Montag, 19. Dezember 2022

Loch Ewe in the Great War

This blog post is in English as I assume that more English than German speaking readers may find it interesting.

When preparing my Loch Ewe holiday earlier this year, I consulted of course Steve Chadwick's book "Loch Ewe During World War II" and learned about the military use of Loch Ewe in WW1. I was electrified by a hint that there was a battery on the Rubh-a-Choin Peninsula that was known, among other names, as "Fort Ru Con".

When I asked in the Great War Forum, I learned that the remains of the battery could still be seen, and this started a research that has been ongoing ever since and is far from being over.

What I found on site will be described in a later blog post. However, it was much more interesting what I found out about Loch Ewe’s history in WW1 after my return in June 2022, and that's what this post is about.

Since then, literature research took up literally every minute of my spare time and costed a lot of money. The main literature sources that I used are listed at the end of this blog post; they include both print editions which I acquired, as well as digital documents from various archives and online sources. The list is not complete nor is it academically accurate, and I have not referenced the sources in the text - remember, this is only a blog post, not a thesis.

But now to the subject of this blog post:

As early as August 10th, 1914 – only a few days after Great Britain had declared war on Germany - the British Admiralty was sure that the fleet base Scapa Flow had been discovered by the enemy and consequently decided to establish Loch Ewe as a secondary coaling base. Rear-Admiral Richard P. F. Purefoy was appointed Senior Naval Officer (SNO) of the base. He was appointed primarily for the base administration under the direct orders of the Admiralty, but this did not render him independent of the Admiral Commanding, Coast of Scotland (at that time Admiral Sir Robert Swinburne Lowry), to whom matters involving his general responsibility had to be referred. At the same time he was to fulfill to the best of his ability the requirements of the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet, with regard to supplies, communications and other services.

Along with the appointment of Rear Admiral Purefoy, some colliers from Cardiff were diverted to Loch Ewe instead of Scapa Flow. In addition, Admiral Jellicoe, the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, sent 12.000 tons of coal to Loch Ewe. A temporary signal station in Aultbea and a motor bus service for mails and provisions from Achnasheen were established.

On August 12th, Admiral Jellicoe sent the 3rd Battle Squadron to Loch Ewe to coal and to test the suitability of this base and its capability for defence against submarine attack. However, when they arrived at Loch Ewe on August 13th, they found themselves in a harbour completely devoid of defences. Rear Admiral Purefoy pointed out the need for defences if it was intended to make any considerable use of Loch Ewe as a base in the future.

On August 16th, the Dreadnought Battle Fleet was sent to their new fuelling base, Loch Ewe, where they arrived on the 18th; on August 20th at 6:30 pm they returned to their previous cruising area east of the Orkneys.

The forces that anchored in Loch Ewe on August 18th were

  • HMS Iron Duke,
  • The 1st, 2nd, and 4th Battle Squadron
  • The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron (less HMS Falmouth and HMS Liverpool),
  • HMS Bellona, 
  • HMS Boadicea and 
  • HMS Assistance.

 These are the ships:


The National Archives in Kew have an undated, very rough sketch of the anchorages in Loch Ewe; it shows most probably the situation on August 18th: 

I tried to transfer the information from this sketch to a map:

(© Open Street Maps Mitwirkende)

It is remarkable that according to the original sketch, the pier for the fleat was the one south of Midtown on the western shore whereas the headquarter of the naval base was at Aultbea.

The Imperial War Museum has two photos of ships mooring in Loch Ewe in their collection. They are associated with the battle of Jutland but give a good impression how the situation in August 1914 may have looked like. The first photo shows the HMS Vanguard:


(Source: Imperial War Museums)

The second photo shows ships of the 4th Battle Squadron:

(Source: Imperial War Museums)

At the beginning of the war it was assumed that the Germans had advance bases in Norway or the Shetlands and would employ mainly torpedo craft to attack the Grand Fleet. In the meantime however, the thread of submarine attacks was also taken into consideration. Loch Ewe had neither protection against torpedo crafts nor against submarines, so the fleet could never remain longer than it was necessary for fuelling purposes. In the event of an alarm being given of the presence of a submarine, the only possible action was to take the fleet to sea immediately.

On August 28th, the Admiralty advised Admiral Jellicoe to have HMS Illustrious proceed to Loch Ewe (arriving on August 30th) to provide a temporary defence there, but the presence of a guard ship could only be a temporary measurement.

On September 2nd, the HMS Assistance arrived at Loch Ewe in order to serve as a base ship.

Excursus 1: HMS Illustrious and HMS Assistance

HMS Illustrious was a pre-Dreadnought battleship of the Majestic Class. It was built at the Chatham Royal Dockyard and launched September 17th 1896; she was commissioned into the fleet in April 1898. When WW1 broke out, she was one of the oldest battleships and served as guard ship at various harbours. In 1915 she was disarmed and became depot ship or unarmed transport. She was paid off in April 1919 and sold for scrapping in June 1920.

Armament:

  4

BL 12-inch naval guns

12

QF 6-inch naval guns

18

Q.F. 12-pdr. 12-cwt. guns

12

QF 3-pdr. Hotchkiss guns

  5

18-inch torpedo tubes (torpedos partly fitted for gyroscopes)

Armament plan of a Majectic class battleship according to Rickard, J., Plans of Majestic Class Battleships:

 

This is how HMS Illustrious looked like:

 


HMS Assistance was originally planned as a civilian ship and purchased for use as a floating workshop and water-distilling ship while it was still in construction. She was launched December 22nd, 1900, and served as fleet repair ship in WW1. In August 1914, she belonged to the 2nd Battle Squadron. She was scrapped on March 11th, 1937.
Her only armament were 6 4-inch guns, most probably BL 4-inch naval guns.
 

