|
Date of Arrival |
Place |
Date of Departure |
Orders, Remarks etc |
|
27.11.40 |
Leith |
25.3.41 |
28/11 Taken in hand –
refit and fitting of LL sweep. Completes Mid-Feb ‘41 |
|
|
Well
the following week we were told to go around to Leith for docking.
And while we were there only a few men stopped on the ship in
Watches. They lived in a small camp up Leith Walk. Myself, I sent
for the wife to come to Leith as I had a room in a boarding house.
It was small for us but very nice. The landlady was Scotch but her
husband was a Tynesider. Both of them worked in a small picture
house, she in the pay box and him on the door. I think my wife liked
the change and being with me. We were there best part of four months
getting more things added to the ship to combat against the magnetic
mines and acoustic mines. And when we came out of dock of course the
wife had to go back home. And after filling up with oil we went out
and down the Forth and started sweeping magnetic, and while we were
doing that there was a small fishing boat stopped and drifting down
with the tide and when she started her engines up she went leaving
nothing to say a boat had been there. And then we knew the Germans
had laid a new kind of mine, an acoustic vibration mine. So down in
the bows of our ship on each side they had put what looked like a
round patch with a motor on. And when switched on they made a
terrible noise sending vibration, ripples or waves through the water
and exploding the mines up to four miles in front of our ship and
exploding the magnetic mines up at the back. All shipping was
stopped while we were doing that. There was explosions in the front
and back, nobody was allowed below decks and when we did go down
what a state everything was in a state. Cups and saucers and plates
all broke. As we were under the Forth Bridge we blew a mine up near
the leg of the bridge. It was a magnetic laid by an aircraft by
parachute and when it entered the water the mechanism starts,
waiting to be vibrated. And of course after the divers went down to
see if any damage had been done to the supports of the bridge there
was no damage but it was a near thing. We still carried out sweeping
duties with the Fleet, first one side of Scotland and then the
other.
Scragg |
|
28.3.41 |
Harwich |
7.4.41 |
28/2 Completes 20/3
Reassigned to convoy
escort duties with Western Approaches Command. |
|
Following
the loss or damage of so many escorts at Dunkirk it was decided to
bring the Halcyons into the Western Approaches Command to act as local
escorts at the UK end of the convoy routes. They were ideally suited
to this role of escorts, being fitted with both Asdic and more
recently with the new Radar (271 sets). BRAMBLE, BRITOMART, HAZARD and
HEBE were based at Stornoway although their activities took then to
several other ports including Oban, Inverary, Aultbea, Londonderry,
the Clyde and Iceland. Normal minesweeping duties were carried out
when not required as escorts, although they were ready at immediate
notice to be sent off for patrol or escort duties.
|
|
10.4.41 |
Clyde |
? |
|
|
19.4.41 |
At sea |
28.4.41 |
Escorting Convoys OB312
and SC28 |
|
30.4.41 |
Stornoway |
? |
|
|
1.5.41 |
Aberdeen |
7.5.41 |
1/5 Taken in hand for
repairs, completes 6/5 |
|
In May HAZARD, BRAMBLE
and other ships of the flotilla were told to be at one week's notice
for minesweeping operations while otherwise being available to the C
in C Western Approaches for escort duties.
|
|
? |
Stornoway |
15.5.41 |
|
|
16.5.41 |
Inverary |
17.5.41 |
|
|
Between 19 May and 29
August HAZARD escorted Convoys HX125, OB336, SC34,
SC39, HX142 and
SC40. |
|
? |
Oban |
30.5.41 |
|
|
30.5.41 |
Aultbea |
31.5.41 |
30/3 From C in C WA:
Liseta is to be sailed to Iceland in company with British Freedom and
Aldersgate escorted by NIGER and HAZARD. Sailing to be delayed until
arrival of HAZARD at Loch Ewe ETA 31/5 |
|
2.6.41 |
Iceland |
? |
|
|
9.6.41 |
Stornoway |
9.6.41 |
|
|
10.6.41 |
Aberdeen |
16.6.41 |
|
|
17.6.41 |
Stornoway |
18.6.41 |
27/6 From SO 1st
MSF: Should go to Londonderry for A/S training on completion of escort
duties about 16/7 |
|
? |
Stornoway |
29.6.41 |
|
|
30.6.41 |
Clyde |
2.7.41 |
|
|
8.7.41 |
|
|
HAZARD damaged her Asdic
dome by grounding. |
|
14.7.41 |
Clyde |
24.7.41 |
15/7 From F O i/c
Glasgow: HAZARD taken in hand by Messrs Barclay Curle, Govan for
boiler clean and minor engine repairs by Messrs Fairfield Govan D/C
22/7
22/7 Owing to delay in
undocking, D/c is put back to 24/7
24/7 From SO 1st
MSF: Request HAZARD may be sailed for Londonderry for shell training
25/7 HAZARD completed and
proceeded down river to Tail of Bank 24/7
25/7 From F O i/c
Glasgow: HAZARD being taken in hand in the Clyde before the end of
August |
|
25.7.41 |
Londonderry |
1.8.41 |
|
|
23.8.41 |
Clyde |
25.8.41 |
|
|
? |
Clyde |
28.8.41 |
|
|
After a brief spell with
SC39 she was diverted with HEBE and the destroyers Sabre and Shikari to protect HX142. |
|
30.8.41 |
Greenock |
31.8.41 |
|
|
3.9.41 |
Aberdeen |
9.9.41 |
|
|
11.9.41 |
Belfast |
13.9.41 |
|
|
14.9.41 |
Milford Haven |
16.9.41 |
|
|
17.9.41 |
Belfast |
10.11.41 |
20/9 From F O i/c
Belfast: Taken in hand for conversion for service in Arctic etc
Completes 31/10
28/10 Anticipate HAZARD
will be ready for sea 4/11
4/11 Sailing of HAZARD
delayed owing to late arrival of Oerlikon mountings, fitting of which
expected to complete 4/11
Sailing delayed owing to
defects discovered during sea trials
9/11 Sailing delayed
owing to weather conditions |
|
|
And
then we were sent over to Belfast for another change, and the crew
had to live in private houses while the alterations were being done.
