In memory of the Australian servicemen who lost their lives whilst protecting the Arctic shipping lanes aboard British Royal Navy convoy & merchant navy ships during World War 2.
The Allies sent over 4 million tons of supplies to Russia in attempt to keep the country & the Russian front supplied during the German invasion.
Our sailors braved treacherous freezing seas and ran a deadly gauntlet of German battleships, U-boats
and Luftwaffe torpedo bombers. Huge seas, with waves as high as cliffs, would set the ships on great
roller coasters. Waves landed on decks as solid ice, which had to be picked off
at every spare moment, no matter the weather, as its weight was capable of capsizing a
ship. Of 1,400 ships on 78 convoys – described by
Winston Churchill as 'the worst journey in the world' – 101 perished in the icy
waters north of Norway. Over 3,000 allied sailors lost their lives.
Later a faltering German defense in Europe ultimately allowed these convoys to survive
and, more importantly, allowed the Russians to continue to save their country
from within thanks to these much-needed supplies.
LEST WE FORGET
War is a very ugly word.
ReplyDeletexx
Thanks for sharing, Millie - I had never heard of this part of the war effort before.
ReplyDeleteA very touching and informative post.
ReplyDeleteSharyn
What an evocative and thought-provoking post, Mills. Thankyou. What they saw was so different to what my grandfather saw in PNG. J x
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