At about the same time as HMS Illustrious and HMS Assistance arrived at Loch Ewe, a group of representatives of the Director of Naval Ordnance visited Loch Ewe to draw up a scheme of fixed defences. In their report dated September 1st  they considered a day or night attack by torpedo craft as the most probable form of attack, followed by a cruiser attack and finally a submarine attack. They recommended measurements against torpedo craft attacks but postponed  protection against cruisers and submarines as „matters for further consideration“.

Here is in brief what they recommended:

  • 4 batteries with 2 4.7-inch or 4-inch guns and 2 searchlights each with the option of expansion by one or two guns and searchlights per battery if necessary
  • A Port War Signal Station (PWSS) near Leacan Donna
  • Garrison for the four batteries in close proximity to the gun positions
  • A headquarter in Aultbea
  • A water catchment, filtering and distribution system
  • Supply of fresh provisions from Glasgow
  • Improvement and extension of existing roads
  • Establishing the necessary telephone communication between PWSS, headquarter and batteries, including a submarine cable across Loch Ewe
  • Supplying one large steam or motor boat and a skiff for communications, for the supply of the batteries and for enabling HQ & medical staff to visit the batteries on the western shore. The garrison should be completely independant from any other ship present in the Loch.

Two enclosures to their report describe in detail the necessary staff and the resulting buildings that needed to be constructed.

Excursus 2: The Port War Signal Station (PWSS)

Overall concept for observation of the Scottish coast:

The indentation of the Scottish coast together with the sparseness of the population made a close watch for enemy vessels necessary, with a focus on the north coast of Scotland, the Orkneys, Shetlands, Hebrides and the Minch.
An important role in this close watch played the so-called “Auxiliary Patrol”, consisting of units of armed trawlers, yachts and motor boats. 3 of those units were assigned to the Shetlands, 6 to Loch Ewe and Stornoway and 8 yachts and 72 trawlers to the Orkneys.
The creation of this Auxiliary Patrol made it necessary to expand the system of distribution of naval intelligence. In order to pass information rapidly from the coast signal or observation stations to the Naval Centers and to the Auxiliary Patrol and vice versa, eight small wireless telegraphy stations were equipped in early 1915 to maintain touch, one of them at Aultbea. Intelligence gained was passed to the Auxiliary Patrol vessels, and all information gathered by
the Auxiliary Patrol vessels was reported to the Naval Centers. From November 1914 on, special arrangements were made by which the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet could get information of hostile or suspicious vessels or mines gathered by the war signal stations that were established between Cape Wrath and Ardnamurchan Point, with its center at Aultbea.

The role of the PWSS in the defence of Loch Ewe:

Aultbea’s Port War Signal Station (PWSS) was an important element of the defences of Loch Ewe. It was a central collection point for information about all ships approaching the port with the aim of identifying them as friendly or enemy vessels.  This information came from the Auxiliary Patrol via W/T and from the surrounding signal or observation stations via telephone lines and was passed by the PWSS to the harbor defence facilities like the battery on the Rubh-a-Choin peninsula (see below).
I found some evidence that at the beginning of the war, there was a first PWSS located at Aultbea, but unfortunately I don’t have any details about it except that it consisted of two wooden huts.
In the report of the Director of Naval Ordnance dated September 1st, 1914, it was proposed “to establish a Port War Signal Station on a commanding hill near the Leacon Donna battery” (author’s note: this refers most probably to the scheduled Rubh-a-Choin Battery). At the time of this proposal, hut accommodation for the PWSS crew (1 officer, 6 men, most probably Coast Guard personnel) had already been arranged for, but it seems that the works for the new PWSS didn’t start before the turn of the year 1914/15.
In a private letter dated January 15th, 1915, Captain W. B. Forbes of the HMS No. 6 (SS Oruba), a ship of the 10th Coasting Squadron (see below), at anchor in Loch Ewe, wrote: “Today I was to have gone ashore to inspect some works at the signal station, but it's blowing too hard for the boat.” Work on the PWSS was obviously in progress that day; some documents about a corresponding tender and the approval of funds, dated February 11th, 1915, that I found in The National Archives collections support this. The wireless telegraphy (W/T) station mentioned above was established and began operations on February 26th.
Unfortunately, I have not found any further documentation about the PWSS, only a letter from the Admiralty to the Senior Naval Officer Aultbea dated March 16th, 1917 approving “to remove the look-out near the War Signal Station at Ru Con (author’s note: Rubh-a-Choin) to a new position at Gob a Gheoda and also to extend the telephone from the present look-out to the new one”.

From September 1st on, i.e. soon after her arrival, the crew of HMS Illustrious was – according to the ship‘s logbook - employed fitting brails for „boom defence“. This is quite mysterious as I couldn’t find any mention of a boom defence at Loch Ewe before that date. I’m also not aware of any order to construct such a defence at this time.

A few days later, on September 6th, a group of Royal Marines started to establish a battery on the Rubh-a-Choin peninsula. I was not able so far to find any written order to do so, but the time course is well documented in various documents. I will go into more details of this battery in a separate blog post including the results of my field survey in June 2022.

On September 9th the Dreadnaught battle fleet arrived at Loch Ewe for coaling after the entrance had been checked for mines. On September 7th at 6:00 am they proceeded to sea. On September 13th they returned for coaling and repair.

The arrangements made for the defence of the fleet at Loch Ewe were the following:

  • Two destroyers patrolled outside day and night
  • Three picket boats were on patrol day and night across the harbour entrance
  • HMS Illustrious and HMS Seagull (torpedo gunboat) anchored in positions on the western shore to guard the entrance
  • The Sound entrance was guarded by destroyers anchored there
  • Outer ships of the battlefleet were ordered to have guns and searchlights ready
  • All ships had to be darkened and to have net defence out at night.

