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I wish to record for posterity an episode in my late father (George Roskell鈥檚) WWII service.

My late father volunteered for war service aged 19 and joined the Royal Navy in September 1939. His service number was JX208391. He volunteered for a little known or reported upon branch of the Royal Navy known as DEMS (Defensively Equiped Merchant Ships). This branch of the Royal Navy was developed out of necessity in assisting in the protection of merchant ships at sea during WWII. Each merchant ship had a contingent of these men on board to man the armourments ie. depth charges, 4鈥� deck Gun and AA batteries (these included the Oerliken and Bofors Anti-Aircraft Armoument).

My father attained the rank of CPO gun-layer and saw service throughout the whole of WWII in most of the world鈥檚 seas and oceans, being wounded in the leg by a dive bomber, straffing his ship in the Med during the early part of the war, and being sunk once in the Atlantic in 1943, it is this event I would like to have recorded.

In early February 1943 my father joined convoy UC1 on the Clyde, his ship was the 鈥淓mpire Norseman鈥� 9811gt. She was one of thirty two tankers to undertake the UK to Curacao (Dutch West Indies) run.

The convoy was to be escorted by the 42nd Escort group under Comander LF Durnford-Slater RN in HMS Weston, a sloop and the US Navy 14th Destroyer Division, commanded by Commander WH Duvall in Madison, a destroyer. Amongst the Escorts was an ex-US coastguard cutter by the name of Totland, more of her later.

On the evening of 23rd February 1943 the convoy was attacked by a 鈥淲olf Pack鈥� consisting of upwards of 14 U-Boats, three of which were U202 and U558 and U382. The Empire Norseman was attacked by U202and U382 at around 22.15hrs, she was hit and stopped first at 22.17hrs on the starboard side, then again at 22.21hrs on the port bow. Later a coupe de gras was delivered by U558 delivering a torpedo to the engine room.

Shortly after the abandon ship was given as my father was in the process of dis-arming the depth charges to prevent them detonating as the ship sank and therefore endangering any survivors. My father then jumped over-board into an icy mid-Atlantic, 500 miles south of the Azores, the time was about 23.30hrs.

In the early hours of 24th February my father clinging to a carley float along with other survivors were spotted in the search light of HMS Totland. A very relieved George Roskell of Walmer Bridge, Preston, Lancs was picked up and three days later transferred to a dutch ship 鈥淭he Maaskerk鈥� and then taken onto Bermuda.

Shortly after being picked up by Totland she too was attacked but the torpedos were set too deep and went underneath her. She was a Cutter and they had a much shallower draught than did destroyers, sloops and Corvettes.

During my research just after my fathers death in September 1997 I uncovered an amusing report from that night. Whilst my father was running aft along the flying bridge to remove the fuses from the depth charges, he collided with the Chief Engineer. My father鈥檚 tin hat badly gashed the Chief Engineers forehead. Later on in whilst in a lifeboat the Chief Engineer had a wad of cotton wool placed over the badly bleeding wound, and as he lit a cigarette he accidentally set the cotton wool alight. This apparently caused him more distress than the original collision with my Father, but caused much amusement amongst the other occupants of the Life-boat.

It was during my fathers illness that I undertook research into his war-time experience and a month after he died I eventually found someone else, a Ken Kennedy who was on the Empire Norseman at the same time and also a crew member from the Totland when my father was rescued 鈥� Sad!

If hope this event may be used in some way for only if it serves to let future generations know what went on and the sacrifices made on all our behalves, we ought never forget!

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