilities of the nation’s current drones comes amid growing criticism of Washington’s use of Predators and Reapers to gather intelligence and carry out lethal missile attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
Critics in the US and abroad have charged that drone strikes cause widespread civilian deaths and are conducted with inadequate oversight. Defence analysts argue drones are the future of warfare.
James Lewis, senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the new Joint Strike Fighter jet “might be the last manned fighter the US ever builds.
“They’re so expensive, they’re so complex, and you put a human at risk every time it takes off from a carrier.”
While the X-47B is not intended for operational use, it will help navy officials develop future carrier-based drones.
“The big public display is to build support for this program, to make sure that we follow through on it and that we’re willing to spend the money,” Lewis said.
“If Congress pulls the plug on this it will set the navy back a decade.”
Operational in 2020
The drones could begin operating by 2020, according to Rear Admiral Mat Winter, the navy programme’s executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons.
THIS ARTICLE COURTESY OF A.P.
THIS WEEK’S QUOTE
Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.
-Brooks Atkinson
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LAST PORT OF CALL
PORT CHALMERS AND DUNEDIN HAS A GREAT MARITIME HISTORY AND MANY MEMORIES FOR THOSE THAT HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF VISITING………………………..
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Port Chalmers is the birthplace of New Zealand’s modern export trade. It was there, in February 1882, that New Zealand’s first cargo of frozen meat left for Great Britain on the refrigerated ship Dunedin. When it arrived in London 98 days later, with the meat still in excellent condition, it heralded the beginning of New Zealand’s export status. To this day, Port Otago Ltd and Port Chalmers remain at the forefront of New Zealand’s export trade.
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| Careys Bay Historic Hotel, Port Chalmers
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