On September 15th Admiral Jellicoe pointed out the necessity of net defences to the Admiralty as it would not be possible to anchor ships in exposed positions in winter, nor would an efficient patrol be possible by destroyers and patrol boats in bad weather. In a telegram to the Admiralty he wrote „A submarine obstacle would be of considerable value at Loch Ewe and could be quickly prepared at dockyard and quickly placed. Request that one similar to that proposed by Admiral Colville for Scapa may be made and sent up. It would be placed from Ghamnha Point to Sgeir an Araig and from Gob na Lice to point east of big sand bay.“

On September 17th a conference was held on board the HMS Iron Duke at Loch Ewe between Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the principal members of the war staff and the chief officers of the fleet, at which various important questions of policy and strategy were discussed. Concerning Loch Ewe it was decided not to mount fixed defences, but to station six 30-knot destroyers there, to leave the Illustrious in the entrance as a gun and searchlight defence, and to provide a submarine obstruction if possible. This is quite remarkable as the work for establishing a battery on Rubh-a-Choin was still in progress and was not stopped.

By October 2nd, a submarine obstruction was not yet provided. Admiral Jellicoe wrote to the Admiralty:

„… recent experience has shown the necessity of a submarine obstruction, and I shall be glad to know whether it is prepared for Loch Ewe. One of either the Scapa or Cromarty pattern is very necessary, but the Scapa pattern would probably be kept in place under bad weather conditions more easily than that constructed for Cromarty.“

Again, nothing happened.

It was an incident a few days later that finally led to a decision by the Admiralty. Admiral Jellicoe wrote in his book: „At 5 A.M. on October 7th a submarine was reported inside Loch Ewe, being sighted by a collier and by the Assistance; she was fired at by the latter ship, in misty weather. On receipt of the report I ordered all vessels to leave Loch Ewe at once, and sent a division of destroyers there from Scapa to search for the submarine. Later investigation indicated that the report was well founded.“ In a telegram to the Admiralty he wrote: „… it has been reported that one if not two enemy submarines entered harbour yesterday morning being seen by Assistance and a collier. … Assistance fired at her. … Until harbour is defended and submarine obstacle is provided it will not be safe to use this base. Can steps be taken to hasten provision of obstacles both for Scapa and Loch Ewe. It is very undesirable to have all heavy ships at one base and neither is safe now.“

One day later, on August 8th, the Admiralty confirmed the provision of an anti-submarine defence for Loch Ewe.

Excursus 3: The submarine sighting in Loch Ewe

First of all: The incident did not occur on October 7th, but on October 6th. The HMS Assistance logbook reads that day: "5.55 Submarine reported"; on October 7th, the Assistance was already on her way to Scapa Flow. 

What is striking in Jellicoe's report is the statement that the Assistance shot at the supposed submarine, and did so in misty weather. I couldn't find out which ships anchored in Loch Ewe on October 6th, but the expression "all vessels" definitely suggests several ships. In addition to the HMS Assistance, only the HMS Illustrious and the Palma, a supply ship, are known to me by their names. The misty weather can be confirmed in HMS Illustrious‘ logbook. 

In a harbour of 3x6 miles, in misty conditions and in the presence of other ships, shooting at a supposed submarine seems more than negligent. Interestingly, the Assistance‘s logbook does not report any shots. The complete entry of 5:55 is: “Submarine Reported. Hands man + arm ship. ”The next entry was made at 9:30 a.m.:“ Hands employed as requisite ”. In the Illustrious‘ logbook there is only one entry at 6:00 a.m., i.e. immediately after the supposed submarine sighting: "Hands cleaning ship". Would you assume that a crew cleans their ship in the middle of a battle between another ship nearby and a (supposed) enemy submarine?

The statement that the supposed submarine was shot at can therefore be doubted.

Now let's look at the opposite side, the supposed submarine itself. According to Jellicoe, the sighting was "well founded".

With the kind support of the German Submarine Museum Cuxhaven, I searched the logbooks of all 34 German submarines that were launched before October 7th and can confirm that none of these submarines can have been in Loch Ewe. The missions of the German submarines in 1914 are well documented; documents that order or describe submarines of the Imperial Navy to penetrate into Loch Ewe on October 6th, 1914 are not known. The submarines mainly carried out reconnaissance trips in the North Sea in search of the Grand Fleet and the British blockade lines. Only occasionally more modern diesel-driven submarines were ordered to the bases of the Royal Navy on the British east coast in order to intercept British combat ships.


Conclusion: No matter what was sighted in Loch Ewe on October 6th, it was not a submarine and it is very unlikely that it was shot at.

As a result of this incident, Loch Ewe could no longer be considered a safe anchorage until the installation of a submarine defence was completed. All the colliers, store and ammunition ships were diverted to other bases. HMS Illustrious was recalled as Loch Ewe‘s guard ship; she left Loch Ewe on October 14th first to Lerwick, then to Loch na Keal in the Isle of Mull. HMS Assistance was sent to this harbour too.

Completion of the submarine defences at Loch Ewe were being pushed forward with all possible speed. It was decided to install the same submarine obstruction that was used at Cromarty base. On October 29th, Commander Donald J. Munro, King’s Harbour Master at Cromarty, was appointed to supervise the anti-submarine defences of Scapa, Cromarty, and Loch Ewe.

Along with the construction of submarine defences, the naval base was expanded.

End of October, the Admiralty approved stationing armed trawlers or drifters at various strategic positions along the coast. They were grouped in units of six boats, each boat armed with one or more guns. Loch Ewe was allotted 2 of those units.

In a message to the Admiralty dated November 5th, 1914, Rear Admiral Purefoy described the situation as follows:

„Two Yachts, the coast guard cruiser "Safeguard" and five motor boats, shore staff and a party of marines at the battery are at present based here, shortly to be augmented by 12 trawlers“.

