HMS Beaumaris Castle {FY 992} (RNPS) [1940-1945] – Page 5

WWII: My Tribute to the Excellent British ‘Home Guard’ (LDVF) and Some of My Published Work! (6.10.2023)

06/10/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

My maternal (‘Gibson’) family used to live in Lewisham, East London – until they were bombed-out by Hitler during the Blitz of September 1940 (the Blitz would go on to kill 70,000 British people between 1940-1941 – with 40,000 deaths in London alone). The Gibson family were then evacuated to the ‘Forest Hill’ area of Oxfordshire – due to them having a ‘nephew’ living in the area. In 1983, a book focusing on local history was commissioned entitled ‘Forest Hill with Shotover – A Portrait (1983)’. This was published by the ‘Forest Hill Women’s Association’. The Story of my grandfather – Arthur Gibson – and his family arriving in the area is recorded on Pages 28-29

ALEXANDER WERTH [PART II]: RUSSIAN ARCTIC CONVOY PQ-16 – Reykjavik (Iceland) TO MURMANSK (USSR) – MERCHANT NAVY SHIP “EMPIRE BAFFIN”! (2.9.2023)

03/10/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

Alexander Werth’s 1947 book, ‘The Year of Stalingrad’, details the journey of Merchant Navy Ship “Empire Baffin” during WWII. The ship left Middlesborough, UK, for Reykjavik on May 1, 1942, arriving ten days later, and then sailed to Murmansk, USSR, on May 20th. Despite Nazi Germany’s control of the sea, air, and land, and losing seven ships, the Convoy PQ-16 of 36 international ships managed to reach port under the protection of naval fleets.

Alexander Werth [Part I]: Russian Arctic Convoy PQ-16 – Middlesborough (UK) to Murmansk (USSR) – Merchant Navy Ship “Empire Baffin”! (2.9.2023)

02/10/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

The Russian Arctic Convoy, PQ-16, sailed from Iceland to the Soviet Union in late May 1942, providing vital military and civilian aid amid attacks by Nazi Germany. The fleet comprised British, American, and Allied ships, including the Empire Baffin that Alexander Werth traveled on for four weeks as recorded in his book ‘The Year of Stalingrad’. This account, along with further research, allows for a timeline to be reconstructed for these events, however, full details are limited due to the secrecy required during wartime. Convoy PQ-16 consisted of 36 Merchant Navy vessels, some armed for self-defense, and a number of Royal Navy ships acting as protection. Werth’s account also mentions controversial language used to describe the African-descendent members of the Merchant Navy crew.

Emails: St Kilda – Ancients British Celts, WWI, WWII, Human and Animal Tragedy! (17.9.2023)

17/09/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

Research suggests these people had lived on this isolated island for around 2000 years – as they spoke a very old Gaelic language mixed with the odd word of Latin and Norse! The island was attacked once by an Imperial German U-boat during Spring 1918 (which fired 60 artillery rounds at a British Telegraph Station) near the end of WWI. During WWII, after all the indigenous Celts had gone – my maternal grandfather – Arthur Gibson – (when serving in the Royal Navy on the Minesweeper – HMS Beaumaris Castle) was ordered onto the island of St Kilda (Hirta) after an aeroplane full of US Servicemen (who were returning home after fighting in Europe) -crashed into the high mountainside with no survivors.

Alexander Werth: [1942] Soviet “Guide for Partisans”! (16.9.2023)

16/09/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

Indeed, when the Trotskyite – George Orwell – was asked by the incumbent Labour Party to compile his infamous (1948) ‘list’ of well-known left-wingers he suspected of possessing ‘Communist’ sympathies – the name of ‘Alexander Werth’ featured prominently! This was because he refused to follow the decreed US requirement for all history to be ‘altered’ and ‘distorted’ so as to make the Western working-class ‘hate’ the Soviet Union! This interfering in the historical record is so remarkable that Werth’s near ‘eye-witness’ account of the ‘Battle of Stalingrad’ (which changed WWII forever) is not only completely ignored by Western authors who came after him – but seldom known to even exist!

RNPS: Seaman Arthur James Gibson [1911-1997] (NO: JX381363) – HMS BEAUMARIS CASTLE (Minesweeper) – [North Atlantic] Commemorative Service Medal Award [1939-1945]! (7.9.2023)

07/09/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

I am told that during WWII – the RNPS lost around 250 ships protecting the UK coasts from Nazi German aggression! My grandfather assisted in the ongoing process of keeping the sea-lanes ‘free’ of Nazi German sea-mines that did so much damage to Allied shipping! Linked above is the article recording his official MOD Medals issued in 1950 for his Military Service – but this article is about a special RNPS Commemorative Medal which we had to apply for (and finance) separately – which honours the fight the men of the RNPS put-up to secure the freedom we enjoy today! Furthermore, my family in the UK are proud that our grandfather assisted the hundreds of ships that formed the Russian Arctic Convoys which carried much needed aid to our Allies in the Soviet Union! Long Live the Royal Navy Patrol Service!

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