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Captain Bernard Edwards
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Convoy Will Scatter: The Full Story of Jervis Bay and Convoy HX84 Hardcover – August 19, 2013

by Bernard Edwards (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 193 ratings
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On 5 November 1940 the eastbound convoy HX 84 of thirty-seven merchant ships, escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay was attacked in mid-Atlantic by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. The Jervis Bay, commanded by Captain Edward Fegen, charged at the enemy. Hopelessly outgunned, she was blown out of the water by the Scheer’s 11-inch guns.

Meanwhile, led by HX 84’s commodore ship, the Cardiff tramp Cornish City, the merchantmen scattered under the cover of a smoke screen, were picked off one by one by the radar-equipped Admiral Scheer.

Captain Hugh Pettigrew, commanding the highly armed Canadian Pacific cargo liner Beaverford, began a desperate game of hide and seek with the Scheer, which continued until Beaverford was sunk with no survivors. Thanks to this sacrifice, incredibly, only four other merchantmen were sunk.

Later the neutral flag Swedish freighter Stureholm, commanded by Captain Olander, picked up survivors from the Jervis Bay. Without this brave and dangerous gesture no one would have lived to tell the tale of the death throes of the Jervis Bay, whose Captain was awarded the VC.

Sadly, the history books only mention the Beaverford and the Stureholm in passing. This thrilling book puts the record straight.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen and Sword Maritime
  4. Publication date
    August 19, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1781593760
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1781593769
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bernard Edwards pursued a sea-going career commanding ships trading worldwide. After nearly forty years afloat. Captain Edwards settled in a tiny village in rural South Wales, to pursue his second career as a writer. His extensive knowledge of the sea and ships has enabled him to produce many authentic and eminently readable books which have received international recognition.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen and Sword Maritime (August 19, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1781593760
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781593769
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 193 ratings

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Captain Bernard Edwards

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
193 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Irish Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars Love Pen & Sword Books!
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2018
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A gorgeous put together book only the Brits could publish. I absolutely love Pen & Sword publications. The story of the Jervis Bay is one for the ages and a must read for convoy enthusiasts!
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John Trevithick
4.0 out of 5 stars Harsh realities of merchant navy service
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
The feeling I had after reading this book was similar to that I had after watching the film "Saving Private Ryan". Both capture the arbitrary and indifferent nature of death in war. I appreciated the degree of research gone into this story, especially the details of the Beaverford. A reminder that good people met bad ends so that others might have a chance to live.
I have mixed feelings about the narrative style - mostly positive. It certainly kept my interest, the way the story included the thoughts and feelings of those involved. It tended to strike a minor discordant note in cases where the individuals so treated clearly did not survive, and so had no historical voice. I feel that this was done in good taste, with the intent to show respect to those concerned. Even so, it was slightly off-putting to me. My father was on one of the ships (the Erodona) and so maybe that personal connection accounts for it.
But this version of the story gels well with the stories I was told from one who was there. Overall this was a compelling read and a valuable resource for anyone researching the battle of the Atlantic.
One person found this helpful
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Grant
5.0 out of 5 stars Truth, At Last
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2016
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As a naval officer, I've heard PART of this story most of my life. It was not good to hear that the Admiralty refused to tell the whole truth...though not an unusual event...but still not something to add credit to the RN.
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Rich Marsh
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read - Interesting Topic
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2013
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I found this book quite interesting, being a rare one covering this topic. However, in one sense it was oversold - the author feels that the Canadian Pacific ship Beaverford made a larger contribution to the defense of HX-84 than HMS Jervis Bay did, but then doesn't really provide any supporting evidence towards that outcome. True, the German KM Admiral Scheer was delayed by the Beaverford, but how much? Still, overall an excellent read.
2 people found this helpful
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S. Reigel
1.0 out of 5 stars Sensational, and bordering on historical fiction
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2021
“Convoy Will Scatter” is an error filled and poorly edited effort, adding little to previous accounts of the heroic actions of HMS Jervis Bay, while introducing new largely speculative and unsubstantiated claims around the actions of SS Beaverford which distract from the historical facts.

The level of research and fact checking is disappointing, and the writing style borders on hyperbole throughout. Overall an effort worthy of the History Channel and not of an allegedly serious analysis of historic events.

The author fails on three levels:

1. An opinionated and simplified understanding of the history involved. For example, regarding Anglo-American relations in 1940, “Churchill looked across the sea to America, but what the American people saw was Britain on her knees, and they had no time for losers”.

2. An absence of fact checking and proofing. The Cap Trafalgar / Carmania battle is said to have taken place off Trinidad (Caribbean) rather than Trindade (South Atlantic). “Three 11” shells and sixteen 8” shells hit the Beaverford with devastating effect.” (The Admiral Scheer’s secondary guns were 5.9”, not 8’s.)

3. A sensational and bombastic writing style which diminishes credibility. “…San Demetrio was carrying 12,000 tons of high octane aviation spirit, and to describe her as a floating bomb primed to go off at the slightest interruption to her progress would be an understatement.”

Overall, considering the availability of earlier superior works on the topic “Convoy Will Scatter” is left largely without merit and is best avoided. A better choice is “If the Gods are Good”, by Duskin & Segman, which synthesizes and consolidates previous works dating back to the 50’s on each of the vessels involved, along with new original research, without diving into speculation and sensationalism.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Simon P Draper
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on August 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Another excellent work on naval history from Edwards.
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Amazons Customers
5.0 out of 5 stars "Convoy Will Scatter" (the story of "Jervis Bay".
Reviewed in Germany on December 3, 2017
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A very-well written account of an admirable incident in WW II. I found out a lot that I did not already know. I thoroughly recommend this book to anybody who is interested in the war at sea.
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Empe
5.0 out of 5 stars Poderosa storia di guerra
Reviewed in Italy on September 12, 2016
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Atlantico 1940. Guerra di convoglia tra una corazzata "tascabile" tedesca che affronta un gregge di cargo alleati scortato da un unico "incrociatore" inglese, in realtà un vecchio mercantile armato alle meno peggio. Un'epica storia di guerra e di mare che svela dettagli trascurati dall'agiografia ufficiale. Imperdibile per gli appassionati
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Christopher Davison
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good buy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2013
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The story of the Jervis Bay is fairly well known, but what is not so well known is what happened to the rest of the ships in the convoy. This book tells you the story of all the other ships and what their fate was. The author has certainly done a lot of research to tell us their stories
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the lives of seaman and ships during the second world war.
2 people found this helpful
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Fred
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2016
Verified Purchase
A good read about a disaster which could have been avoided and the full extent of which was hushed up at the time. One tragedy among many was the death of so many survivors in subsequent convoys. No-one could have blamed those men had they decided that once was enough. Downside: technical details are lacking. I would like to have known the disposition of Jervis Bay's weaponry. Centreline or broadside? Arcs of fire? A general arrangement drawing would have helped me imagine the (albeit brief) battle so much more easily. And the "opposition" is variously described as having 11", 8", 6", 5.9", 4.1" and 4" weapons. They were of course 6*11", 8*5.9", 6*4". Again, a general arrangement drawing was required.
3 people found this helpful
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