He requested a depot ship with a medical and an Accountant Officer, as the absence of HMS Illustrious had led to „unnecessary delay in obtaining pay vouchers and money“ and „the nearest medical officer lives 7 miles away and the next 14 miles, neither of these gentlemen are Surgeon and Agents“. On November 20th, the steam yacht HMS Vanessa under the command of Capt. Le Marchant was sent to Loch Ewe to serve temporarily as a depot ship. It was planned that it should be replaced by HMS Aro in December, but as far as can conclude from the documented discussions, that was not the case until later in 1915 – if ever.

In a note dated December 9th, 1914, Sir William Frederic Nicholson (head of the Military Branch of the Admiralty Secretariat) listed the vessels that were ordered to serve as tenders for the Vanessa:

Yacht - Hersilia No. 2
Trawlers - Orlando 365
Natal 305
Calliope 367
Cardiff Castle 638
Yacht - Rhouma No. 22
Trawlers - Lacerta 625
Newhaven N.B. 82
Bellona 23
Yacht - Lorna No. 24
Trawlers - Settsu 650
Kimberley 11
Owl 373
Oriole 636

Yacht Calanthe No. 43

 Remark: The numbers are the pendant numbers that served to identify ships.

Excursus 4: HMS Vanessa and HMS Aro

HMS Vanessa was a steam-powered yacht built in 1899 and made available to the Navy on October 15th, 1914. She was iron-plated and served as an Auxiliary Patrol yacht with two 6-pounder guns. In February 1917 she was renamed Vanessa II and returned to her owners in March 1919.

The following photo shows Vanessa before her conversion for military use:

HMS Aro was built in 1898 by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co., Middlesbrough, and launched on May 9th under the name Albertville. She served as a passenger and cargo steamer in Africa and was renamed Aro in 1905. In October 1914 she was sold to the Royal Navy and served as a torpedo sub-depot ship and troopship during the war. In January 1920 she was sold to W. R. Davies, Liverpool and renamed Stella. After being sold subsequently two more times it was finally broken up on June 23rd, 1925.  

On December 6th, 1914, the old Edgar class ships of the 10th Cruiser Squadron were paid off and replaced by armed liners. 4 of them were put in charge of the Sappho, an Apollo class cruiser, and patrolled from December 7th on from the Hebrides north-westward, mainly for the purpose of stopping ships which might be carrying contraband destined for Germany. Their base was Loch Ewe, and they were under the command of Admiral de Chair.

Later they were transferred to Scapa Flow for other patrol and boarding duties

A quite extraordinary class of ships started its career on the same day: The „10th Coasting Squadron“ (or "Special Service Squadron") under the command of Commodore Haddock. It consisted of 14 merchant ships that were disguised with dummy turrets and guns and their appearance was altered to represent British battleships and battle cruisers. They were first stationed at Scapa Flow, and it was planned that they should accompany the fleat at sea. However, they were significantly slower compared to real battle ships what made them useless for their original purpose. From January 6th, 1915, at least a part of them was detached to Loch Ewe where they were worked up to carry out fleet movements. What I could find out is that HMS No. 6, the former merchant ship SS Oruba, aka HMS Orion (the ship it was meant to represent) was the first to arrive, followed by 8 others until January 26th, 1915. In a private letter, Captain W.B. Forbes, the commander of HMS No. 6, wrote: „I think at present my job is being a scarecrow - and queer rumours are afloat, some day perhaps the crows will refuse to be scared and the job will end.“

However, it turned out differently: The speed of the dummy ships could not be improved and in consequence, no practical use for them could be found. From summer 1915 on, the ships of the squadron were diverted to other duties or sunk as blockships (among them HMS No. 6).

This is a photo of HMS No. 6 from the collection of the Imperial War Museum:


 (Source: Imperial War Museums)

Excursus 5: The Shore Gyroscope Station

The next interesting episode in the military history of Loch Ewe in WW1 was the establishment of a gyrocope testing and repair station.

In a torpedo, a gyroscope was connected directly to the steering and was used to compensate for undesirable influences such as drift in the drive in order to maintain the programmed course.

From November 1914 on, work began on building a shore gyroscope station at Loch Ewe (I have not been able to determine the exact position so far).

In a message to the Admiralty dated November 5th, Admiral Purefoy wrote that the material for a „gyro testing room“ had arrived. Two months later, on January 8th, 1915, this shore gyroscope repair station was approaching completion.
At this time, it was already planned to send HMS Aro, a torpedo sub-depot ship with facilities for „torpedo and gyro work“ as new depot ship to Loch Ewe, see above.
Given this future redundancy, the Admiralty asked Admiral Jellicoe „whether this shore station is required to be kept in full working order, if not it is proposed to keep reduced staff there“. Admiral Jellicoe agreed to this proposal the same day.
On January 22nd, 1915, the Admiralty informed Admiral Jellicoe and Rear Admiral Purefoy that the staff of the shore gyroscope station had to be reduced. As long as HMS Aro was not yet on duty at Loch Ewe, the torpedo sub-depot ship Sobo would inspect the station regularly.

As stated above, I couldn’t find any evidence as to whether and when HMS Aro entered service at Loch Ewe, nor what fate the shore gyro station took. Both of these will be subject of my further research.

In the beginning of 1915, on January 9th, there was another sighting of an unknown submarine in Loch Ewe, but soon after, a new threat emerged, this time from the air.

In a private letter dated January 26th, 1915, Captain W.B. Forbes, whom I mentioned above, wrote: “There is a yarn that airships or zeppelins were over this Harbour on Saturday” (author’s note: January 23rd, 1915). The next day, he specified this information: “… there were certainly '3 of 'em,' when I investigated evidence today to report to Admiral, I found this out but I can't say more.”

