Radio Officer Bernard Gibbons Clarke in Merchant Navy

This story is about my uncle, Bernard Gibbons Clarke, who was a radio officer in the Merchant Navy. I have written his history.

He served on a number of ships, including Blair Devon, Empire Mariner, Benmohr, Christine Marie, Fort Meductic, Ocean Gypsy, and Fort Missanabie. I believe the first few ships were part of the Atlantic Convoy.

The first ship he served on was the Denbydale, a tanker that sank in Gibraltar harbour by Italian mini-submarines.

The Ocean Gypsy was in the Arctic Convoy (JW55B), in December 1943. This was the convoy involved in the Battle of the North Cape, which destroyed the German battleship Scharnhorst.

He came home on leave after the Arctic Convoy and joined the Fort Missanabie. We have the last letter he wrote to his sister - my mum - which he wrote in Liverpool. It describes his last day on shore, he went to the cinema, then set off to Liverpool. The letter also mentions his experiences on the Russian Convoys, and I have his Artic Star medal.

SS. Fort Missanabie was built in Canada. So he went to the Mediterranean and was in convoy HA43 - Taranto to Augusta. The ship was torpedoed on 19th May 1944 by the U-boat U453 off Sicily. Bernand and 11 other crew members were lost, and 48 crew survived. Bernard is commemorated on the Merchant Navy War Memorial in Tower Hill, London. It says: 1939-1945. The twenty-four thousand of the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets whose names are honoured on the walls of this garden gave their lives for their country and have no grave but the sea.

He is also commemorated on the war memorial in the churchyard at Aylsham.

After the war, I asked an artist to paint a picture of all the ships Uncle Bernard served on. It includes the correct signal flags. I call it 'The Ghost Fleet', although it doesn't include the Denbydale as there is no image of that - I believe it was sunk in Gibraltar harbour on its maiden voyage.