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By * S.C. now right spot for traveling whales. mammals spotted off coast as they migrate from Florida toward north Atlantic region * Is living on Jekyll Island a bad deal or a steal? Nowhere else on Georgia's developing coast can land be had so cheaply — between $200 and $400 annually for interior lots as well as those fronting marshes and beaches
Early French Explorers of Australia Mac, Excellent information. I commend you on your site - have just had the time to look at some aspects of it,
regards,
Thank you for your kind comments. Ahoy is a joint effort, I do the research and writing, and my Web Master, and friend in Atlanta Georgia, Terry Kearns, must get all the credit for the site, its layout, and I believe, for its ease of navigation. We are pleased that you found the Early French Explorers of interest. In Australia, we could easily all be French speaking, their Navigators and Exploration ships were so close on the heels of the British. Kind Regards.
TK, The writer of the Eureka and Cuttle E-Mail, asked "was their a man ------" I know the wrong spelling is his alone, but I suggest we change it to there, on his behalf. Just looks so awful in the wrong context, well to me anyway!! Thanks,
Convoy ONS5 I have just come across your web-site account of the convoy ONS5 action. It is much the most detailed account that I have seen. I have a particular interest because I was on Harperley. I was the Leading Hand DEMS Gunner on Harperley. We left Avonmouth and went to Newport, South Wales, to load Best Welsh Steam Coal. The story that I was told was that the Argentine hasd to import all of its coal and the War had played havoc with its supplies. The railways were in danger of shutting down and so the Argentinos had said "no more meat for you unless you supply coal". So, we were bound for Buenos Ayres. We went up the Irish Sea and at the Tail o' the Bank, at the mouth of the Clyde,.began forming convoy. I remember an Escort Vessel cruising up and down the lines and, over a loud-hailer, saying, "If you can guarantee 7 1/2 knots turn back and join a faster convoy". That was my first inkling that we were due for a slow crossing. We were sunk early in the night which, fortunately, was not a dark night. It is said that we were hit portside by two torpedoes, one in the engine-room and another in a forward hold. Oddly, I have no memory of any noise; but it was true that neither of the portside lifeboats was usable. With the 4" gun crew I went to the starboard boatdeck. There some clown had freed the after fall from the staghorn; the seaman on the forward fall had kept 'turns for lowering' with the consequence that the boat was dangling vertically from the forward davit and one or two men who had rushed into the boat were thrown into the sea. I grabbed the fall, took in as much slack as I could and took turns around the staghorn. The man on the forward fall lowered until the boat was horizontal and we then lowered it together. In your narrative you say that Harperley was listing. Not so. She maintained an even keel and just settled down. I think that may well be why I am writing today. The crew used a scrambling net to pour down into the boat until somehow, and who knows how?, the boat was freed and it drifted away from the ship. The left six or seven of us on the net. As the ship settled, the sea swept the lowest man off and he was lost. Then another man. I was at the top of the net and below me were two other gunners. The situation looked hopeless to me and I called the other two back on deck. We sat down, lit cigarettes and waited for the end. Then a miracle happened. Against the thrust of the sea, the boat drifted close to the stern of the ship. I shouted to The boat had no control at all. It was a wooden lifeboat and every rowlock was lodged down between the end of a thwart and the side of the boat. I was the only person with a knife. My Navy issue knife was clipped to my belt. I cut away the end of my thwart and released a rowlock; we had one oar. I passed the knife to my neighbour who released his rowlock. He passed the knife to someone on the next thwart who released his rowlock and lost the knife overboard. We had three oars. The boat was overladen with men and was constantly flooded as it drifted beam on to the sea. Three of us pulled our oars, it seemed forever, as we tried to turn the boat bows-on to the weather. At last, the Second Mate, whose boat it was, remembered that there was a sea-anchor stowed away in the forward locker. Once that was streamed life became easier. I have a memory of looking back at the convoy which was, by then, some way off. The sky was lit by star-shell. the flashes of gun-fire, occasional dots of tracer-fire and the ominous glow of fires. And a U-boat passed us, perhaps fifty yards away. I could see two figures in the conning tower, one of them using binoculars. At some time during the next day, the Northern Spray appeared. I(t) dropped a scrambling net and our crew disappeared aloft until only the Second Mate and I were left. I swept him a low, flamboyant bow and said, "After you, Cecil." He replied in kind, saying, "No. After you, Claude." ( A catch-phrase from a popular Radio-show of the time ). From above came an impatient " Stop f...... about and get aboard " We did. The Northern Spray was, in peace-time, a MacFisheries deep-sea trawler. The spacious hold was used to hold the survivors but it was crowded. I was impressed by a Naval Sick Berth Attendant who was doing what he could to help men who were injured. Apparently it was his first trip to sea and he went about his duty with in his left hand a bucket in which he was being sea-sick. The Northern Spray was desperately short of supplies for so many men. Drinks were very severely limited and there was positively no washing. Not that I heard anyone complain. We were landed in St. John's, Newfoundland and after a few days, the Naval ratings were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the Canadian Navy barracks. I must add a note about the North Britain. Harperley was on the port side of the convoy; you show her as being the third ship in the first column i.e. no 13. North Britain is shown as being the lead ship in column 9, i.e. away off to starboard of us. But I remember her as no 24. Immediately before we were sunk, North Britain crept up between us and our neighbour in column 2. We thought she was pulling the old trick of seeking a bit more shelter. If so, she was unlucky. She was hit and I saw her immediately lie over flat on her port side. When eventually I reached Halifax, I got talking to another rating and, as one does, asked, "What ship were you on?" " The North Britain" I said that I could not believe that anyone survived. He told me that a week later he had been picked up alone in a lifeboat. He had no memory at all from the time the ship was hit until after he was picked up. I hope all this may be of some interest to you. Erstwhile C/JX 220108 Temp. Acting Petty Officer (DEMS) Cyril N Hill I wonder why you can always remember your Service number but you can't remember why you have just come into the sitting room.
DEMS personnel were Naval, trained to man a Merchant Ship's guns, DEMS means Defence of Merchant Shipping, our Navy equivalent to the US Naval Guard Service. I will correct my statement about her listing in due course, I would have that from a report I had studied. The Convoy Formation I had from Billy McGee who runs a fine site about the Merchant Navy, and that put the North Britain as lead ship of Column No 9. and give her the number 91, but Cyril clearly remembers her in Column 2 and the 4th. ship in that Column making her No 24. I will see if I can confirm ONS 5's Convoy Formation, but my past experience is that they are difficult to track down. His own ship as shown by Billy, was the third ship in the first column ( which is on the port side of the Convoy ) giving it No 13. All Convoy Formations were numbered by Columns starting from the left, 01, 02, 03, 04 etc. The first ship in the L:H Column would be numbered 11, the one behind her 12, the third 13 etc, and so on for each column. I will respond to Cyril tomorrow, its 12.20 AM on my Monday here, I should be in bed. All the best,
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