It can be doubted that German airships actually advanced as far as Loch Ewe. Captain Forbes' statements are probably caused by the general hysteria that arose following the first German airship attack in a completely different place 700km = 435mls south-east of Loch Ewe on January 19th/20th, 1915:

On January 19th, the Zeppelins L3,  L4 and L6 took off from Germany. The purpose of their mission was on one hand reconnaissance over the North See, on the other hand to bomb targets near the Humber estuary. However, strong winds from the north forced them to change their plans; instead of the Humber estuary they attacked the Norfolk area in the late evening, causing only little material damage but killing two people. On January 20th they arrived back in Germany.

I have no idea what evidence Captain Forbes claims to have found, but other Zeppelin missions around the end of January are not reported, and the 3 Zeppelins that took part in the Norfolk attack have definitely not reached Loch Ewe.

From January 30th, 1915, Loch Ewe served as coaling station for the 10th Cruiser Squadron following increased German submarine activities in the Irish Sea. Admiralty instructed the SNO at Stornoway to make every effort to protect Loch Ewe from attack. On the first view it seems to be remarkable that the SNO at Stornoway and not the SNO at Aultbea was instructed. The reason was a reorganization that had taken place end of 1914:

Given the isolated position of Loch Ewe and the assessment that it lacked of supply and repair facilities, it was decided that Stornoway would be a better base for Auxiliary Patrol Area I than Aultbea. As a result, Rear-Admiral Reginald G.O. Tupper was appointed Senior Naval Officer of Patrol Area I at Stornoway on January 7th, 1915.

This led to the situation that in the same Patrol Area, there was a Rear-Admiral at Stornoway and a Rear-Admiral at Aultbea. It was decided that until Loch Ewe was adequately protected and became a base for the Fleet, there was scarcely room for two flag officers in Area I. Rear Admiral Purefoy was therefore replaced by Commander Cecil Watson as SNO Aultbea, a position subordinate to the SNO Stornoway.

Excursus 6: The Senior Naval Officers at Aultbea in WW1

It was rather difficult to follow the sequence of Senior Naval Officers at Aultbea. Here is what I could find so far:


Name

Rank

From

Until

Remarks

Purefoy,

Richard Purefoy FitzGerald

Rear Admiral

12.08.1914

unknown

The last letter from Rear Admiral Purefoy as SNO Aultbea that I found is dated February 13th, 1915

Watson, Cecil

Commander

Feb. 1915

unknown

Source: Naval Staff Monographs (Historical), Fleet Issue, Volume XIII (October 1925)

Nugent, Rowland

Captain

24.02.1915

01.07.1916

Source: Personnel records at the National Archives

Freeman,

Frederick Henry Peere Williams

Captain

28.04.1916

unknown

The last letter from Captain Freeman as SNO Aultbea that I found is dated March 1st, 1917

Walker, Frederick M.

Captain

Jun 17

Feb 18

The first letter from Captain Walker as SNO Aultbea that I found is dated June 19th, 1917

Boys, William H.

Captain

14.03.1918

Okt 18

 

Alston, Hubert G.

Captain

28.09.1918

Apr 19

 

There’s a big question mark concerning Commander Watson. I could only find one source mentioning his appointment sometime in February 1915, and given the fact that Captain Nugent was appointed SNO on February 24th, 1915, Commander Watson cannot have held this position for long.

Following various submarine sightings between February 8th and 15th, 1915, and the fact that the planned system of booms and gates had not yet been finished at that time, Admiral Jellicoe reduced the number of colliers anchoring in Loch Ewe to only two. Later in 1915, more precisely on April 5th, Swarbacks Minn (a deep sea channel off the west coast of Shetland) was judged a better coaling base for the 10th Cruiser Squadron.

On March 18th, 1915, Admiralty decided that the fixed defences for the boom net (i.e. the four batteries) that had been proposed on Sept 1st, 1914, were to be postponed as the estimated costs of BP 10.800 could not be justified.

Nevertheless, the works to set up the boom net continued, and on October 6th, 1915, the boom defence at the entrance to Loch Ewe was completed. It consisted of Munro Anti-Submarine Nets extending from Gob-na-Lice Point on Ewe Island to the mainland near Sgeir Moitaig Rock off Rubh-a-Choin Point, and from the shore 100 yards north of Fisher Point, Inverasdale, to the west side of Ewe Island. The 175 yards wide gate was situated 720 yards from Fisher Point and marked by three Drifters, the easternmost Drifter being responsible for hauling the Gate open. Written regulations for passing the Gate were issued.


 (© Open Street Maps Mitwirkende)

Only 4 months later however, on February 6th, 1916, the SNO Aultbea informed the Admiralty about a severe damage of the boom defence, caused by rough weather throughout the whole January.

He wrote “A large number of the floats have been washed away and several sections of the net defence have sunk. New floats and nets are being obtained from Inverness and repairs are being carried out as quickly as possible.”

In the following months, Loch Ewe was increasingly used for coaling by the 10th Cruiser Squadron and other ships, and on June 19th, 1917, the SNO Aultbea requested that a new boom should be fitted as he regarded the existing one not being a sufficient protection.

He asked for a boom similar to the Cromarty Inner Boom as this would only require the same number of Drifters as the present one. This was approved by the Admiralty on July 30th, 1917.

Unfortunately, I’m not able to go into the technical details of boom nets and submarine defences at this point. This is a science in itself; should I ever have more detailed insights into this subject, I will post a separate report.

The decision by the Admiralty of July 30th, 1917, is the last information about Loch Ewe in WW1 that I have. As far as I could find out, the base was disbanded in 1919.

