Barton, Frederick George (Oral history)

British artificer served aboard HMS Lucia at Devonport, GB, 1931; served aboard HMS Forth in GB coastal waters, 1939; chief engine room artificer served aboard HMS Hussar in GB coastal waters, Atlantic and Arctic, 1940-1942

REEL 1 Background in Portsmouth, 1912-1927: family; education. Aspects of service as engine room artificer in GB coastal waters, 1927-1939: character of training at HMS Fishgard; second-hand story of mutiny aboard HMS Lucia at Devonport, 1930-1931; lack of trouble at Rosyth at time of Invergordon Mutiny, 1931. Recollections of period as engine room artificer aboard HMS Forth in GB coastal waters, 1939: reaction to declaration of Second World War, 9/1939; loss of father during Battle of Jutland, 1916; German Air Force attacks on Forth Bridge. Recollections of operations as chief engine room artificer aboard HMS Hussar in GB coastal waters, Atlantic and Arctic, 1940-1942: reaction to joining ship; loss of sailors his was escorting on London Underground, c5/1940; second hand story of near mutiny aboard ship before he joined. REEL 2 Continues: repair work to ship at Isle of Sheppey, 1940; mine sweeping duties based on Harwich; character of acoustic minesweeping equipment; loss of minesweeper using kango hammers; how ship was used as lightship off Harwich; E-boat danger in North Sea; German Air Force method of attacking convoys; abortive fireship attacks on French ports, 1940; convoy work based on Stornaway to Iceland; lack of asdic; problems with observing Sabbath on Stornaway; attitude of Icelanders towards Royal Navy; encounter with cruiser in Atlantic during hunt for Bismarck, 5/1941; character of PQ 0 first convoy to Archangel; coping with weather conditions; boarding US ship Yucca damaged by German air attack; taking Yucca on tow into Murmansk. REEL 3 Continues: contact with Russians in Murmansk; taking RAF personnel to GB; failure of tug to save torpedoed HMS Edinburgh; use of smoke screen during attacks on HMS Edinburgh; sinking of HMS Edinburgh; loss of friend George Knight during sinking of HMS Niger off Iceland; story of having to explain to George Knight's fate to his mother; precautions against German Air Force attacks; fishing with depth charges; German Air Force attacks on Murmansk. REEL 4 Continues: handling survivors from HMS Gossamer; discovery of dead bodies frozen standing in open boat; reasons for failure to attack U-boat in ice flow; icing up of ships in Archangel; use of icebreaker Lenin; minesweeping duties in Mediterranean during Operation Torch, 11/1942.