01/06/2026
Bill Hartley, Chief Officer on the first Rescue Ship, the BEACHY, is photographed smiling in the face of adversity. Bill spent his war serving on rescue ships in the Arctic and Atlantic. Rescue ships were specially adapted small merchant ships that sailed at the rear of convoys to rescue survivors from vessels that were sunk or abandoned.
The BEACHY itself was sunk by a German bomber in January 1941. Bill then joined the RATHLIN and, shortly after, the COPELAND, where he became Master in August 1942. The COPELAND rescued 205 survivors from vessels sunk in Convoy PQ18. For his courage and service, Bill was awarded the DSC and the Lloyd's Medal for Bravery at Sea.
Bill then took command of the GOODWIN and among many other rescues, he pulled his vessel alongside the blazing tanker SOUTH AMERICA and rescued all 42 crew. During his service he participated in the rescue of a total of 362 survivors.
Bill's daughter wrote a memoir for Convoys Remembered and tells of his reputation for always smiling. She poignantly describes how he rarely mentioned the horrors he had faced, but on one occasion, while watching a television program about the Battle of the Atlantic, he wept bitterly.
Bill was awarded the DSC and Lloyd's Medal for his rescue of men in the Arctic and Atlantic. As his daughter reflects, what really marked him as a brave man was the fact that he encouraged his crew by smiling, when all the time he wanted to cry.
https://arcticconvoymuseum.org/veterans/william-joseph-hartley/