 Main sources for this article:

1) Books:

  • John Rushworth Jellicoe - The Grand Fleet 1914-1916: Its Creation, Development And Work
  • F.J. Dittmar, J.J. Cooledge – British Warships 1914-1919
  • Steve Chadwick – Loch Ewe During World War II
  • R.A. Burt – British Battleships 1889-1904
  • H.R. Gibson, Maurice Prendergast – The German Submarine War 1914-1918

2) Digitalized Material:

  • The National Archives, Kew: Secret packs of the Commander in Chief Grand Fleet, Volume XIV, pack 007, section D, Folios 131-164
  • The National Archives, Kew: Grand Fleet Bases: Scapa, Cromarty, Shetlands, Loch Ewe, Clyde
  • The National Archives, Kew: Aultbea. Removal of look-out station and sick quarters to new site, Loch Ewe
  • National Library of Scotland: Monthly / Quarterly Navy Lists, several volumes
  • Royal Australian Navy: Naval Staff Monographs (Historical), several volumes
  • Imperial War Museums: Private Papers of Captain W B Forbes AM RN
  • Deutsches U-Boot Museum Cuxhaven / Stiftung Traditionsarchiv Unterseeboote: Several war journals of German submarines

3) Websites:


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Freitag, 1. Juli 2022

Loch Ewe, Teil 3: Westufer und Gruinard Bay

Ein Hinweis vorab: Gruinard Bay hätte eigentlich zum Beitrag über das Ostufer von Loch Ewe gehört. Da wir dort keine Anlagen des 2. Weltkriegs besucht haben, wollte ich die Gegend zuerst nicht beschreiben. Spätestens Gruinard Island sollte aber nicht unerwähnt bleiben, wenn es um die Geschehnisse rund um Loch Ewe im 2. Weltkrieg geht.

Doch zunächst wieder die obligatorische Karte der heutigen Ziele:

(© Open Street Maps Mitwirkende)

Legende:

1 – Leichte Flugabwehrstellung
2 – Stauwehr mit Pumpstation
3 – Schwere Flugabwehrbatterie Inverasdale
4 – Schwere Flugabwehrbatterie & Boom Depot Firemore
5 – Küstenbatterie (Cove Battery) auf Rubha nan Sasan
6 – Checkpoint Laide
7 – Beobachtungsstation Meall nam Meallan
8 – Beobachtungsstation Opinan Beach
9 – Gruinard Island

Startpunkt ist auch diesmal wieder Poolewe im Süden von Loch Ewe. Verlässt man am Dorfladen die A832 und biegt, von Gairloch kommen, links auf die B8057 ab, passiert man nach ca. 200 Metern das Poolewe Hotel, in dem im Krieg eine Einheit des Armee-Nachrichtendienstes untergebracht war. Hat man den Ort Boor hinter sich gelassen, fällt rechterhand ein Betonblock auf: Das ist eine leichte Flugabwehrstellung für ein 40mm Bofors Geschütz. Diese Blöcke findet man häufig rund um Loch Ewe, aber dieser hier ist besonders einfach zu erreichen. Der Block ist etwas über mannshoch und von oben gesehen mehreckig; sein Spitzname „Threepenny Bit“ rührt von der Ähnlichkeit dieser Form mit der alten britischen Münze gleichen Namens her. Es handelt sich nicht um einen Bunker, sondern nur um eine künstliche Erhöhung, auf der sich das Geschütz befand. Neben dem Betonblock erkennt man ein Betonfundament, auf dem vermutlich ursprünglich ein Unterkunftsgebäude stand. 

Gesamtensemble:

Nahaufnahme des Threepenny Bits:

Oberseite des Threepenny Bits:

Betonfundament:

Leichte Flugabwehrstellungen wurden bereits 1939 am Loch Ewe errichtet; sie hatten temporären Charakter und wurden im weiteren Verlauf des Krieges durch die schweren Flugabwehrbatterien ersetzt.

Weiter geht es durch den Ort Naast hindurch. Am Ende des Ortes führt die Straße über einen kleinen Bach, den Allt Donn. Links neben der Straße fällt ein kleines Stauwehr im Bachlauf auf, rechts der Straße zwei Ziegelsteingebäude. Es handelt sich um eine Pumpstation, mit der die ankernden Schiffe mit Wasser versorgt wurden. Irgendwo im Wäldchen auf der rechten Straßenseite soll es angeblich noch die Reste eines Tanks geben, wir haben aber nicht danach gesucht.

Stauwehr:

Auch die schwere Flugabwehrbatterie von Inverasdale haben wir ausgelassen.

Wir haben uns stattdessen die schwere Flugabwehrbatterie auf der Landzunge, die den Firemore Beach im Südosten abgrenzt, angesehen. Sie hat eine architektonische Besonderheit: Beim Bau der Betonelemente wurde eine Technik eingesetzt, die im Englischen „wet cement bag method“ heißt: Ungeöffnete feuchte Zementsäcke wurden gestapelt und dann trocknen gelassen, wodurch charakteristische Abdrücke in der Außenwand entstanden. Wo nötig, wurden Betonverschalungen verwendet. Angeblich befand sich ca. 100 Meter östlich ein Feuerleitradar (GL MK IA Radar), dessen Plattform noch sichtbar ist. Da die Batterie aber augenscheinlich in Privatbesitz ist und als Lager für alles Mögliche verwendet wird, nahm ich von detaillierteren Erkundungen Abstand.

Feuerleitstand:

Geschützstellung (nach der "wet cement bag method" erbaut):

Detail des Zementsackmusters in der Außenwand:

Eine andere Geschützstellung:

Würde man der Straße zur Batterie weiter folgen, käme man zu den Resten des Firemore Boom Depots, wo analog dem in Mellon Charles Anti-U-Boot-Netze und Zubehör gelagert wurden. Die Luftbilder ließen allerdings darauf schließen, dass dort keine nennenswerten Strukturen mehr erhalten sind, die einen Besuch lohnen würden. 

Hauptziel unserer Westufer-Exkursion war das Kap Rubha nan Sasan, wo sich die einzige Küstenbatterie von Loch Ewe befindet. 

