Arctic Warriors: A Personal Account of Convoy PQ18
Author: Alfred Grossmith Mason
Format: Hardback, 152mm x 229mm, 224 pages
Published: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2014
In mid-1942 Alfred Grossmith Mason became navigation/ Gunnery Officer on SS Empire Baffin, a 6,978 ton cargo ship assigned to carry essential war supplies to the hard pressed Soviet Union. Fortunately he compiled this remarkable diary of the dramas and disasters that befell the ill-fated Convoy PQ18. This inspiring story follows the movement of his ship and the other merchantmen together with their Royal Naval escorts from the mustering point at Loch Ewe to their destination Archangel. Daily German attacks from the air and sea and long periods at action stations deprived crews of sleep. The loss of many ships and comrades and the ever-present prospect of death through drowning and hypothermia took their toll. Having to function while exhausted, ill-nourished and freezing cold demanded that every man gave of his utmost over a prolonged period. Yet remarkably, as this book shows, humour remained intact. Once in Archangel his insight into the hardships faced by the Russian population is revealing. For the surviving sailors there remained the awesome challenge of the return journey without any escort. Unlike so many, the Author finally reached Britain in December 1942. Arctic Warriors is a rare and graphic personal account that captures the atmosphere of this infamously costly convoy and others like it. If any doubts remain of the terrible conditions and dangers that merchant seamen aced in the hostile waters of the North Atlantic and Barents Sea, this superb record, published in the Year of the Convoy, will surely put them to rest. AUTHOR: Alfred Grossmith Mason joined the Merchant Navy in 1927 qualifying in 1931. He served through the Second World War and continued in the Service until 1976. Author died in 1992 . SELLING POINTS: .Publication coincides with the Year of the Convoys .A rare and graphic personal account of this infamously costly convoy .Captures the atmosphere of danger from the enemy and the elements 8 pages of b/w plates
Alfred Grossmith Mason joined the Merchant Navy in 1927 qualifying in 1931. He served through the Second World War and continued in the Service until 1976. He died in 1992.
Julie Grossmith Deltrice, Grossman's daughter, edited this diary. She accompanied her father on many foreign voyages. Now retired from her nursing career, she lives near Sunderland in the United Kingdom.
Author: Alfred Grossmith Mason
Format: Hardback, 152mm x 229mm, 224 pages
Published: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2014
In mid-1942 Alfred Grossmith Mason became navigation/ Gunnery Officer on SS Empire Baffin, a 6,978 ton cargo ship assigned to carry essential war supplies to the hard pressed Soviet Union. Fortunately he compiled this remarkable diary of the dramas and disasters that befell the ill-fated Convoy PQ18. This inspiring story follows the movement of his ship and the other merchantmen together with their Royal Naval escorts from the mustering point at Loch Ewe to their destination Archangel. Daily German attacks from the air and sea and long periods at action stations deprived crews of sleep. The loss of many ships and comrades and the ever-present prospect of death through drowning and hypothermia took their toll. Having to function while exhausted, ill-nourished and freezing cold demanded that every man gave of his utmost over a prolonged period. Yet remarkably, as this book shows, humour remained intact. Once in Archangel his insight into the hardships faced by the Russian population is revealing. For the surviving sailors there remained the awesome challenge of the return journey without any escort. Unlike so many, the Author finally reached Britain in December 1942. Arctic Warriors is a rare and graphic personal account that captures the atmosphere of this infamously costly convoy and others like it. If any doubts remain of the terrible conditions and dangers that merchant seamen aced in the hostile waters of the North Atlantic and Barents Sea, this superb record, published in the Year of the Convoy, will surely put them to rest. AUTHOR: Alfred Grossmith Mason joined the Merchant Navy in 1927 qualifying in 1931. He served through the Second World War and continued in the Service until 1976. Author died in 1992 . SELLING POINTS: .Publication coincides with the Year of the Convoys .A rare and graphic personal account of this infamously costly convoy .Captures the atmosphere of danger from the enemy and the elements 8 pages of b/w plates
Alfred Grossmith Mason joined the Merchant Navy in 1927 qualifying in 1931. He served through the Second World War and continued in the Service until 1976. He died in 1992.
Julie Grossmith Deltrice, Grossman's daughter, edited this diary. She accompanied her father on many foreign voyages. Now retired from her nursing career, she lives near Sunderland in the United Kingdom.