On 5 November the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Jervis Bay with many Caithness men aboard was sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. The Jervis Bay was the sole escort to 37 merchant ships forming convoy HX-84 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, when they encountered the Admiral Scheer. The Captain of the Jervis Bay ordered the convoy to scatter while they took on the German ship; hopelessly outgunned the Jervis Bay was sunk with just 65 survivors, though all but 5 of the convoy escaped. There is a plaque across from the church in Wick to the men of Caithness who lost their lives in the action.

There is a website dedicated to the Jervis Bay and her crew – see http://www.hmsjervisbay.com/index.php

Also this week, President Roosevelt of the USA won a third term in office, and Neville Chamberlain died on 9 November. In Greece, the initial Italian offensive ended in failure.

In Caithness, Mr M’Hardy, Director of Education, wrote to a correspondent about the recent bombing of Wick. “When I spoke to you on the ‘phone I said that we had been free from visitors lately but on Saturday last we got rather a plastering. The local hospital” [i.e., Bignold Cottage Hospital] “suffered and is in a position to suffer again if there should be a repetition of the incident. The new school at Lybster had been provisionally taken over by the Department of Health and its occupation for hospital purposes is now an accomplished fact.”

On 6 November John O’ Groats ARP post reported to ARP Control: “We had firing here tonight, South East of Duncansby Head 18.25. I went to the cliffs about 7 o’clock. There were no lights showing SE Duncansby Head. One vessel was firing dull red balls of fire, the other was showing a big yellow light.”

In the seas off Caithness, the toll on merchant shipping continued to mount. On 7 November Caithness Constabulary issued a pass to one Abdul Jahar and 13 survivors of the merchant ship SS Clan Mackinlay, sunk by enemy action the day before. They were talking the train from Wick to Glasgow.

Finally this week, Hetty Munro over in Orkney recorded in her diary that she and a friend took a break from war work and went for a sail with a colleagueH down to Flotta. “We went between Lyness and Cava and saw lots of warships – Hood, Repulse, Didos and several destroyers – including, in the floating dock, the destroyer which had been the victim of an explosion. Evidently one of the sub-lieutenants had been playing about with the fuse of a depth charge and it had gone off and killed quite a few people.” They went for a walk and did some fishing, and got back around 6 pm: “A most enjoyable day altogether.”

Coming soon! Week 63, 11th - 17th November 1940, will be published on Monday 11th November 2013. To view previous issues please use the menus on the right hand side of the page.
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