7.5.54

The Point

I like my contemporaries and our children have been very lucky. We have not had to endure the misery and deprivation caused by war as my parents and all preceding generations did.

Of course we do have armed forces and over the last 60 years they have always been risking their lives somewhere in the world to protect us but most of us do not have the close involvement of our ancestors.

Vast amounts of material have been written about the second world war, but everyone was involved and most people said very little about it. My father said nothing to me and I do not think that that is uncommon. It clearly was not something he cared to remember. When he retired he did start to show some interest in the war period but not the Atlantic.

Once I had access to some source material and some time I discovered that there was a story of interest to me here. Something that would give me a personal perspective on the experiences of my parent's generation that are so different to my own.

These days it is as easy to write a blog as to write an essay. I think the structure of a blog suits this material and will help me concentrate. It is an appropriate analogy that this blog is like a message in a bottle adrift in the Atlantic, not very likely to be found, but unlike a bottle I can tell a few people where it is.

I do not have enough personal material to make a really good story. Alister only kept a few key letters, maybe his mother kept everything, there might be more letters sitting in a bungalow in Glasgow but I cannot know that at present and I may never find out. It is a shame. If you want a good personal story I highly recommend Harry's Blog which I have certainly enjoyed.

If you want to access a huge amount of information have a look at my references page. It is incredible how much work has been done to extract information from archive source documents about the Battle of the Atlantic and the Convoys in World War 2.

As with any Blog it is a little tricky to come in part way through the postings and read the story in the right order.  I hope I have made that as easy as is possible. You should start at the beginning. When you have read a post choose the "Newer Post" link to move forward in time.

If you do stumble across this Blog and have some information to tell me please post comments. I do not hold out much hope but I will be delighted if you can tell me more, or can correct me where needed.

Now start at the beginning.