I was interested to see your posting on the U-boat Forum:-

Re: SURRENDERED U-BOAT ESCORTS, MAY/JUNE 1945
Posted by: G.Hassell ()
Date: August 07, 2011 01:47AM

I was a member of the crew of H.M.S. Loch Eck - telegraphist HUFF/DUFF and I remember escorting the u-boat from Kristiansand. I still have a photo of the u-boat in transit. My memory grows dim but as far as I remember we went straight back to Scapa. I don't know what happened to the u-boat after that. I always remember the River Foyle going into Londonderry being full of u-boats. As far as I'm aware they were to be scrapped.
Regards
G.Hassell

It seems strange that you should have escorted only one U-boat when there 26 U-boats at Marvika (Kristiansand).

Can you tell me whether the U-boat had a German crew?

And if they did were there a few English seamen aboard as well?

I was told by the widow of Fred Mercer, an AB on HMS VENOMOUS, that her husband returned aboard one of the U-boats.

But perhaps she got it wrong and he came back on one of the escorts.

But it seems strange that he was left at Kristiansand when VENOMOUS returned to Rosyth on the 17 May.

My father Lt(E) William R Forster RNR was at Kristiansand in May 45 – but he died 35 years ago.

And I have published a book about his old destroyer:

A Hard Fought Ship: the story of HMS Venomous; by R.J. Moore and J.A. Rodgaard. Holywell House Publishing, 14 April 2010.
234x156 mm with 384 pp, 170 photographs and 12 maps and plans. ISBN 978-0-9559382-0-7.

Best wishes,

Bill Forster

Holywell House Publishing
www.holywellhousepublishing.co.uk/