Tag: Luftwaffe

Imperial War Museum: How a WWII British Anderson Shelter Saved the Lives of My Family! (26.10.2023)

There were different types of government-provided air-raid shelters issued during WWII. However, the version depicted here – is very close to that issued to my mother’s family (surnamed ‘Gibson’) who lived in Lewisham, South London. During September, 1940, the Nazi Germany ‘Luftwaffe’ blanket-bombed East London and killed and wound thousands of British people. During the entire 18-months of the ‘Blitz’ – the Luftwaffe inflicted 40,000 casualties in London and 70,000 all across the UK! My family lived in a three-storied house in Fordyce Road – with a generation living on each floor.

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

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.

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