Convoy To Russia: With A British Cruiser Escort On Arctic Lifeline - Twice daily the Bos'n's mate pipes "For exercise only, hands to action stations," and the Royal Marines' drummer sounds off the call to action stations. A fast British cruiser sets out to rendezvous with a convey of merchantmen, some of them Russian, heavily laden with arms for the Red Army. The crew receives an issue of arctic clothing. The convoy escorted by British minesweepers, is met in the dark. For the rest of the voyage they remain almost in darkness, for in these latitudes the sun is not seen for three months in winter a an hour or two of dawn, then twilight and night again. September 9, 1952. (Photo by British Official Photograph).