Hms Jervis Bay - Fao Tup In Particular

[Clydeside_Sheep]

@@tup - I take it you have heard of this ship, as wiki says there is a plaque dedicated to it in Wick?

 

For reasons I will at some point divulge in a separate highly interesting post, I was reading recently about WW2 "armed merchant cruisers", which were passenger ships converted into cheap warships to provide token protection to altantic convoys during the war.

 

They werent very good warships, obviously having been designed to carry passengers, not to fight. They didnt have any armour, and the gunners had to do their own calculations and adjust the gun manually, rather than rely on fancy gun laying / fire control systems etc.

 

I learned about HMS Jervis Bay, one of these passenger ships transformed into a warship of sorts. Named after an Australian Bay, she was originally a passenger ship on the Aberdeen & Commonwealth line. She was armed with 6" guns and 3" guns, all of which dated from the late 1800s.

 

Jervis Bay was crewed extensively by men from Caithness and Wick in particular.

 

In 1940, Jervis Bay was the lone escort for 38 merchant ships on a convoy from Canada to Britain. Unfortunately, the convoy encountered the German battleship Admiral Scheer, a very modern, very fast and devastatingly armed battleship. Its main arnament was 11" guns and it could sail nearly twice as fast as Jervis Bay.

 

From wiki (sources therein):

 

On the 5th of November, 1940, in heavy seas, Captain Fegen, in His Majesty's Armed Merchant Cruiser Jervis Bay, was escorting thirty-eight Merchantmen. Sighting a powerful German warship he at once drew clear of the Convoy, made straight for the Enemy, and brought his ship between the Raider and her prey, so that they might scatter and escape. Crippled, in flames, unable to reply, for nearly an hour the Jervis Bay held the German's fire. So she went down: but of the Merchantmen all but four or five were saved.

 

The reason Jervis Bay couldnt reply effectively was because her guns were massively outranged by the much bigger guns of the Boche. They didnt really have any fighting chance, but the bravery of the men crewing the ship meant that the vast majority of the convoy was saved.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Jervis_Bay

 

If you read the wiki article, the ship, its crew and their actions have had quite a profound impact on popular culture and is remembered across the world.

 

I thought it was a very moving story of courage and sacrifice (the kind of thing which always turns me to putty )

 

So, say what you like about folk from Wick; they might be short, bald, moody, snappy etc, but they obviously have some cojones into the bargain. Who would have thought it?

 

And so my impression of Wick and surrounds has sky-rocketed as a result of this story

 

Tup - what is the awareness of this event like in modern Wick? Are the bold caithness crewmen remembered in any way beyond the plaque mentioned above, in schools or whatever?

 

 

[tup]

Sorry min, never heard of it until now.

 

No idea where the plaque is.

[BrianFaePerth]

C_S, you would have been better off spending your afternoon wanking over Anthea Turner

[Chewie37]

C_S, you would have been better off spending your afternoon wanking over Anthea Turner

She wasn't available.

 

I like reading up on these type of stories, some amazing feats of bravery from the War. There's some really good documentaries on at the moment and loads of stuff I never knew about and I used to think I was pretty clued up on WW2 history.

My granda died recently and my aunt has his medals from when he was stationed in Africa and I want to check out the story behind them all as he never spoke about it.

[Tommy]

The plaque is across from the old Kirk in Wick.

[tup]

The plaque is across from the old Kirk in Wick.

Ah, just round the corner from my house then.

 

I'll try and notice it soon.

[RAZOR]

C_S, you would have been better off spending your afternoon wanking over Anthea Turner

 

[Tommy]

Some backround to the loss of the Jervis bay from a Caithness website:

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbay.htm

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbaydetail.htm

 

It also lists the men from the new memorial:

 

Men Killed on November 5,1940:

 

James Anderson, Old Schoolhouse, Thrumster, married.

James Bain, 18 Wellington Street, wick, married, aged 27.

John M. Bain, 24 Kinnaird Street, Wick, aged 27.

David R. Bremner, 31 Smith Terrace, Wick, married, aged 29.

William Bremner, 5 Macarthur Street, Wick, aged 32.

John Innes, Burnside, Oldwick, Wick, married, age 33.

William B. Miller, 31 Smith Terrace, Wick, aged 27.

John C. Munro, New House, Keiss, aged 28.

Alexander Webster, 41 Argyle Square, Wick, married, age 32.

 

All of the the Jervis Bay fatalities can be found here on the same website:

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbaycasualties.htm

 

And just a bit of background to the battle if you don't want to read all the online articles:

 

"On 28th October 1940 HMS Jervis Bay, an ancient cargo ship armed with a small number of obsolete guns, set out to escort 37 freighters and tankers across the North Sea.