Sie wurde 1941 eingerichtet; ihre Hauptbewaffnung bestand aus zwei 6-inch Mk VII Schiffsgeschützen, die von der HMS Iron Duke geborgen worden waren, die 1939 bei Scapa Flow bombardiert und dadurch schwer beschädigt wurde. Die Elemente der Batterie sind großräumig über das Kap verteilt, das durch den schmalen Meeresarm Geodh‘ Mòr in ein höhergelegenes nördliches Plateau und einen tieferliegenden südlichen Teil geteilt wird.

Auf dem Plateau liegen die Geschützbunker (1) mit Beobachter (2), Generatorengebäuden (4), Magazinen (5) und dem nördlichen Suchscheinwerfergebäude (3). Mitten in diesem Ensemble hat man den Convoybesatzungen, die damals ihr Leben ließen, einen Gedenkstein gesetzt.

Südlicher Geschützbunker:

Nördlicher Geschützbunker:

Nördlicher Geschützbunker mit Generatorengebäude und Magazin (im Vordergrund):

Das nördliche Plateau, vom südlichen Teil der Batterie aus gesehen:

Südlicher Geschützbunker und Beobachter:

Nochmal der Beobachter. Die Substanz ist offenbar so geschwächt, dass Abstützmaßnahmen getroffen wurden:

Gedenkstein für die Convoybesatzungen:

Beobachter und Magazinbunker, vom südlichen Teil der Batterie aus gesehen:

Auf dem südlichen Teil befinden sich zwei Generatorengebäude (4) und das südliche Suchscheinwerfergebäude (3). 

Generatorengebäude von außen und innen:


Suchscheinwerfergebäude von außen und innen:


Das gesamte Batteriegelände ist außerdem durchsetzt mit Betonfundamenten, deren ursprünglicher Zweck heute kaum noch nachvollziehbar ist:

Die noch vorhandenen Gebäude des südlichen Teils der Batterie sind zwar alle mit „Betreten verboten“ Schildern gekennzeichnet, das Gelände kann aber durch ein Viehgatter betreten werden. Reste technischer Einrichtungen gibt es in den Gebäuden nicht; ein Besuch lohnt sich entsprechend nicht wirklich.

Anders auf dem nördlichen Plateau. Zusätzlich zu den „Betreten verboten“ Schildern ist der Zugang zu den Gebäuden auch durch Stacheldraht versperrt. Schade, ich hätte mir gerne die Geschützbunker näher angesehen.

Nun zur Gruinard Bucht. Um sie zu erreichen, fährt man am Ostufer des Loch Ewe von Aultbea aus auf der A832 in Richtung Laide. Dass der heutige Dorfladen von Laide mit Post- und Tankstelle im 2. Weltkrieg ein Checkpoint war, hatte ich schon erwähnt. An dieser Stelle gabelt sich die Straße. Folgt man der nach links führenden Abzweigung, erreicht man nach ungefähr 5 Kilometern den Weiler Mellon Udrigle. Auf der östlich gelegenen Anhöhe Meall nam Meallan, der höchsten Erhebung der Halbinsel, befand sich im Krieg ein Beobachtungsposten. Man hatte von dort aus den Einlass von Loch Ewe im Blick und hielt Ausschau nach feindlichen Flugzeugen, Schiffen oder U-Booten. Der Posten bestand aus einem hölzernen Gebäude auf einem Betonfundament, das mit starken Seilen gesichert wurde, damit es die starken Winde nicht zerstören konnten. Es bestand eine Telefonverbindung nach Mellon Charles, wo alle Sichtungen der Beobachtungsposten zentral gesammelt und ausgewertet wurden.

Biegt man in Mellon Udrigle in Richtung Opinan ab, erreicht man einen zweiten Beobachtungsposten, der ähnlich konstruiert gewesen sein muss. Auf der Seite von J.M. Briscoe gibt es eine Reihe von Fotos, die den heutigen Zustand zeigen.

Zurück nach Laide. Folgt man der A832 weiter in östlicher Richtung, bieten sich herrliche Ausblicke auf die Gruinard Bay; man erkennt mitten in der Bucht eine größere Insel. Das ist Gruinard Island, der im 2. Weltkrieg eine traurige Rolle zukam.

Gruinard Island (gelber Pfeil), von Gruinard Beach aus gesehen:

1942 beschloss das britische Verteidigungsministerium, auf dieser abgelegenen und unbewohnten Insel Tierversuche mit Milzbranderregern (Anthrax) durchzuführen. Man erstand die Insel für gerade einmal 500 Pfund.

Es sollte untersucht werden, ob Anthrax-Sporen, durch eine Explosion ausgebracht, als biologische Waffe geeignet wären. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Schafe auf die Insel gebracht; an einem Tag, als der Wind günstig stand (also von Land blies), zündete man eine Ladung von 30 Pfund Sprengstoff, wodurch die Sporen verteilt wurden. Binnen Tagen waren fast alle Schafe gestorben; die Kadaver wurden verbrannt. Die wenigen überlebenden Schafe wurden ebenfalls getötet und eine Klippe hinuntergeworfen, die anschließend gesprengt wurde, wodurch die Kadaver unter Tonnen von Gestein begraben wurden. Die Bevölkerung auf dem Festland wurde über die Vorgänge auf der Insel völlig im Unklaren gelassen. Man erzählt allerdings, ein totes Schaf sei bei Mellon Udrigle angeschwemmt worden und habe einige Schafe, Kühe und zwei Pferde angesteckt, die alle starben. Angeblich hat man das Schaf am Strand vergraben; wenn das stimmt, liegen seine Reste heute immer noch dort.

Ein zweiter Versuch bestand darin, dass ein Wellington Bomber eine Anthrax-Bombe über Gruinard Island abwarf. 

