Live ChatDougie Shelley was a Seaman Gunner on the Arctic Convoys during the Second World War. He aided the supply of vital resources to the Soviet Union, helping the war effort on the Eastern Front, before being posted to the Pacific.
“I was a civilian when war broke out, but I joined the Navy voluntarily aged 17 in 1942, to make sure I got in. My brother and uncle were both in the Navy as chiefs. My brother was a submariner.
“My first ship was the HMS Meon. I spent 7 months on the Meon on the Arctic convoys.
“We were there to restore supplies to Russia and protect vessels from the US heading into Russia.”
Arctic Convoy
Dougie faced huge dangers during his time in The Arctic Convoy. They sailed on a route around the north of Norway, at times close to German bases, and faced attacks by German submarines, aircraft and warships, suffering huge losses. The conditions were extremely dangerous, not only due to risks from the enemy, but due to extreme cold, gales and pack ice.
“Going through the Barents Sea, the ice and snow on the ship was thick – the conditions were absolutely freezing. The boat was frozen. I remember being sat in the turrets in sometimes -40°C. We didn’t think about it, we just had to do our job and we got on with it.
“I had to sleep in a turret four hours on four hours off on each trip, which was roughly 14 days. We wore long johns, a jersey, overalls and a duffel coat with port and starboard lights on. We wore harnesses over our duffel coats because if you fell overboard, within four minutes in that water, you’d be a solid block of ice. If you were picked up in a minute you might be lucky, but you wouldn’t last longer than that.
“We had some men who were frozen stiff on outlook – you could only do half an hour at most, out on the deck.
“Each boat carried about 250 men, so if struck, there was not a chance that all would survive. We found bodies frozen solid from ships that had sunk or been struck by torpedoes and bombs.
“The Navy had several ships sunk by torpedoes, designed to blow the stern of the ship. When they fired a torpedo at us it missed by a fraction. Every day I wake up I think I’m a lucky man to be here. Especially when you think of the thousands who didn’t make it.
“One day with the convoy, we pulled into Reykjavik and we were dive bombed by German planes, but we opened up with our guns and got rid of the plane. Luckily, we were unscathed.
“When Allied ships were sunk, some U-Boat captains would pick up British survivors, but others would shoot on sight. It was terrible, but that is war.
“Our ship sank a U-Boat in Iceland, and blew them out of the water”
Due to the Arctic Convoy, more than four million tonnes of supplies were delivered to Russia and troops on the Eastern Front.
“If it wasn’t for the arctic convoy Russia would have been sunk. We were restoring these big American liberty ships full of tanks, guns and planes for Russia on ‘Lend-Lease’.
“When we escorted them, they went to offload, and at the port they would often get bombed – they were lucky if they got back out again.
“We were all typical men, just doing our job. There wasn’t anything particularly special about us.”
The Pacific
Dougie returned home from one trip to take shore leave, on 5th June 1944, one day before the Normandy invasion. He was later posted to the Pacific and Australia for nine months, where he had a very different experience to the convoys.
“I came home the day before D-Day. I went to HMS Westcliffe to see a friend and it was all empty. I thought, where has everybody gone. And of course, the next day they were all in Normandy!”
“I was then sent to Australia, where I picked up a beautiful Battle-class Destroyer called the Armada, under Sydney Bridge.
"We all went ashore after we got there and went to a pub. The Aussie’s there didn’t think much of us and kept calling us whingeing poms, and we all ended up in a fight. The next morning our skipper was furious. He said ‘Never before, have I had a crew like this. God forbid, if it happens again, I will get a completely brand-new crew!’
“Despite that, I loved Australia. We sailed over the Great Barrier Reef into Port Mackay and then Townsville. It was brilliant. Pubs were open all day, the Australians got drunk in the afternoon and went and had a punch up in the evening. The men would drink a whole keg in a day. We loved it so much that we tried to sabotage the ship to stay in port a little longer…but it didn’t work!”
VE Day
When news came through that Germany had surrendered, Dougie was in Hong Kong.
“We were on the ship when we heard the news. We had just done a tour of Australia and the Pacific and landed up in Hong Kong.
“The news came through on the radio. Telecommunications. Couldn’t have been a better time. I’m glad it didn’t go on any longer. I don’t want any more wars. They only bring body bags, don’t they? Unfortunately.
“The war killed so many people it’s unbelievable. All around, the Americans, Russians, all the Allies. The same with the Germans. But you were doing a job, the same as they had to. It’s either kill or be killed.
“When we heard about Victory in Europe, everybody got together, and we all had a good old drink up and jolly up and couldn’t welcome it much better!
“I don’t remember any of the conversations I had with people. I don’t think I was alive. I think I was half dead. We all were!
“We had what they called 'splice the mainbrace': you got a double tot of rum. and it was well-earned and all. And that’s the only time we got it. Now, if the Queen comes aboard for any reason, you splice the mainbrace. The Yanks can’t drink it like us! I never used to get a headache. I could drink rum all my life. Never bothered me. Very nice.”
VJ Day
On VJ Day, Dougie was still on his ship, The Armada, in Hong Kong.
“I didn’t like Hong Kong at all. I lost half a stone before I came home because it was very humid and sweaty. I fizzled down to about 10 ½ stone.
“I had to wait for a relief to come out so I could go home and get demobbed, but that took quite some time. A lot of guys who were with SEAC [Southeast Asia Command] never got home until about six months later. A lot of them didn’t realise when the war had ended. They thought it was still on.
“I came home on a battleship, was given a suit and sent back to civilian life. You could tell the blokes who were coming out because they all had the same suit on. It was rubbish. Mind you, the officers had the best, naturally.
“The first thing I did when I got home, I got rid of the demobbed suit and hat and went down the 50 bob tailors and bought a brand-new suit, nice single-breasted coat so I looked the part.”
After the war
After the war Dougie had a job with the MOD as a driver but left because he found the role too boring. He then joined the Merchant Navy for a number of years, before leaving to run security at a port.
In more recent years, Dougie has been attending the Veteran’s Club, run by SSAFA in Southend. SSAFA has also supported Dougie through case work at his home, including securing furniture for him.
“SSAFA means a lot to me because they have done so much for me.
“Michelle, who runs the club and is a caseworker, helps any guy down on his luck. She’s worth a gong I tell you! And that’s what SSAFA does! I think SSAFA is marvellous.
“People don’t realise how affected veterans are by the things they saw and now, what these lads out in Iraq and Afghanistan saw too. But they can all get help from SSAFA.”