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Surviving the Arctic Convoys: The Wartime Memoirs of Leading Seaman Charlie Erswell
Leading Seaman Charlie Erswell saw much more than his fair share of action during the Second World War. He was present at the 1942 landing in North Africa (Operation TORCH), D-Day and the liberation of Norway. But his main area of operations was that of the Arctic Convoys, escorting merchant ships taking essential war supplies to the Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel.
In addition to contending with relentless U-boat and Luftwaffe attacks, crews endured the extreme sea conditions and appalling weather. This involved clearing ice and snow in temperatures as low as minus thirty degrees Celsius. No wonder Winston Churchill described it as 'the worst journey in the world'.
Fortunately, Charlie, who served on two destroyers, HMS Milne and Savage, kept a record of his experiences and is alive today to describe them. His story, published to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of the first convoy, is more than one man's account. It is an inspiring tribute to his colleagues, many of whom were killed in action. No-one reading Surviving The Arctic Convoys could fail to be moved by the bravery and endurance of these outstanding men.
In addition to contending with relentless U-boat and Luftwaffe attacks, crews endured the extreme sea conditions and appalling weather. This involved clearing ice and snow in temperatures as low as minus thirty degrees Celsius. No wonder Winston Churchill described it as 'the worst journey in the world'.
Fortunately, Charlie, who served on two destroyers, HMS Milne and Savage, kept a record of his experiences and is alive today to describe them. His story, published to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of the first convoy, is more than one man's account. It is an inspiring tribute to his colleagues, many of whom were killed in action. No-one reading Surviving The Arctic Convoys could fail to be moved by the bravery and endurance of these outstanding men.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published July 23, 2021
21 people want to read
About the author
John R. McKay
9 books13 followersJohn McKay served in the Royal Air Force for seven years before pursuing a career in the Fire and Rescue Service. He lives in Wigan, Lancashire, with his wife, Dawn, and has two daughters and two granddaughters.
With a huge interest in all things World Wars One and Two, John took up writing a few years ago, embarking on an ambition he had held since childhood. This has led to an interest in the Russian/Arctic Convoys of World War Two and him completing the wartime memoir of a veteran of those voyages, Charlie Erswell (Surviving the Arctic Convoys, The Wartime Memoir of Leading Seaman Charlie Erswell, Pen & Sword, 2021). He has also written an in-depth account of PQ18, one of the most significant seaborne operations of the whole war (Arctic Convoy PQ18, 25 Days That Changed The Course of the War, Pen & Sword, 2023).
John’s novel, Hell and High Water, won the inaugural Aspects of History Historical Fiction Award and was published by Sharpe Books. His Manner of Men series pays homage to Britain’s airborne forces of World War Two. Books in the series have been endorsed by renowned historians and authors, Damien Lewis and Saul David.
With a huge interest in all things World Wars One and Two, John took up writing a few years ago, embarking on an ambition he had held since childhood. This has led to an interest in the Russian/Arctic Convoys of World War Two and him completing the wartime memoir of a veteran of those voyages, Charlie Erswell (Surviving the Arctic Convoys, The Wartime Memoir of Leading Seaman Charlie Erswell, Pen & Sword, 2021). He has also written an in-depth account of PQ18, one of the most significant seaborne operations of the whole war (Arctic Convoy PQ18, 25 Days That Changed The Course of the War, Pen & Sword, 2023).
John’s novel, Hell and High Water, won the inaugural Aspects of History Historical Fiction Award and was published by Sharpe Books. His Manner of Men series pays homage to Britain’s airborne forces of World War Two. Books in the series have been endorsed by renowned historians and authors, Damien Lewis and Saul David.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 17, 2023
A decent account of a young Royal Navy sailors who sailed in the Arctic Convoys during World War 2. After enlisting in 1942, his first posting was on the destroyer HMS Milne during the PQ 18 convoy to Russia which was a hard-fought convoy to get through after the disastrous PQ 17. After this he took part in a few other operations (including Operations Torch and Neptune) and tranferred to HMS Savage, but his story mostly focuses on the few convoys to Russia and back that he was a part of during the war and just skims over his other experiences. After the war he briefly joined the Merchant Marine and tells a few stories from his time serving there. His story is just about a young lad also doing his bit during the war like most others during the war and we should all thank him for that, but in the story he repeats himself a lot and with the advantage of hindsight, there are too many small historical mistakes made by the author.
July 14, 2021
John R McKay is an excellent writer, his skill in drawing you into the story is second only to Ken Follett.
Being ex Matelot I can fully appreciate the conditions experienced by L/seaman Erswell in the far north. Not the war condions, but certainly mother nature.
Well done on an excellent book, I look forward to the next book.
Being ex Matelot I can fully appreciate the conditions experienced by L/seaman Erswell in the far north. Not the war condions, but certainly mother nature.
Well done on an excellent book, I look forward to the next book.
January 1, 2022
Berwick lad Charlie Erswell served in the Royal Navy during World War II. It was an ambition he had always wanted to fulfil; war and his 18th birthday gave him the opportunity. Surviving the Arctic Convoys is his autobiography as told to John McKay.
Too young to join up on the outbreak of war, Erswell worked as a telegram boy during the London blitz, but he signed up for the Royal Navy as a gunner in December 1941. He describes the perils of the Arctic convoys that would challenge him and his shipmates when he joined the destroyer HMS Milne. Erswell’s first Arctic convoy was PQ18, the one that followed the disastrous PQ17, so there was some apprehension on board HMS Milne. Submarines and enemy aircraft presented the biggest threats to the convoys, and Erswell narrates the action as they were encountered by his ship and others. He also relates the horrors of ships being sunk around HMS Milne, and the Milne’s rescue efforts to save sailors from the freezing seas. Despite incessant attacks, convoy PQ18 survived relatively intact and Erswell emphasizes the roles of training and efficiency in ensuring that success.
Routine maintenance and fighting the bitterly cold conditions occupied the sailors’ time in between German attacks. When they arrived off the Soviet Union, the destroyer escort turned round to take another convoy home with the fear of submarine attack ever present. On completion, HMS Milne sailed south to take part in Operation Torch via a boozy night in Gibraltar. On the way home, the ship was diverted into the Atlantic for more convoy duties and more U-boats. Some leave followed HMS Milne’s return to Scotland, then it was back to Arctic convoy work for Erswell in February 1943. A change of ship, to the HMS Savage, came next, in early 1944, and another Kola Run as the Arctic convoys were called. Despite the loss of an accompanying destroyer, it was clear to Erswell that the tide of war had turned against the German U-boats. Erswell next saw active service at the D-Day landings, defending against possible E-Boat attack. Then it was back to the frozen north but facing considerably less opposition. His last convoy escort took place in March 1945. Discharged in June 1946, Erswell joined the Merchant Navy. He bounced around the Mediterranean before leaving that service in 1949.
On first reading, Charlie Erswell’s autobiography has a ‘so what’ feel to it. While he certainly took part in some hair-raising combat in extreme conditions, Erswell himself did little of note other than his duty, which he freely acknowledges. Much of the rest of the book contains stories that many ex-sailors can relate to. But it is the very ordinariness of Erswell’s war that is the most profound aspect of this book. War has its heroes, but it is the extraordinary circumstances of war that ordinary men find themselves in that are the pulse of socio-military history; that in itself makes Erswell’s autobiography valuable. He isn’t helped by his editor, John McKay who takes too much for granted from his readers, leaving Erswell’s story under-contextualized when greater background detail could have added so much more to the story and the veracity of the memories on display. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable read and an eye-opener for readers who have not realised the importance of the Arctic convoys and the men who fought to keep them afloat.
Too young to join up on the outbreak of war, Erswell worked as a telegram boy during the London blitz, but he signed up for the Royal Navy as a gunner in December 1941. He describes the perils of the Arctic convoys that would challenge him and his shipmates when he joined the destroyer HMS Milne. Erswell’s first Arctic convoy was PQ18, the one that followed the disastrous PQ17, so there was some apprehension on board HMS Milne. Submarines and enemy aircraft presented the biggest threats to the convoys, and Erswell narrates the action as they were encountered by his ship and others. He also relates the horrors of ships being sunk around HMS Milne, and the Milne’s rescue efforts to save sailors from the freezing seas. Despite incessant attacks, convoy PQ18 survived relatively intact and Erswell emphasizes the roles of training and efficiency in ensuring that success.
Routine maintenance and fighting the bitterly cold conditions occupied the sailors’ time in between German attacks. When they arrived off the Soviet Union, the destroyer escort turned round to take another convoy home with the fear of submarine attack ever present. On completion, HMS Milne sailed south to take part in Operation Torch via a boozy night in Gibraltar. On the way home, the ship was diverted into the Atlantic for more convoy duties and more U-boats. Some leave followed HMS Milne’s return to Scotland, then it was back to Arctic convoy work for Erswell in February 1943. A change of ship, to the HMS Savage, came next, in early 1944, and another Kola Run as the Arctic convoys were called. Despite the loss of an accompanying destroyer, it was clear to Erswell that the tide of war had turned against the German U-boats. Erswell next saw active service at the D-Day landings, defending against possible E-Boat attack. Then it was back to the frozen north but facing considerably less opposition. His last convoy escort took place in March 1945. Discharged in June 1946, Erswell joined the Merchant Navy. He bounced around the Mediterranean before leaving that service in 1949.
On first reading, Charlie Erswell’s autobiography has a ‘so what’ feel to it. While he certainly took part in some hair-raising combat in extreme conditions, Erswell himself did little of note other than his duty, which he freely acknowledges. Much of the rest of the book contains stories that many ex-sailors can relate to. But it is the very ordinariness of Erswell’s war that is the most profound aspect of this book. War has its heroes, but it is the extraordinary circumstances of war that ordinary men find themselves in that are the pulse of socio-military history; that in itself makes Erswell’s autobiography valuable. He isn’t helped by his editor, John McKay who takes too much for granted from his readers, leaving Erswell’s story under-contextualized when greater background detail could have added so much more to the story and the veracity of the memories on display. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable read and an eye-opener for readers who have not realised the importance of the Arctic convoys and the men who fought to keep them afloat.