Im Anschluss stellte das Verteidigungsministerium die Anthrax-Tests auf Gruinard Island wieder ein, weil die Insel zu klein und nicht abgelegen genug war. Die Ergebnisse der Tests waren äußerst schockierend; sie zeigten, dass eine bakteriologische Waffe erheblich tödlicher war als jede chemische oder konventionelle Waffe. Nach dem Krieg blieb Gruinard Island viele Jahre gesperrt; regelmäßig setzten Wissenschaftler in Schutzanzügen über, um die Anthrax-Belastung zu bestimmen. 1971 war der Boden bis in 15 Zentimeter Tiefe mit Sporen kontaminiert!

Erst 1987 investierte das Verteidigungsministerium eine halbe Million Pfund, um die Insel zu dekontaminieren. Zuerst wurde mit einem Herbizid die gesamte Vegetation abgetötet und anschließend verbrannt. Der Erdboden um die Explosionsstellen wurde abgetragen, die gesamte Insel wurde mit einer Mischung aus 280 Tonnen Formaldehyd und 2000 Tonnen Meerwasser getränkt. Auf jedem Quadratmeter der Insel wurden 50 Liter dieser Lösung ausgebracht! In den darauffolgenden Jahren untersuchte man den Boden regelmäßig, und 1990 wurde die Insel endlich wieder freigegeben. Mittlerweile gibt es dort nicht nur wieder Schafe - auch die Kaninchen vermehren sich rasant.

Wen die Geschichte von Loch Ewe im 2. Weltkrieg interessiert, dem empfehle ich außer den beschriebenen Zielen unbedingt den Besuch der beiden ansässigen Museen:

1) Das Gairloch Museum. Der heutige Museumsbau ist ein ehemaliger atombombensicherer Bunker aus dem kalten Krieg, der als „Anti-Aircraft Operations Room (AAOR)“ diente, also zur Koordination der Luftabwehr im Verteidigungsabschnitt Loch Ewe. 

Modell des AAOR im Gairloch Museum:

Das Museum hat eine beeindruckende Sammlung von Exponaten aus allen Phasen der Geschichte der Region; ein Teil der Ausstellung widmet sich natürlich auch der jüngeren Militärgeschichte. Erwähnt werden muss außerdem das im Museum befindliche Café „Am Bàrd“, das einen sensationell guten Cappuccino und leckere Backwaren zu bieten hat.

Internet-Auftritt des Museums: https://www.gairlochmuseum.org

2) Das Russian Arctic Convoy Museum in Aultbea. Wie es der Name schon andeutet, befasst sich dieses Museum ausschließlich mit der Rolle von Loch Ewe als Stützpunkt für die Arctic Convoys im 2. Weltkrieg. Die Sammlung besticht vor allem durch die Vielzahl von Zeitzeugendokumenten und gibt dadurch Einblicke in den damaligen Alltag von Bevölkerung und Militär.

Internet-Auftritt des Museums: https://racmp.co.uk

Hier nun wie angekündigt eine kleine Aufstellung von GPS-Daten der wichtigsten Objekte rund um Loch Ewe:

Ort

GPS-Koordinaten

Objekt

Aultbea

 

57°50'17.8"N 5°35'37.1"W

Pier (HMS Helicon)

57°50'29.3"N 5°35'48.7"W

Kino (heute Village Hall)

57°50'33.6"N 5°35'59.7"W

Schwere Flugabwehrstellung

Firemore

57°49'42.0''N 5°40'26.6''W

Schwere Flugabwehrbatterie

Gairloch

57°43'00.9"N 5°41'04.4"W

Kantine (heute Golfclub)

57°43'20.6"N 5°41'12.8"W

Hospital (heute Gairloch Hotel)

57°43'40.2"N 5°41'25.1"W

Security Gate (heute ein Supermarkt)

Gruinard Bay

57°53'24.9"N 5°28'16.5"W

Gruinard Island

Inverasdale

57°48'45.0''N 5°40'29.2''W

Schwere Flugabwehrbatterie

Laide

57°51'54.7"N 5°32'30.3"W

Security Gate (heute Laide Stores)

Leacan Donna

57°51'59.8"N 5°38'44.9"W

Signal Station Control

Mellon Charles

57°51'23.3"N 5°38'27.5"W

Schwere Flugabwerbatterie Rubh a Choin

57°51'27.0"N 5°38'03.4"W

Boom Depot

Mellon Udrigle

57°53'39.5"N 5°33'29.2"W

Meall nam Meallan (Lookout Station)

Naast

57°47'14.7"N 5°39'24.6"W

Stauwehr (Wasserversorgung)

Opinan

57°54'48.4"N 5°34'56.3"W

RAF Lookout Station

Rubha nan Sasan

57°51'53.9"N 5°41'07.6"W

Cove Battery

Tournaig

57°47'35.7"N 5°34'34.8"W

Schwere Flugabwehrbatterie

57°47'40.6"N 5°34'42.6"W

Barrage Balloon Base (Tournaig Farm)

Zwischen Boor und Naast

57°46'40.0"N 5°38'15.0"W
Leichte Flugabwehrstellung 
("Three Penny Bit ")

Der 4. und möglicherweise sogar auch noch ein 5. Teil der Blog-Serie über Loch Ewe wird sich wie angekündigt mit den dortigen Einrichtungen des 1. Weltkriegs befassen. Hier ist allerdings noch ein wenig Archivarbeit notwendig – es kann also dauern, und ich bitte um Geduld.

Übersicht der siebenteiligen Berichtsreihe über Loch Ewe inklusive Teaser / Overview of the five-part series of reports on Loch Ewe including teaser:

Teaser (Deutsch)

Loch Ewe, erster Teil (Deutsch)

Loch Ewe, zweiter Teil: Das Ostufer (Deutsch)

Loch Ewe, Teil 3: Westufer und Gruinard Bay (Deutsch)

Loch Ewe in the Great War (English)

Ru Con Battery (English)

Teaser: News from Ru Con Battery (English)

Ergänzung zu den Loch Ewe Reiseberichten (Deutsch)

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