One of Teesside’s few remaining heroes from the perilous Arctic Convoy missions in World War Two has died aged 91.
Middlesbrough former merchant seaman James Potter - known as Jim - served aboard several of the vessels which bravely shipped supplies to Russia, despite perilous, icy seas and the constant threat of German attack.
And Jim, of Berwick Hills, could justifiably lay claim to the nickname “Lucky Jim” having survived THREE torpedo attacks on ships he sailed on, including two in one day.
Born in Borough Road, Middlesbrough, in 1923, Jim attended St John’s and Marton Road schools before going straight into the merchant navy, inspired by his docker dad Alf’s love of all things nautical.
He became a second cook - and subsequently an expert baker - although sadly his main discharge book went missing, meaning full details of the vessels he served on are sketchy.
But he did sail in several Arctic Convoy missions between 1941-44 and was lucky to escape with his life.
One day, a merchant vessel he served on was torpedoed, so he transferred to a Royal Navy frigate - and that was torpedoed too. The leg injuries he suffered saw him need a lengthy spell of recuperation in Aberdeenshire, but it didn’t stop him returning to sea soon after.
Even before that double escape, another vessel he served on was also torpedoed, but Jim somehow made it to Murmansk in Russia where he stayed for three months before joining another convoy.
To his annoyance, when he returned to Murmansk on a subsequent mission, he found much of the cargo he and colleagues had risked their lives to transport still on the dockside.
Jim and late wife Isobel married at St John’s Church in 1943 and had five children - Jim, now 69, Kevin, 68, Elaine, 63, Linda, 59 and the late Jean. But Jim says that despite his dad’s World War Two exploits, it was something he rarely discussed.
He said: “A lot of it he didn’t talk about, but he did say how hard and difficult it was, with cold the main enemy.
“He felt D-Day was the worst experience he had, though. It was the only time he was really frightened - while they were discharging troops, they came under heavy fire and he thought ‘I’ve come this far, it would be terrible to cop it now’.”
Jim’s nautical dramas didn’t end there as a ship he served on, the City of Rochester, caught fire while docked in New York and he suffered burn injuries.
And even after his merchant navy days, he was lucky to survive an accident while working as a rigger in the Acklam Steelworks.
Jim said: “A 28lb double sledgehammer came off overhead crane tracks and hit him on the head. When he went go home at the end of the day, he was examined and they found he had a fractured skull, a broken neck and three broken vertebrae!”
A talented model-maker, baker and gardener, he was a devoted father whose overseas adventures instilled into his children a love of travel they all share. And son Jim recalls with a smile a present his dad once brought home, which made them the envy of all the children in the neighbourhood.
“He brought a monkey back from West Africa. We called it Jacko, but everyone tried to buy it off him on his way from the ship to home. He also brought us a parrot called Sidney - although it died and I got the blame!”
Jim’s funeral is on Friday at the Church of Ascension, Berwick Hills, at 1.30pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment