May 14, 1943
Sailed from Boston on the troopship Fairfax in a convoy of about 60 ships. The soldiers on the ship had come from Camp Myles Standish in Taunton.
The Dorchester – Sister to The Fiarfax
According to Wikipedia, The Dorchester pictured above is one of three identical ships to The Fairfax [LINK]
The ship is 368 feet long and has a capacity of 751 troops to which it transported them up and down the North Atlantic. The Dorchester was sunk by a Torpedo 3 months prior to my grandfathers voyage on the Fairfax.
The Fairfax on this voyage was a part of convoy BX 51 according to the ‘Arnold Hague Convoy Database’ website [LINK] and as our journey continues I shall refer back to this page I am sure. This page notes that there were far less than 60 ships however I do think that it is listing only the merchant ships, and not war ships.
This must have been quite the sight to behold.
In 1943 and 1944, my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.
Next Entry – May 15, 1943