HMS Beaumaris Castle – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

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.

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!

Email: Russian Arctic Convoy Museum – SEAMAN ARTHUR JAMES GIBSON [1911-1997] – ROYAL NAVY PATROL SERVICE (NO: JX381363) – HMS Beaumaris Castle! (5.8.2023)

05/08/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

‘Seaman Arthur Gibson joined the Royal Navy Patrol Service (RNPS) in late 1941, and was soon aboard the Minesweeper – HMS Beaumaris Castle – stationed in the North Atlantic. His job was to keep the shipping lanes free of Nazi German mines (by shooting to sink them or explode with using mounted Lewis Machine Guns, or WWI 303 Lee Enfield or MK III Ross [303] Rifles), so that the Russian Arctic Convoys could deliver vital aid to the UK’s ally – the Soviet Union! As Arthur Gibson saw frontline service nearly everyday of his four-year service – this fact alone triggered a cascade of medals for time-served in the face of the enemy! I contacted the MOD recently to acquire an official letter confirming his medal entitlement. He would have been proud of his two granddaughters – Mei-An and Kai-Lin living in Sutton and helping me research his glorious past! Arthur Gibson was finally granted his medals on the 19th of September, 1950 – some five-years after the end of WWII – and after other conflicts were well under way around the world!’

Normandy: Remembering the Allied Sacrifices of D-Day (6.6.1944) – 79th Anniversary! (6.6.2023)

06/06/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

The British Glider Troops were tasked with seizing local landmarks (such as ‘Pegasus Bridge’) of tactical and strategic importance from the local Nazi German defenders – and hold these assets in the face of the expected Nazi German counter-attack. Meanwhile, Arthur Gibson (as a member of the Royal Navy) was busy protecting Northern Britain by preventing a Nazi German invasion – whilst keeping the sea lanes free of Nazi German ‘mines’ so that Allied Shipping could move (free of this risk) throughout the North Atlantic. This included the assisting of the Russian (Soviet) Arctic Convoys – although the presence of Nazi German U-Boats was an ever-present threat!

George Smith: Outer Hebrides and Stornoway Extracts c. 2011

07/11/2021 Adrian (釋大道)

My maternal grandfather – Arthur Gibson (1911-1997) – and George Smith (1924-2016) both sailed on the Royal Navy Patrol Service (RNPS) the HMS Beaumaris Castle

HMS Beaumaris Castle (FY 992): Telegraphist George Smith Recounts the ‘St Kilda’ Incident (1944?)

04/11/2021 Adrian (釋大道)

When I was young (probably during the 1970s) my grandfather would tell me exactly the same stories! He also said that one-day he fired a rifle at a nearby Nazi German sea-mine that exploded with such force that the HMS Beaumaris Castle lifted-up into the air before falling (with a ‘thud’) back into the sea! As I have no way of knowing for sure – and given that the log-book of the HMS Beaumaris is ‘missing’ – George Smith could well be right in his recollections. This is despite the MOD ‘hinting’ that an important incident took-place on November 26th, 1942 – just seventeen-days after Arthur Gibson came aboard – and around a year prior to George Smith came aboard! When human-beings age a funny thing can happen to their memories. Details can be clearly remembered whilst all-round contexts are either completely forgotten or equally mistaken for other interpretations of reality, etc. Whatever the case, I thank you, Mr George Smith, for trusting me – and trusting in me – because you knew and respected by grandfather – Arthur Gibson! I will never forget your trust!

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