Allan, Eric Robert (Oral history)

British seaman served with Merchant Navy aboard SS Ocean Freedom and SS Empire Fortune in Arctic, 1942-1943

REEL 1 Background in Boston, GB, 1924-1942: family; education; joining Merchant Navy, 1942. Recollections of operations as apprentice seaman with Merchant Navy aboard SS Ocean Freedom during Convoy PQ 17 in Arctic, 6/1942-7/1942: ship's complement and armament; cargo carried; his role as apprentice; living conditions on board; convoy organisation; accidental firing on RAF aircraft on route to Iceland; reception from Icelanders; formation of Convoy PQ 17; ship's position in convoy; initial weather conditions; spotting of convoy by German aircraft, 2/7/1942; first German attacks on convoy, 3/7/1942; types of German aircraft attacking convoy; reaction to order for convoy to scatter, 4/7/1942. REEL 2 Continues: effect on morale to scatter order; congregation of ships at Novaya Zemlya, Soviet Union; formation of small convoy to sail to mainland; damage to ship from ice; German Air Force attacks on convoy; manning anti-aircraft gun; entry into Archangel, Soviet Union, 11/7/1942; question of attitude of Soviet Union towards aiding convoy; speed with which cargo was unloaded; encounter with Royal Navy crewmen at Archangel, Soviet Union; opinion of how convoy was handled and Royal Navy's order to scatter, 4/7/1942; Soviet attitude to convoy efforts. REEL 3 Continues: impressions of Soviet Union and Russians; reasons for survival of SS Ocean Freedom during Convoy PQ 17. Aspects of operations as seaman with Merchant Navy aboard SS Empire Fortune in Arctic, 1943: armament of ship; threat from German capital ships; weather conditions in Arctic waters, 2/1943; opinion of stewards; conditions of service and pay in Merchant Navy during Second World War; attitude of Merchant Navy towards Royal Navy.