PQ 17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster - Jeremy Clarkson

[duncancallum]

Superb nothing short of superb.

Jc when he isn't being Jezza is brilliant.

[wiffmaster]

Excellent. Love it when Clarkson does these sorts of programme - he always does a bloody good job.

[Robertos88]

That was very good. Tragic story, but some pretty heroic no nonsense stuff.

[deltaevo16]

Excellent and very emotive.
Seeing that ship do a fast turn was incredible.
Those men who died deserved recognition a long time ago, nice to see the Russians honored them

[NDA]

Excellent program, very moving and quite fascinating.

I am always profoundly wobbled by seeing those brave old boys reliving stuff that you and I (collectively) would find almost impossible to comprehend.

[GTO Scott]

Excellent, very well done

[silverthorn2151]

I am ashamed at how little I knew of these men, courageous beyond belief and dignified in all that they said.

Another great programme that people can learn from at any age and well done JC. He really does do this sort of thing well and I believe is genuinely passionate about it. Excellent programme.

Paint the ships white and load the tank guns! What a truely great man.

[Smiler.]

Clarkson is so much more watchable when he delivers like this.

It was an excellent programme & a fitting & moving tribute to those who took part at the business end of the Arctic Convoys.

I suspect the "establishment" to be behind failure to properly recognise those who served in this theatre & after a while, gross embarrassment if not shame.

Interesting to see that this programme was fairly long in the making.

[Evil Monkey]

A great hour of TV. Some very brave men featured, I'm pretty bloody sure I wouldn't have the bottle to do what they did, whatever the circumstances.

Even the JC detractors would have to admit that he does this type of show very well.

[Butter Face]

Great program, very enjoyable presentation from JC.

[Chicane-UK]

Brilliant documentary. Jeremy Clarkson really is extremely watchable in these as you really believe the subject is very important to him, and he can be serious without being completely deadpan or sombre.

Watching the veterans being interviewed is always tough. They're so dignified, so humble, and so brave.. and clearly find it tough to talk about the horrendous things they must have lived through all those years ago - but still always manage to tell the story. Always leaves me with a lump in my throat to be honest.

On the subject of the arctic star, my great uncle flew Short Sunderland bombers during the war and was shot down and killed on submarine patrol above the arctic circle. We applied for the medal as he should be eligible for it - which we hope to be able to give to my grandma (his sister) who's still alive.

[AndyWoodall]

I freely admit I had something in my eye a couple of times.

Good bit of tv. Anyone got any recommended reading? There are chapters on this and the Atlantic convoys in a tatty copy I have of 'Royal Navy at War '39-'45 but would like something more specific if people have good opinions of some literature...

[Chicane-UK]

AndyWoodall said:

I freely admit I had something in my eye a couple of times.

Good bit of tv. Anyone got any recommended reading? There are chapters on this and the Atlantic convoys in a tatty copy I have of 'Royal Navy at War '39-'45 but would like something more specific if people have good opinions of some literature...

If you've never seen his other two documentaries (the one on the Victoria Cross and the one about taking out the dry dock in Saint Nazaire) then they're absolutely essential watches as they're equally as good.

[caiss4]

Barred from watching JC tonight (something to do with Jane Eyre?!?) but this looks like a perfect I-player down load for the commute on Monday!

[Halb]

I prefer the VC one, due to his personal connection to it.

[deltaevo16]

AndyWoodall said:

I freely admit I had something in my eye a couple of times.

Good bit of tv. Anyone got any recommended reading? There are chapters on this and the Atlantic convoys in a tatty copy I have of 'Royal Navy at War '39-'45 but would like something more specific if people have good opinions of some literature...

HMS Ulysses is a novel by Alistair Maclean which is based loosely around PQ17 it's an excellent read.

[NDA]

AndyWoodall said:

I freely admit I had something in my eye a couple of times.

Good bit of tv. Anyone got any recommended reading? There are chapters on this and the Atlantic convoys in a tatty copy I have of 'Royal Navy at War '39-'45 but would like something more specific if people have good opinions of some literature...

Try this:

http://www.fpp.co.uk/books/PQ17/1968edition.pdf

[Graculus]

Great programme.

I'll admit to a lump in the throat when the pictures of three men were shown at the end. They got to tell their stories.

Hero's, every one of them.

[agtlaw]

Superb programme.

My great uncle was in the merchant navy - his ship was sunk by a German U-boat in the Arctic Sea near Russia. He told me that he was sleeping when there was a massive noise and he found himself in the sea - with his pals dead or dying all around him. Incredibly and against all the odds, he survived.

Although the Clarkson programme dwelled on the disastrous consequences of bad leadership, the various convoys to Russia actually delivered a great deal of supplies and it's a national disgrace that the outstanding bravery and contribution of the merchant navy went unrecognised for so long.

[RemaL]

I was lucky enough to catch this and glad I did