Survival at Sea

The sea has always been a dangerous occupation, but the war intensified the danger. During World War II, over 50,000 allied merchant seamen lost their lives, of whom approximately 32,000 were British. Some links on this page connect to other websites.

Survival stories from Convoy ONS154 - Dec. 1942

Dougie Crook, Second Mate of the Athelknight (May1942) and the Scottish Heather (December 1942)

Contemporary newspaper reports (ca 1943) about the Scottish Heather and the 11 volunteers including Dougie Crook

King Edward (in Convoy ONS154)- See Harry's Tale a story of wartime Britain on Steve Wilson's website

President Franqui - See Gilbert Bayot

See also Photo Galleries

Athelknight, May 1942

William Cook, Third Mate of the Athelknight (May 1942)

Rhiv Seafarers: incl. the story of Capt. Hugh Roberts of the Athelknight on the Rhiv website

Duchess of Atholl - October 10, 1942

Duchess of Atholl - See John Trevor Liney Telegraphist

An Atholl Survivor - See John Cullen's Story

Putney Hill - June 25, 1942

Putney Hill (See Loss of the Putney Hill on the Canonesa website or the Allied Merchant Navy website)

Alan's Letter - Letter written by A. Shard to his parents after his rescue.

Captain Alan Shard now lives in West Vancouver. He ended up in CPS as Chief Officer of Beaverbrae.

Arctic Convoys

One of the toughest assignments in World War II was the Arctic convoys to Murmansk in Russia.
This list, comprised of 184 British Merchant ship, was compiled by Billy McGee.

See Arctic Convoys

Prisoners of War

Some Merchant Seamen (including Capt. Bayot of the President Fraqui) were taken prisoner and held at camps in Europe, Africa, Italy, Asia, and the Far East, as well as on the Altmark, a prison ship.

For stories of survival in these prison camps, see Merchant Seamen POWs

Merchant Navy: Contents	About the Ships	Bravery Awards	Convoy ONS154
Links & Sources	Memorials	Photo Galleries	POWs
Queries & FAQs	Radio Officers	Survival at Sea	WW II Bookshelf