 

Unexpectedly discovered by the Admiral Scheer, one of Germany’s most feared pocket battleships, the Jervis Bay's Captain immediately dispersed convoy HX84 to hide in the twilight of a rising winter storm. Outgunned and with no hope of survival, Captain Fegen and over 190 of the 256 Jervis Bay crew nevertheless then sacrificed themselves as they took the battle to the enemy in a one-sided duel with the Admiral Scheer, as they fought to secure the safe passage of the ships in their charge.

 

For his valour, Captain Fegen was posthumously awarded Britain’s only Victoria Cross for convoy defence."

[tup]

Well in Captain Fegen but that's the first I've heard of him so he's not exactly revered in Wick.

[The Boofon]

Well in Captain Fegen but that's the first I've heard of him so he's not exactly revered in Wick.

 

 

Nobody's heard of the cunt at the Portsoy Boat Festival (currently taking place and packed out) either.

[tainboy]

Some backround to the loss of the Jervis bay from a Caithness website:

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbay.htm

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbaydetail.htm

 

It also lists the men from the new memorial:

 

Men Killed on November 5,1940:

 

James Anderson, Old Schoolhouse, Thrumster, married.

James Bain, 18 Wellington Street, wick, married, aged 27.

John M. Bain, 24 Kinnaird Street, Wick, aged 27.

David R. Bremner, 31 Smith Terrace, Wick, married, aged 29.

William Bremner, 5 Macarthur Street, Wick, aged 32.

John Innes, Burnside, Oldwick, Wick, married, age 33.

William B. Miller, 31 Smith Terrace, Wick, aged 27.

John C. Munro, New House, Keiss, aged 28.

Alexander Webster, 41 Argyle Square, Wick, married, age 32.

 

All of the the Jervis Bay fatalities can be found here on the same website:

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbaycasualties.htm

 

And just a bit of background to the battle if you don't want to read all the online articles:

 

"On 28th October 1940 HMS Jervis Bay, an ancient cargo ship armed with a small number of obsolete guns, set out to escort 37 freighters and tankers across the North Sea.

 

Unexpectedly discovered by the Admiral Scheer, one of Germanys most feared pocket battleships, the Jervis Bay's Captain immediately dispersed convoy HX84 to hide in the twilight of a rising winter storm. Outgunned and with no hope of survival, Captain Fegen and over 190 of the 256 Jervis Bay crew nevertheless then sacrificed themselves as they took the battle to the enemy in a one-sided duel with the Admiral Scheer, as they fought to secure the safe passage of the ships in their charge.

 

For his valour, Captain Fegen was posthumously awarded Britains only Victoria Cross for convoy defence."

The andersons still lives there when I lived in thrumster. Maybe was his grandson (also james) I used to be freinds with.

[Clydeside_Sheep]

Sorry min, never heard of it until now.

 

No idea where the plaque is.

 

Really? Im shocked, that can be your homework for this week, reading up on this and other great feats of Wick men

[Clydeside_Sheep]

C_S, you would have been better off spending your afternoon wanking over Anthea Turner

 

 

My daily homage to Anthea goes without saying!

[Clydeside_Sheep]

She wasn't available.

 

I like reading up on these type of stories, some amazing feats of bravery from the War. There's some really good documentaries on at the moment and loads of stuff I never knew about and I used to think I was pretty clued up on WW2 history.

My granda died recently and my aunt has his medals from when he was stationed in Africa and I want to check out the story behind them all as he never spoke about it.

 

That would be well worth doing,some amazing history there and even more amazing when you consider your own family members were caught up in it.

[Clydeside_Sheep]

 

http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/jervisbaycasualties.htm

 

And just a bit of background to the battle if you don't want to read all the online articles:

 

Thanks for those links etc - v interesting.

[Clydeside_Sheep]

Well in Captain Fegen but that's the first I've heard of him so he's not exactly revered in Wick.

 

He was actually an Englander, I was more concerned with the Caithness chaps.

 

Bit unfair he got a medal, when there was actually a larger crew involved, but I guess rewarding the captain is indicative of rewarding the whole crew for their efforts.

[tup]

A bit like Captain Picard taking all the credit going on the Enterprise when half the time he does fuck all except bark orders at those putting their balls on the line.

[reekie_dock]

A bit like Captain Picard taking all the credit going on the Enterprise when half the time he does fuck all except bark orders at those putting their balls on the line.

 

Talking about Star Trek, might as well don yer looser tee shirt right away.

[tup]

Says the man smashed with the stupid stick at birth.

 

Running a tight ship is the same process regardless of century is the salient point here.

[reekie_dock]

Says the man smashed with the stupid stick at birth.

 

Running a tight ship is the same process regardless of century is the salient point here.

Don't need inteligence fan yer banters great and yer graced we god like good looks

[dervish]

I knew about it from the paper. No vicarious glory for me on this one my family is from Aberdeen. Though my granddad was originally from Helmsdale and was sunk 3 times.