Friday January 7th 1944
The temperature is now back to its old level, just below freezing. All ice on the sea has completely disappeared, though plenty still remains on the ship's upper works.
We, Speedwell, Gleanor and Halcyon sailed for Archangel to pick up empties at 1400 7th January. Arrived and anchored for the night at Dvina Bar. Speedwell, being a lame duck. We again had engine trouble and became a straggler but staggered on to our destination as usual.
Sunday 9th January
Sailed from Dvina Bar with empties bound for Kola Inlet. Additional escort of Russians (2 destroyers and several minesweepers) have now joined us.
The White Sea isn't frozen yet but after anchoring off Dvina Bar the sea looked very queer. We had a heavy ground swell and a thick coating of slush covered the sea making the illusion that the ship was moving ‘O’er hills and dales, or the hills and dales (snow covered) were moving under the ship!
Friday 28th January
Have done two more trips to the White Sea and back to fetch empties the next incoming convoy got caught in rough weather. All ships damaged and had to turn back and put into Iceland for repairs etc. and so giving two of us (Gleanor & Speedwell) a few more days in harbour.
Tuesday 25th January
We have the Flotillas Cinema Unit on board and 13 films, Bob George, Sub Lt, Hockey and I are the voluntary operators of it. We are giving 3 shows a day while in harbour. So far have shown 3 different films.
Hussar & Halcyon are busy at present bringing more empties from Archangel  Gleanor & Speedwell with Russian minesweepers standing by to act as local escort to incoming convoy and take White sea portion.
Wednesday 26th
Sailed in great hurry to join incoming convoy which was attacked during night. 3 ships sunk and one escort damaged and still being shadowed by enemy A/C and submarines.

 

Thursday 27th
Joined convoy 3am. Convoy split at 1800. Gleanor, Speedwell and 4 Russian minesweepers escorts of White sea  portion. The next incoming convoy due to arrive about Monday or Tuesday has been detected by enemy A/C, so are expecting trouble too.
Our Christmas mail will be waiting for us on the oiler. The last we got was on January 2nd, so all on board are eager to get back to base. I in particular am very eager to get more news from Rose and home.
We are having a great deal of trouble with our boilers and so is the Gleanor but I think that this trip we'll both manage to get back without breaking down. Our boiler tubes are bursting two or more each day but they are being patched up and we're staggering on, though if our mail was not waiting for us I think that we'd stop and try to patch ‘em up properly.
31st January
Arrived in Polyarnoe p.m . Expected a large amount of mail but received only a Christmas card posted 17th December, the same date as the mail I received January 2nd. But all turned out O K - our mail was sent to the oiler for us to collect when oiling and we, not having received the signal to oil, came straight into Polyarnoe.
Received all that mail the next morning 1st February - 10 letters from Rose - a very happy day today.
Wednesday 2nd February
The second half of convoy arrived today. It had a prolonged tussle with U Boats. Escorts of previous convoy went out to help them last night.
Destroyer leader Hardy was sunk by one U Boat while attacking another one (33 men missing).
 Our forces sank 4 U Boats and damaged 6 others. We lost no merchant ships and Hardy the only escort lost, though two others slightly damaged (Virago and Obdurate).
 Received another 6 letters from Rose today. ‘It never rains but it pours’.
 We found out tonight that we're going home with the next convoy, sailing on Thursday February 3rd - fully a month before our time. Two other Fleet minesweepers going too. Halcyon and Hussar, leaving only 2 up here, Gleanor and the unfortunate Seagull. We relieved her 6 weeks ago, since when shes been swinging round at a buoy at Scapa with no leave and this her third trip up here this session. Fortunately the next convoy is the last this season, so she should only be here a month or 6 weeks.
 Received 2 more of Rose’s letters today - 18 altogether in two days - what a bumper red letter day! All of ‘em interesting and just the thing I want to keep my pecker up. But the greatest news of all was that we're going home!!  I’ll be so very glad to see home and my little girl again.

 

Thursday February 3rd
 We sailed for home as expected, with what I should think is the biggest convoy with the strongest escort of any convoy to or from Russia, 40 merchant ships with 26 escorts (l9 of them 1st line destroyers).
 The trip was uneventful much to our surprise. We expected a hard tussle the whole way.
 We were shadowed by enemy A/C the whole hours of daylight each day except the last two and arrived at Scapa Flow in the very early hours of Friday 11th February
 I awoke that morning to find 6 letters from Rose waiting for me. It didn’t take me long to turn out then.
 Sunday 13th February
 Still in Scapa - where we are going from here and when is weighing heavily on everyone’s mind. Everyone keeps asking me - when, etc. but I can't tell ‘em. All I hear - so far, are the many buzzes that are going around (the latest is that we're going to Falmouth) what I’ve gathered so far is that we have finished with Scapa Flow as our base (the whole Flotilla of us) and are going to do sweeping off an isolated coast (hence the Falmouth buzz).
 The Captain thinks will be able to squeeze in a boiler clean leave with maybe a few days extra to patch up the after boiler room.
 I've just heard that we are sailing tomorrow night (destination still a secret) so it won't be long before we have all the dope.
  Monday 14th February

 (Everything comes to him who waits!)   Today the captain told us all the glad tidings. We, together with Halcyon and Hussar are going down to Rosyth. Speedwell is going to have a boiler clean and at the same time, Admiralty Inspectors are examining the ship. Half the ships company are going on about 5 days leave tomorrow (Hurray!) with the prospect of either a few extra days or coming back to the ship and letting the other half have some leave - and who knows still more leave later.