They were very good and kind the people. So many of the crew had to
stay onboard the ship at night in watches or shifts, the others
living in their houses and coming down to the ship at 8 o’clock. Our
landlady was very nice, at the weekend we were given our lodging
money to pay the landlady and ours always gave us a £1 back, pocket
money so she said, and that made some of the lads very mad as they
got nothing back. While we were at Belfast all the crew got leave to
go home for about five weeks, taking half of the crew at a time. We
travelled to Larne and then after the customs went aboard the ferry
to Stranraer and then by train to Carlisle, changing for Newcastle.
I made full use of my leave going here and there with the wife and
daughter and also my wonderful mother in law who I was very fond of.
And at night the father in law and I went for a drink. Those leaves
went over too quick and back to the ship to let the other half of
the crew on leave. And it was then that we heard we were going to
Russia
on Convoy Duties. We did not know what lay ahead. Just as well as I
Know some of them wouldn’t of come back. But when they did come back
off leave and we painted the ship and then went back to
Scapa Flow
to wait for orders.
Scragg |
|
10.11.41 |
Rothesay |
? |
11/11 From F O i/c
Greenock: Ranging completed but never satisfactory. Returning for
further SA trials.
13/11 From C in C Home
Fleet: HAZARD to sail for North Russia. No definite date can be given,
should arrive Scapa as soon as practicable. |
|
? |
Greenock |
16.11.41 |
|
|
17.11.41 |
Scapa |
? |
HEBE,
SHARPSHOOTER and HAZARD were detailed to escort Convoy PQ5 to
Archangel. In fact they escorted four of this convoy's seven ships
from Kirkwall to Hvalfjord. |
|
|
The
ship that should of come with us was held up so we had to go on our
own which was very wrong, on our own to Scotland. On our way over we
dropped a couple of charges and up came the dead fish killed by the
explosion. We lowered the boats but did not stop the ship in case of
subs, and when the boats were filled with fish they were called back
and hoisted up on deck and away we went on our way to Iceland. The
people didn’t seem pleased to see English, they were a lot of
pro-Germans in Iceland. The Navy went up into a long fjord about
eight miles from Reykjavik and while we were there a storm blew up
and we were ordered out to look for an American lifeboat from an oil
tanker. It was one of the worst seas I have been in, the waves were
about 60 feet high. Of course there were swells after the storm. We
stayed out all day but never saw anything and came back to harbour.
Well the next day we were told to stand by for a convoy. We went
alongside the store ship for winter clothing and food, and to the
oil tanker to fill up with oil.
Scragg |
|
23.11.41 |
Iceland |
27.11.41? |
|
|
27.11.41 |
At sea |
8.12.41 |
SHARPSHOOTER, HAZARD and
HEBE provide part of Ocean escort for PQ5 (7 ships) from Hvalfjord.
SHARPSHOOTER remained with the convoy all the way to Archangel,
arriving 13/12. On 7/12 BRAMBLE and SEAGULL joined as local eastern
escort, allowing HAZARD and HEBE to detach to Murmansk with the
cruiser Sheffield arriving 8/12. There was no enemy activity. |
|
|
And
the day came for our adventure into the Arctic. There were quite a
few ships, Americans, British, Canadian, Russian, it took about
seven days to get to the Kola Inlet to Murmansk and some ships went
along to the
White Sea
to Archangel. Our ship went alongside the jetty at Murmansk and we
went ashore to see the town. And everywhere we went there was a
Russian following us. They wouldn’t trust us to go round ourselves.
Scragg |
|
8.12.41 |
Murmansk |
? |
HAZARD then carried out
local minesweeping duties with SPEEDY
before going out to meet Convoy PQ6. |
|
17.12.41 |
At sea |
? |
While on
their way to meet PQ6 (8 ships), HAZARD (Lt Cdr J R A Seymour) and
SPEEDY were
attacked by four German destroyers that had been sent out to find PQ6
(Z23, Z24, Z25, Z27) and were laying mines. This was the German’s
first attempt to intercept a convoy. The Germans mistook the British
ships for much larger Soviet destroyers and did not press home their
attack. Although the Germans fired star shell the minesweepers managed
to escape in the gloom under a smoke-screen. SPEEDY was hit four times
and was replaced by HMS LEDA. |
|
|
Our ship and HMS Speedy were patrolling outside the White Sea when
we were jumped on by two German destroyers. They were firing by
radar and it was good shooting. We got hit once but not much damage.
But the Speedy was badly hit. One of her guns was shot right out and
her mast came down and she was hit in the steering compartment. All
we could do was put a smoke screen around her and run for cover of
the coast and signal Murmansk. The HMS Kent and two destroyers went
after them. The next night Hazard and Speedy had to go alongside the
Kent
for repairs, worked during the night to put patches on the side
before we could go anywhere and at daybreak we were off to the White
Sea again.
And we got ordered to go back to where we had left the
ice breakers months beforehand. But all we could see was cliffs of
ice. We waited and I wish I could have had a camera as the cliffs
opened up and out came the ice breakers, the little store ship, four
Russian destroyers and the oiler, the Hopemount, from Vladivostok.
We left them at their Base and carried on back to Archangel to wait
for the big convoy that had left England and Iceland. We left for the
entrance to the
White Sea
and wait.
Scragg |
|
20.12.41 |
Murmansk |
? |
|
