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Auction: 26003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 171

The historically important 'Arctic Convoys' 1941 group of four to Master R. Tate, Merchant Navy, commanding officer of the S.S. Waziristan, who was killed when she was torpedoed in 1941, becoming the first vessel lost during the Arctic Convoys

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Arctic Star; War Medal 1939-45 , sold together with an archive of original material, Arctic Star extremely fine, otherwise very fine (4)

Reynold Tate was born at South Shields, Tyneside in September 1906, to parents John, an insurance superintendent, and Elizabeth Tate. Beginning his life at sea at 16 he worked aboard merchant ships such as S.S. Saxonstar- where he served as quartermaster- arriving at Port of Olympia, Washington in December 1929. Later in February 1938, he arrived in New Orleans aboard S.S. Kimwood, in his 16th year at sea, he had reached the rank of First Mate.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the Merchant Navy with the rank of Master. As a response to Germany declaring war on the Soviet Union in 1941 Churchill delivered a speech in which he pledged support to the Soviets. The first of 'Churchill's Arctic Convoys', as they later became known, sailed supplies from the USA to the Soviet Union through the Arctic Ocean by August.

Tate participated in Merchant Navy service on these Arctic convoys immediately upon their inception, commanding the S.S. Waziristan in the Arctic Convoy PQ-7a on 23 November 1941. The fleet departed New York with 3000 tons of supplies for the Soviet government, including 1000 tons of copper and 410 Ford trucks. They reached Iceland successfully and departed for the Soviet Union on the 26 December 1941. Convoy PQ-7a included another merchant vessel, S.S. Cold Harbor, which was later sunk in June 1942, and two escorts, H.M.T. Hugh Walpole and H.M.T. Ophelia.

Very soon into the voyage, the Submarine Trawlers Hugh Walpole and Ophelia left the convoy as planned. The Waziristan and the Cold Harbor were then supposed to rendezvous with the Minesweepers H.M.S. Britomart and H.M.S. Salamander, but they missed each other, leading to the two merchant vessels continuing on the route alone.

The Cold Harbor lost Waziristan in bad weather on 1 January 1942, leaving both vessels vulnerable. The crew of U-Boat U-134 were alerted to the ships by the Luftwaffe on the morning of the 2 January who had just harassed the Waziristan which had become trapped in ice. At 6:22am and 6:39am, two G7e torpedoes missed the Waziristan but a third at an unspecified time hit the vessel. This occurred 20 miles south of Bear Island in the Barents Sea. At 7:20am, the crew were observed abandoning the ship as it broke in two and sunk. Tate and his crew of 46 were all presumed drowned in the freezing waters of the Arctic.

The Waziristan was the first non-Soviet vessel sunk in the Northern Seas during the Second World War, and the first on the Arctic Route. Ultimately, the sacrifices of the Merchant Seamen on the Arctic Route supported the Soviet war-effort, allowing them to hold the Eastern Front. Tate is commemorated upon the Tower Hill Memorial; sold together with extensive copied research and an original archive comprising:

i)
Memorial Scroll named to the recipient.

ii)
Letter from Buckingham Palace expressing sympathy for the death of the recipient.

iii)
Original letter confirming receipt of the Arctic Star, 22nd October 2013.

iv)
Original box for Arctic Star.

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Estimate
£1,000 to £1,400

Starting price
£800