Pulling the heartstrings

[Steve Crook]

That's very interesting Steve (and your city/countryside dichotomy too). A really heroic action by the Jervis Bay. Will look up the Wikipedia articles this pm.

Nick

It's a dichotomy, but not a problem

Steve

[cumberbatches_woman]

Never Let Me Go ( 2010 ) based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightly, i will guaranee tears will be shed towards the ending.

[aardvark]

Hi - just been looking it up on Amazon. Looks good! Will be interesting to compare it with The Remains of the Day.

[aardvark]

Pay close attention to the beginning of San Demetrio, London. The whole film is based quite accurately on a true story, although there's the addition of an American to attract the American audience. But that's forgiveable.

The San Demetrio was a part of convoy HX-84 crossing the North Atlantic in October 1940. She had picked up a cargo of aviation fuel in Galveston and was bound for Avonmouth. The convoy had minimal protection, just one armed merchant cruiser, HMS Jervis Bay, an old liner that had been fitted with a few WWI vintage, 6 inch guns.

So when the convoy was attached by the Admiral Scheer, a German pocket battleship, everybody in the convoy knew that they were in trouble. With her vastly superior speed and her six 11 inch guns and extensive minor armaments she would cause problems even for the best that the Royal Navy had to offer. If the Admiral Scheer had got in amongst the ships in the convoy she could have caused a lot of damage very quickly.

But HMS Jervis Bay was there to protect the convoy, even if she was vastly out-gunned. The Royal Navy didn't get its reputation by running away from a fight. So the Jervis Bay steamed in to the attack with all guns blazing!

She was blown out of the water before she landed a single shot on the Admiral Scheer of course. But that action lasted for about 20 minutes and gave the ships in the convoy time to scatter so that the Admiral Scheer couldn't get all of them.

The Admiral Scheer managed to sink 5 of the smaller ships in the convoy but that's a lot fewer than she would have done without the Jervis Bay. By now darkness was falling and the Admiral Scheer could only land a few shells on the upper works of the San Demetrio that started a few fires and bearing in mind their cargo of aviation fuel, the crew wisely took to the lifeboats.

The rest of the story of what happened to the San Demetrio and her crew (or part of it) is detailed in the film.

For their sacrificial delaying action, the crew of the Jervis Bay went down in Naval history and the skipper was awarded a VC

Convoy HX 84 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HMS Jervis Bay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve

Hi Steve, if you read this so long after. Thanks a lot once more for the Jervis Bay story and links. I watched San Demetrio, London again last night, the 71st anniversary of the day the Jervis Bay went down. It meant even more to me now, knowing the background and details.

When you say 'pay close attention to the beginning' I guess you're referring to the Jervis Bay bits? I'm thinking for instance of the officer filling in the log who says to the Captain, 'Guy Fawkes night, sir - no fireworks this year'. The Captain laughs and replies 'Let's hope not.'

I think it's a fine and workmanlike film which achieves exactly what it sets out to do. As the judge says in his summing up at the end, 'a very modest recital of some gallant gentlemen, concerning a memorable achievement.'

Incidentally, from what I can glean from Google, there really was a Canadian deckhand nicknamed Yank (Oswald Preston) on board, and the crew did ask for the Red Ensign to be presented to him.

Thanks again!

Nick

[Steve Crook]

Hi Steve, if you read this so long after. Thanks a lot once more for the Jervis Bay story and links. I watched San Demetrio, London again last night, the 71st anniversary of the day the Jervis Bay went down. It meant even more to me now, knowing the background and details.

When you say 'pay close attention to the beginning' I guess you're referring to the Jervis Bay bits? I'm thinking for instance of the officer filling in the log who says to the Captain, 'Guy Fawkes night, sir - no fireworks this year'. The Captain laughs and replies 'Let's hope not.'

I think it's a fine and workmanlike film which achieves exactly what it sets out to do. As the judge says in his summing up at the end, 'a very modest recital of some gallant gentlemen, concerning a memorable achievement.'

Incidentally, from what I can glean from Google, there really was a Canadian deckhand nicknamed Yank (Oswald Preston) on board, and the crew did ask for the Red Ensign to be presented to him.

Thanks again!

Nick

I hadn't checked about the Canadian deckhand so thanks for that. I had assumed that like so many British films, a north American was crowbarred into the cast to make it more appealing to American audiences (or at least to American distributors)

Steve