As we prepare to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the Arctic Convoys, ‘Dervish’, in Arkhangelsk at the end of August, a visit to remote Rybachiy Peninsula was a reminder of the sacrifice made by so many British, Soviet and Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen during World War Two.
The first of the Arctic Convoys arrived in Arkhangelsk on 31 August 1941. Just over one month before the first consignment of essential supplies for the Soviet Union arrived, British forces were already engaged in the region. On 30 July 1941, Sub-Lieutenant Edward Seymour Burke and Leading Airman James Beardsley took off from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious in their Fairey Fulmar II. Although full details are unclear, it is understood that the aircraft was forced to crash land in the sea with smoke pouring from its engine. The crew were last seen getting into their dinghy. Unfortunately, they were later found dead by the Russian authorities after washing ashore in their dinghy on Rybachiy Peninsula, and were buried as unidentified casualties. Sadly, it would be many years before the two unidentified airmen washed ashore in Rybachiy would be identified as Sub-Lieutenant Burke and Leading Airman Beardsley.
So almost 75 years to the day of their loss, I made the 18 hour round trip from Murmansk to the small cemetery by the shore on remote Rybachiy Peninsula with colleagues and a representative of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The commission, which does a fantastic job maintaining war memorials and cemeteries in the UK and all over the world, had agreed to design and install new grave markers for the two British airmen and also five Russian servicemen who shared the same plot in the cemetery. We laid a wreath and flowers at the cemetery and reflected on the service and sacrifice made by Sub-Lieutenant Burke and Leading Airman Beardsley in this remote yet spectacularly beautiful most north westerly tip of Russia within the Arctic circle.
The Rybachiy Peninsula saw fierce fighting during World War Two as Soviet forces heroically defended the strategic port of Murmansk from Hitler’s ‘Jager’ mountain regiments. This did of course allow Britain and Allied forces to deliver those essential supplies to the Soviet Union, starting with the ‘Dervish’ convoy on 31 August 1941.
The window of access to the cemetery on Rybachiy is restricted to a few months in summer due to harsh winters but the commission hopes to have the new markers in place during summer 2017. We look forward to a return visit, hopefully with relatives of Sub-Lieutenant Burke and Leading Airman Beardsley, for a long overdue commemoration service for these two brave airmen who perished serving their country on remote Rybachiy Peninsula.
