Decorated war hero looks back on his service at sea

A veteran of the Arctic convoys, who has been awarded 12 decorations from four countries, has recalled his experiences during the second world war.

Mr Albert Robb, of Hawton Road, Newark, served on HMS Ajax and HMS Meynell.

Having left his job at 20 years-old as a fitter for Worthingon Simpson, Mr Robb began serving on convoys in 1940 aboard HMS Ajax.

During his time on the Leander-class light cruiser, he was part of operations in locations including Egypt, Greece, Malta and Crete.

Mr Robb, 97, said: “The Ajax was worse than the Arctic convoys because of the incessant action.

“Between 60 and 80 men simply couldn’t continue because they couldn’t take it any more, and that included a commander. It (the action) was all day and all night and that contributed to it.”

In October 1940 Mr Robb ­— whose rank was chief petty officer ­— was on board HMS Ajax when it sank three Italian ships in the Ionian Sea.

HMS Ajax was also one of only two ships that survived an acoustic mine attack in the inner harbour in Piraeus, Greece, on April 6, 1941.

“We had been into Athens for food and drink and then we could see that the sky was red over Piraeus,” he said.

“There were 22 ships in that harbour and only two got out. We could hear people on the two hospital ships next to us crying out as they burnt to death.”

Mr Robb said the ship endured an enormous amount of dive-bombing when taking troops to Greece and Crete.

He served on the Type 1 Hunt-class destroyer HMS Meynell for 3½ years, six months of which were spent on the Arctic convoys.

Once described by Winston Churchill as the worst journeys in the world, the convoys carried desperately-needed military and civilian supplies to Russia.

For his role in the convoys, Mr Robb was awarded the Arctic Star by the British government and, more recently, the Ushakov Medal by their Russian counterparts.

He also took part in the Allied invasion of France on D-Day, 1944, before leaving the Royal Navy in December 1945.

Subsequently, he has received 12 decorations ­— seven from the UK, three from Russia, one from Greece and one from Malta.

When reflecting on his wartime experience, Mr Robb said: “I never regretted joining up.

“I was lucky that the danger didn’t bother me like it did most of them.

“I always thought that if you are going to get killed, whether you are crying or laughing doesn’t make a ha’porth of difference. Every time I went to sea, I didn’t expect to come home again.

“I had some wonderful mates, and I feel proud of the fact that I took part.”