Feeling grateful onboard HMS Belfast

Life sometimes presents us with entirely unexpected gifts. Such a gift was spending this entire week with kids in London. How we got there and what we did there is a separate story.

One of our stops was Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Belfast. HMS Belfast is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum.

We came to visit a ship with big guns and came back having touched a real piece of history that meant a lot to me. For 18 months in 1942-1943, HMS Belfast guarded Arctic convoys delivering critical supplies from the Allies to the Soviet Union.?

The aid provided through these convoys included tanks, fighter planes, fuel, food, and medical supplies. This support was vital in bolstering the Soviet Union's ability to resist the German invasion on the Eastern Front.

The convoys were part of the Lend-Lease program, a policy by which the United States provided its allies with military aid. This program was essential in maintaining the war effort of the Allies, particularly before the U.S. fully entered the war.

By forcing the Germans to allocate resources to the Northern Sea and Arctic Ocean, these convoys helped divert German attention and resources away from other fronts. The need to intercept these convoys meant that German ships, submarines, and planes were tied up in the North, slightly easing pressures elsewhere.

Most importantly, Arctic Convoys were a symbol of Allied Solidarity. A symbol of the commitment and cooperation between the Allies, particularly between the Western Allies (primarily the UK and the US) and the Soviet Union. This cooperation was crucial for the eventual success of the Allies in World War II.

The convoys had to navigate some of the most treacherous waters in the world, facing extreme cold, ice, storms, as well as the constant threat of attack by German forces. The bravery and endurance of the sailors who participated in these convoys are some of the finest moments of heroism during Allied war efforts.

I don’t want to retell the history - you can read more here https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/hms-belfast-and-the-arctic-convoys and even on Belfast wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belfast

I do not want to end this by drawing parallels between the Allies providing supplies to the Soviet Union during WW2 and the 2022-2023 version of the Allies providing supplies to Ukraine to fight Russia. Ending this article on this note would be betraying the memory of two nations that stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting and dying together so my family could live and enjoy this Thanksgiving vacation.

I want to end on a positive note of how powerful we, as people of this world, can be when we come together as Allies...and to all men and women who continue to give their lives so we can have a peaceful Thanksgiving.