IMMEDIATELY after Britain went to war with Germany in 1939, German U-boats and warships began to threaten British and French shipping lanes, and the Royal Navy took a prominent part in the eventual defeat of the German submarines, in what became known as the Battle of the Atlantic. This was the only battle to last from the first day of the Second World War to the last.

Britain depended heavily on shipping for many of its goods, from everyday essentials such as food and petrol to vital military equipment. To keep the supply lines open, the Royal Navy led and protected large convoys of merchant ships across the Atlantic all throughout the war.

Around 100 convoy battles took place from 1939-1945. The cost for all involved was significant. By May 1945, over 2,200 British and Allied merchant ships had been sunk, as well as 100 Allied naval vessels and 600 RAF Coastal Command aircraft. Over 30,000 merchant seamen had died, as well as thousands of men from Allied navies and air forces. Many civilian passengers had also died.

On the German side, 510 U-boats were lost. Of some 27,000 U-boat men who served in the Atlantic, over 18000 (or 2 out of 3) died in action. Hundreds more German sailors died while serving on surface warships.

The Royal Navy also helped Britain's codebreakers break the notorious German enigma code.

The Germans were so confident in their "unbreakable" code that they used it openly on the radio waves. But in 1941 a search of a sinking U-Boat by British sailors, (Contrary to that atrocious American film) uncovered a complete Enigma machine and its encryption codebooks. The Navy let the Germans believe their vessel had sunk with the codes aboard, which meant they continued to use their now broken codes on the open airwaves for weeks - helping the codebreakers at Bletchley Park make huge advances in breaking Enigma.

Diary Dates

Today, The Royal Naval Association meets at 20.00hrs at Feversham Street Sea Cadets HQ.

Tomorrow, The Prince of Wales Own Association meets at 19.30hrs at Northcote Conservative Club, The Green Howards Association meets at 13.30hrs at Headingley Club, The Royal British Legion, Keighley Branch, meets at 19.30hrs at New Variety Club, Russell Street, Keighley.

Monday, The Royal British Legion, Thornton Branch, meets at 19.45hrs at Thornton Conservative Club.

Tuesday, The Yorkshire Volunteers Association meets at 19.30hrs at Keighley Drill Hall, The Royal British Legion, Bradford Central Branch, meets at 13.00hrs at City Hall.

Remembrance

THE following are being specially remembered at Bradford Cathedral this week: Jack Brian, Jack Hanson Briggs, Anthony Ernest Kirby Briggs, Fred Stanley Broadbent, John Broadbent, Jack Broadhead, John Peter Brogden, Harold Bromberg, Fred Brook, Stanley Brook, Harold Brooke, John Parrington Brooksbank, Ernest Brotherton, Joseph Godfrey Brown, Arthur Brown, Albert Edward Brown, Thomas Harry Bryer, Frank Buckley, Robert Burnell, Milton Bussey, Stanley Butterfield.