Western Approaches

Eric Fullerton - Convoy Commodore
Captain Duncan MacKenzie - Convoy Naval Captain
Captain W. Kerr - Convoy Naval Captain
Eric Baskeyfield - Chief Officer on Leander
Bart Wadham - Wireless Officer on Leander
Chief Petty - Officer Hills Gunner on Leander
Pat Jackson - Gun Crew Officer on Leander
Captain P.J. Pyecraft - Lifeboat Captain
Chief Engineer Russell - Lifeboat Chief Engineer
Fred Armistead - Lifeboat Steward
Jim Redmond - Sparks

Western Approaches, a feature-length docu-drama made under the auspices of the Crown Film Unit for the Ministry of Information, with the cooperation of The Royal Navy, depicted the hazards suffered by merchant seamen on the Atlantic convoys during the Second World War, risking their lives to bring in vital supplies to Britain. Filmed in vibrant Technicolour by Jack Cardiff under some of the most treacherous battle and weather conditions ever captured on celluloid, the film used active naval servicemen rather than actors, and premièred in London on December 8th 1944.

This highly respected film tells the story of a group of seamen adrift in the Atlantic in a small lifeboat after a German U-Boat has torpedoed their ship, and their rescue by a merchant ship. The lifeboat is spotted by a German U-Boat, which follows it, waiting for a larger ship to come to the rescue of the men. The seamen are faced with the problem of how to warn any vessel of the danger. In essence it's a fictionalised account of a typical WW2 merchant convoy, whereby ships returning to Britain with vital supplies of food and goods from America ran the gamut of Nazi subs in their attempt to beat the blockade.