My experience is in researching U.S. ships and their personnel, of course, not British ships and personnel. Nevertheless the following may be of interest to you.
OCEAN FREEDOM (British flag, 7,173 tons), was built for the Ministry of War Transport by Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Maine, USA; delivered April 1942. Sunk 13 March 1943 while in port in Murmansk in an air attack, after arrival in Convoy JW.53; no casualties. OCEAN FREEDOM also sailed in convoys PQ.17 and QP.14.
Convoy JW.53
Departed Liverpool 15 February 1943; arrived Kola Inlet (Murmansk) 27 February 1943; number of vessels in convoy: 29. The surviving merchant ships from this convoy remained in Russia for eight months before returning to the U.K. in Convoy RA.54A, which departed Kola Inlet 1 November 1943. Possibly your father was in that return convoy.
Convoy PQ.17
This is the most infamous of the Russian convoys. It departed Reykjavik 27 June 1942. The convoy dispersed 4 July 1942 at the order of First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Dudley Pound and its escorting warships departed, leaving the merchant ships to travel independently. The surviving ships arrived in Murmansk throughout July. Only 13 merchant ships out of 34 arrived safely in Murmansk.
Convoy QP.14
Departed Archangel 13 September 1942, arrived Loch Ewe 26 September 1942. Four ships were sunk from this convoy, including two that had survived convoy PQ.17.
See also:
http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hague/index.html (search for Convoys JW.53, PQ.17, QP14 and RA.54A, or search at Ship Search for OCEAN FREEDOM)
http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/jw53.html
http://www.halcyon-class.co.uk/Arctic/jw53.htm
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RN-II/UK-RN-II-16.html
http://www.usmm.org/wsa/forgottenconvoy.html
I understand that individual service records for the British Merchant Navy are held at the National Archives Public Records Office in Kew in the Fifth Register of Merchant Seamans' Service, record series BT382. These records state the names of individuals and the ships and dates they served on them. Cross referencing with Ships Movement Cards in record series BT389 will determine the presence and whereabouts of any ships during convoys to Russia. Other information may be available through the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
See:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/militaryhistory/merchant/?WT.lp=mh-33440
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/researchers/library/research-guides/the-merchant-navy/research-guide-c10-the-merchant-navy-world-war-two
The Imperial War Museum has prepared a reading list of books regarding the Arctic Convoys, which may be of interest. See http://collections.iwm.org.uk/upload/pdf/BK5.pdf.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard website www.armed-guard.com
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