Page 48 - History of War - Issue 05-14

After Jervis Bay was sunk
by Admiral Scheer, the ship’s
survivors were picked up by the
Swedish freighter Stureholm

as I can.” If only he’d known how prophetic his In the middle of July, Jervis Bay handed board, 83 lost their lives, most from exposure in
words were about to become. her freighters over to HX 58, then sailed to the bitter Atlantic conditions. In total, only 147
On 1 April, HMS Jervis Bay and its new Saint John in Brunswick, Canada, where she of the 407 people on board managed to survive.
Captain left Freetown in Sierra Leone, sailed entered dry dock on 22 July for degaussing. Jervis Bay was given the order to return to
to Dakar in Senegal to pick up supplies, then This is the process of demagnetising the hull Halifax, which Fegen and his crew reluctantly
crossed the Atlantic, arriving in Bermuda on as a counter-measure to German magnetic obeyed. On their return, they found that HX 72
30 April. The vessel had the dubious honour mines. At the same time, she was fitted with had subsequently been attacked by a pack
of being the first-ever warship to tie up in the 24,000 empty, sealed 45-gallon drums, of five U-boats and, over the course of two days,
region’s historic Hamilton harbour. which were placed in the holds and between 12 of the 43 merchant ships had been sunk. It
Bermuda was being used as an assembly decks, in the hope that it would prevent the was the first notable wolf-pack attack of the war.
port for feeding ships into the convoys sailing liner from sinking too quickly if she was hit. Naturally, the crew were distraught, and
from Halifax in Nova Scotia. A week after her though they hadn’t deserted the convoy of
arrival, Jervis Bay set out with convoy BHX Wolf-pack attack their own volition, they would no doubt have felt
41, rendezvoused with the Atlantic convoy HX On 9 September, Jervis Bay set sail from Halifax some blame for the result. It’s fortunate that
41 about 600 miles east of Newfoundland, as the sole escort of convoy HX 72. Halfway Fegen was held in such high regard by his men:
delivered the freighters under her protection, across the Atlantic, on 20 September, the ship one of his ratings once said, “I think we’d follow
then headed back to Bermuda. Over the next received the message that SS City Of Benares old Fogarty anywhere.”
three months, Fegen and his crew undertook had been torpedoed and sunk by U-48, about Just over a month later, Jervis Bay was called
three similar escorts – BHX 44, BHX 48 and a half-day’s steaming ahead. The passenger into action once more, as the sole escort
BHX 51. With the latter, they became part of ship, part of convoy OB 213 en route to Canada, of convoy HX 84, comprising 38 merchant
convoy HX 51, which sailed from Halifax on was being used to evacuate children. Despite ships carrying lumber, maize, steel, fuel and
7 June and arrived safely in Liverpool on 2 July. launching the lifeboats, of the 96 children on newspaper. The convoy set sail on 28 October

Captain Edward Fegen timeline

1891 1903 1904 1909 1913 1914

8 OCTOBER UNSPECIFIED SEPTEMBER MAY OCTOBER AUGUST
Edward Fegen is born to Keen to follow in his After just a year at naval Aged 18, he is given the After showing considerable At the start of the First
Frederick Fogarty Fegen father’s footsteps and college, the young man role of Midshipman on promise on the high World War, Edward is
and Catherine Mary become a seaman, earns the rank of Cadet. the British battleship seas, he rises to the serving aboard HMS
Fegen in Southsea, he joins the Osborne HMS Dreadnought. rank of Lieutenant. Amphion when she is
England. He soon moves Royal Naval College sunk by German mines.
to County Tipperary. on the Isle of Wight.

48 HISTORY WAR
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