RNPS – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

WWII: D-Day 81st Anniversary [1944-2025] – Remembering Arthur Gibson and the HMS Beaumaris Castle (FY 992) – of the “Royal Navy Patrol Service” [RNPS] ! (5.6.2025)

05/06/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

A “moored” mine (or “Naval” mine) is a single mine anchored to the seabed by a length of metal chain or rope – operating at a depth decided by the length of mooring tether. These mines were deadly as they often hid below the waterline and the line of sight – waiting for the hull of a ship to strike it in passing. A “drifting” sea mine was a device (sometimes “magnetic” but also “non-magnetic” or “contact” detonated) that floated about on the surface of the sea according to the tide. These mines could travel hundreds of miles and bob and weave their way up estuaries and into harbours. From what I gather according to the stories I was told, it was these “drifting” mines my grandfather was responsible for destroying. Obviously, a “U-Boat” was a Nazi German “Unterseeboot” or “Under Water Boat” – whilst an E-Boat referred to a Nazi German fast-attack “Enemy Boat” – usually carrying torpedoes.

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

02/11/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

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.

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.

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!

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!

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