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A Second World War Russian Convoys O.B.E. and Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea group of eight awarded to
Captain Wilfred Geoffrey Perrin, Merchant Navy, for services aboard the S.S. Dover Hill when she was bombed in the
Kola Inlet, North Russia; he led a team of volunteers to locate and defuse an unexploded 1000lb bomb which had
penetrated some 22 feet into her cargo of coal, a feat accomplished after two days and two nights hard work, often
under repeated bomb attacks
THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, O.B.E. (Civil) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt; 1939-45 STAR;
ATLANTIC STAR; AFRICA STAR; PACIFIC STAR; ITALY STAR; WAR MEDAL 1939-45; LLOYD’S WAR MEDAL FOR BRAVERY AT SEA (Captain W. G.
Perrin, S.S. “Dover Hill”, 4th April 1943) mounted for wear, nearly extremely fine (8) £1400-1800
O.B.E. London Gazette 12 October 1943. - for services when the ship was bombed and damaged.
Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea Lloyd’s List and Shipping Gazette 5 September 1944. ‘Captain Wilfred Geoffrey Perrin, Master,
Dover Hill’. ‘For dangerous work in hazardous circumstances’.
The S.S. Dover Hill, was a cargo vessel of 5,815 tons. She formed part of convoy JW 53 bound for North Russia heavily laden with a
cargo of fighter aircraft, tanks, lorries, guns and ammunition. The convoy comprised of twenty eight merchant vessels with an escort of
three cruisers, one anti-aircraft cruiser, one escort carrier, sixteen destroyers, two minesweepers, three corvettes and two trawlers. Such
a heavily defended convoy emphasizes both the importance of the cargo and the expectation of trouble from enemy attack. The
convoy set off on 15 February 1943, in a gale which developed into such a severe storm that six of the merchant ships were so
damaged that they were forced to return to Iceland. The S.S. Dover Hill lost much of her deck cargo overboard, including oil drums and
crated lorries, but managed to save the tanks and continue her difficult passage northwards. Despite a concerted attack by JU-88
bombers a few days later the remaining twenty-two merchant ships of the convoy arrived at the Kola Inlet on 27 February. A few days
later S.S. Dover Hill discharged her cargo at Murmansk, still being subjected to frequent attack from enemy bombers, and afterwards
moved out to an anchorage in the Kola Inlet where the ships lay about a mile apart. The German front being only about ten miles
away, these ships came under frequent low-level attack by ME-109 fighter bombers. The D.E.M.S. gunners aboard these merchant ships
were kept very busy as they patiently awaited their escort home and, indeed, the gunners aboard S.S. Dover Hill successfully claimed
one destroyed and one shared destroyed before the incident occurred whereby the names of several members of her crew appeared in
the London Gazette. The personal account that follows is that of the ship’s Radio Officer David Craig, who related his experiences for
the online BBC archive WW2 People’s War:
“I feel that the story should be told why the names of these men should appear in the London Gazette. I write the story as I remember it
but I write on behalf of the nineteen men, as we all worked together and none of us did anything different from anyone else.
On Sunday, April 4th we were anchored in Misukovo Anchorage a few miles north of Murmansk and I was playing chess in the
Officers’ mess when Action Stations sounded and our guns opened up at the same time. I went through the pantry, looked out of the
door, and saw two JU-88 bombers coming up from astern, high up. Our Bofors shells were bursting below them and when they turned
away I assumed we had beaten them off and stepped out on deck. This was a foolish thing to do as, unknown to me the planes had
released their bombs before turning away. Four bombs exploded close on the port side and one on the starboard side and I was blown
off my feet. As I got up our gunlayer came down from one of the bridge oerlikons and pointed out a large round hole in the steel deck a
few yards from where I had been standing. It was obvious that the sixth bomb had gone through the main and ‘tween decks into our
coal bunkers and had not exploded. We informed the S.B.N.O, Murmansk of the situation and were advised that there were no British
Bomb Disposal people in North Russia. We then realised that we would have to dig the bomb out ourselves in order to save our ship.
The minesweeper H.M.S. Jason was ordered to anchor astern of us and to come alongside to render assistance if the bomb should
explode, although I doubt if there would have been much to pick up. Incidentally, I did enjoy talking to the Jason by Aldis lamp during
this time. You must understand that though the Dover Hill was only a battered old Merchantman she was our home and no German
was going to make us leave her while she was still afloat.
The Captain [Perrin] lined the whole crew up on the after deck and asked for volunteers, and nineteen of us including our Captain
formed our own Bomb Disposal Squad. We had no bomb disposal equipment, in fact we only had a few shovels borrowed from our
stokehold and nineteen stout hearts when we started digging back the coal, trying to find the bomb. The bunker was full of good British
steaming coal which we were saving for the homeward run so we used a derrick to bring it up on deck, hoping to replace it when we
got the bomb out. When the Russian authorities heard what we were doing, although they had many unexploded bombs to deal with in
the town, they kindly offered to send one of their Bomb Disposal officers to remove the detonator if we could get the bomb up on deck.
When we dug about ten feet down into the coal we found the tail fins and, by their size, decided our bomb must be a 1000lb one.
Unfortunately the Germans also discovered what we were up to and came back and bombed us again, hoping to set off the bomb we
were digging for. Between bomb explosions and the concussion of our own guns the coal used to fall back into where we were digging
and things got difficult at times. We had to dig down approximately 22 feet before we got to the bomb, but after two days and two
nights hard work we finally got it up on deck.
I was standing beside the bomb with two of my fellow officers as our Russian friend started to unscrew the detonator when after a few
turns it stuck. He then took a small hammer and a punch and tapped it to get it moving. I can honestly say that every time he hit it I
could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing against my duffle coat hood. After removing the detonator and primer we dumped
the bomb into the Kola Inlet where it probably lies to this day. We then moved back to Murmansk for repairs.
www.dnw.co.uk
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