Melville-Evans, William (Oral history)

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Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
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© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

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Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

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Description

Object description

British officer served with Merchant Navy aboard SS Doric Star in Pacific and South Atlantic, 9/1939-12/1939 including sinking 2/12/1939; prisoner of war aboard Admiral Graf Spee and MV Altmark in Atlantic and Norway, 12/1939-2/1940 including rescue by HMS Cossack in Jøssingfjord, Norway, 16/2/1940; served aboard HMHS Llandovery Castle in Mediterranean, 5/1941-11/1941

Content description

REEL 1 Recollections of period as third officer with Merchant Navy aboard SS Doric Star in Pacific and South Atlantic, 9/1939-12/1939: crossing Pacific on declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939; character of ship; nature of Blue Star Line to serve with; origins of crew; character of ships' officers and captain; captain's method of command; loss of captain in Australia, 11/1939; attack on ship by Admiral Graf Spee in South Atlantic, 2/12/1939; preparations for abandoning ship. Recollections of period as prisoner of war aboard Admiral Graf Spee and MV Altmark in North and South Atlantic and Norway, 12/1939-2/1940 including rescue by HMS Cossack in Jossingfjord, Norway, 16/2/1940: capture by Admiral Graf Spee; incarceration aboard Admiral Graf Spee. REEL 2 Continues: address from Captain Hans Langsdorff; transfer to MV Altmark, 7/12/1939; method of monitoring position of ship; voyage from South Atlantic to Norwegian waters; rescue by HMS Cossack in Jøssingfjord, Norway, 16/2/1940; return to GB; importance of sketch he made; question of Norwegians not searching ship properly; relations with Germans aboard Admiral Graf Spee and MV Altmark; question of German addiction to scuttling ships; degree of resistance from MV Altmark's crew to boarding by HMS Cossack's crew in Jøssingfjord, Norway, 16/2/1940. REEL 3 Continues: living conditions on board MV Altmark; question of errors in depiction of MV Altmark Incident in National Maritime Museum. Aspects of period as officer aboard HMHS Llandovery Castle in Mediterranean, 5/1941-10/1941: conversion of ship into hospital ship; bombing of ship in which bows were blown off at Southampton, GB, 11/1940; delivery of aviation spirit to Tobruk, Libya by merchant vessels.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Wood, Conrad (Recorder)
Melville-Evans, William (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 1991-09-04
Dimensions: whole: Duration 90, Number Of Items 3
Catalogue number: 12214

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Melville-Evans, William (Oral history)

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