April 8, 2022
World War II buffs, especially those with a special interest in the war at sea, owe Charlie Erswell and John McKay a big debt of gratitude. This is one of the most comprehensive, and yet readable, of the many WW II memoirs I have encountered. John McKay writes with an immediacy that makes the reader feel as though he is Charlie's sibling, early in the book, or his shipmate during the long, hazardous voyages Charlie made in HMS Milne and HMS Savage escorting merchant ships to North Russia and the Mediterranean and protecting troopships and support vessels during the landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) and the Normandy invasion. You almost feel as though you are there with Charlie in the 4.7" gun turret as he and his mates fire round after round at the Heinkel 111 s and Ju 87s flying in at masthead height to launch their torpedoes and bombs. Almost as unnerving was Charlie's description of having to go out onto the deck of his destroyer in 30-degree-below zero temperatures to chip ice off the superstructure to prevent the vessel from becoming topheavy and capsizing. No less daunting were the violent gales his ships encountered in the Barents Sea, when even the saltiest of RN sailors on board ship struggled with seasickness as the vessel was tossed around like a toy ship by 40- and 50-foot waves. Charlie was clearly a first-rate seaman and a hero, but he was also a compassionate, caring human being as he demonstrated when he provided food for a starving British paratrooper and a Norwegian couple when his ship was stationed in Oslo at the end of the war. I loved this book, and I am very happy to write this well-deserved favorable review. But what I would really like to do is to meet Charlie Erswell and thank him personally for protecting my father, who was Third Mate on the SS NATHANAEL GREENE, a Liberty Ship in Convoy PQ18, the first of the convoys Charlie sailed with to North Russia. Thank you, Charlie, and thank you, John McKay, for so skillfully helping Charlie Sewell to tell his wonderful story!
August 5, 2021
John McKay's wonderful ability as a story teller puts the reader across a table with Leading Seaman Charlie Erswell as he tells us of his adventures in the Royal Navy during WWII. Charlie's experiences vividly come to life in, "Surviving the Arctic Convoys".
Ice covered decks on a destroyer escorting convoys to Murmansk and Archangel in the USSR, fighting off air attacks, hunting uboats and the never ending brutal cold. These were Charlie's most harrowing and memorable experiences, but he served in the warmer, but no less dangerous Mediterranean, the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Norway.
Charlie's stories are beautifully related and preserved by the author.
This is a "Five Star, Must Read".
Ice covered decks on a destroyer escorting convoys to Murmansk and Archangel in the USSR, fighting off air attacks, hunting uboats and the never ending brutal cold. These were Charlie's most harrowing and memorable experiences, but he served in the warmer, but no less dangerous Mediterranean, the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Norway.
Charlie's stories are beautifully related and preserved by the author.
This is a "Five Star, Must Read".
September 20, 2021
A superbly written account of this sailor's wartime memoirs of his time during World War 2 on two destroyers, serving primarily with Arctic Convoys to Murmansk and Archangel on the northern coast of Russia. Being a memoir, the book provides a first hand account of what it felt like to serve in these icy waters, while being bombed by German planes from nearby Norway, torpedoed by U-boats 'wolf packs', and with the ever-present threat of lethal surface raider warships lurking in the nearby fjords. The latter included the formidable warships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, which had the fire power to do serious damage to the ships at any time.
The book provides a vivid picture of Arctic naval warfare. For many of the sailors on Charlie's first Convoy, PQ18, it was their first trip to sea and a majority of the crew were sea-sick. It was their misfortune to have to gain their sea-legs in some of the most mountainous seas in the world. When the convoys were not being buffeted by Arctic storms, and the crews were not being frozen to death by the dreadful climate, the calmer weather allowed the planes and U-boats to come out openly and attack the ships more easily. Only the Allied naval warship screen and a few flimsy, aged aircraft stood between life and death for the brave, largely defenceless merchant seamen who were the true heroes of that naval war.
This book is a must read. John McKay has done an excellent job of documenting this small piece of oral wartime history.
The book provides a vivid picture of Arctic naval warfare. For many of the sailors on Charlie's first Convoy, PQ18, it was their first trip to sea and a majority of the crew were sea-sick. It was their misfortune to have to gain their sea-legs in some of the most mountainous seas in the world. When the convoys were not being buffeted by Arctic storms, and the crews were not being frozen to death by the dreadful climate, the calmer weather allowed the planes and U-boats to come out openly and attack the ships more easily. Only the Allied naval warship screen and a few flimsy, aged aircraft stood between life and death for the brave, largely defenceless merchant seamen who were the true heroes of that naval war.
This book is a must read. John McKay has done an excellent job of documenting this small piece of oral wartime history.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews