The Arctic Convoy Museum

Yesterday I introduced the designs that I’ve created for my friends at the Arctic Convoy Museum in Aultbea. The explicit purpose of these two patterns is to raise funds for the Museum, an institution of relatively recent foundation, which is doing fantastic work preserving and sharing the story of the Arctic Convoys. Here’s Karen, the museum’s hat (and cowl) wearing curator, to tell you more about that work.

In the year 1998, four elderly veterans of the Arctic Convoys made a pilgrimage to Loch Ewe in Wester Ross.  During World War II, they and their fellow sailors had left this beautiful and remote Highland loch on a perilous journey to Arctic Russia, transporting weapons and supplies for the war-torn Soviet Union.

The four veterans had the idea of building a museum on the shores of Loch Ewe to commemorate those who took part in the Arctic campaign. No other World War II campaign evokes more outstanding courage and human endurance than the Arctic Convoys. Hundreds of sailors of the Merchant and Royal Navy who left Loch Ewe, never returned. The communities of Poolewe and Aultbea took this cause to their hearts.

 By 2011, the Arctic Convoy Project and Museum had been established and registered as a charity. That year, Prince Michael of Kent came to Loch Ewe to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Operation Dervish – the very first convoy to take aid to the Soviet Union. Over the next two years, events were held in the Aultbea Village Hall (built during the war as a cinema and dance hall for the armed forces stationed in the area) to help raise the profile of the Museum project. In 2014, the Museum was given the use of a room in the former Primary School at Inverasdale, where its growing collection of artefacts and memorabilia could be displayed. By 2016, the Museum had moved into its current premises, the old butcher’s shop in Aultbea, which it has transformed into a wonderful exhibition space with the help of public and private funding. Although the four founding veterans are no longer with us, a board of volunteer trustees continues their legacy.

Since the Museum’s opening, visitor numbers have increased to over 7000 a year. In 2025 visitors were welcomed from at least twenty-six countries. Many of them have a link to the Arctic Convoys through a family member who is a veteran. For them, the visit to Loch Ewe is a pilgrimage in memory of a loved one.  Other visitors who first learn about the Arctic Convoys when they visit the museum are astonished and deeply moved as they uncover the stories of one of the war’s most under-celebrated feats. For the past three years, the Museum has received a Trip Advisor Award for being in the top 10 per cent of visitor attractions worldwide based on visitor feedback. 

The Arctic Convoy Museum considers itself the guardian of a unique collection of objects and archival material, which it uses to tell the stories of the convoys and veterans at its premises in Aultbea. 

Today the Museum is run by a small team of staff and committed volunteers, working hard to improve the Museum facilities and inform visitors. Staff and volunteers also undertake important outreach activities with local school to communicate the historical importance of Loch Ewe’s role during World War II. 

In 2019, the Arctic Convoy Museum led a community project to create a Wartime Trail around Loch Ewe. The project brought the generations together to commemorate the Arctic Convoy story and highlight the area’s unique place in the history of the War.

Artists visited local primary schools to help students create beautiful outdoor mosaic panels, inspired by the special history surrounding them. The mosaics, together with storyboards, signage and silhouettes, are positioned at various points around the loch, giving visitors a better understanding of the wartime activities in the area.

Conscious of its remote location, the Museum aims to make its collections more accessible to veterans, families and researchers. Work experience and educational opportunities are provided remotely for university students of history and museum studies. Recently, a digitisation project has allowed remote volunteers to have access to archival materials, which they have used to bring veteran’s stories to the fore on the Museum’s website.

Just a decade after its inception, the Arctic Convoy Museum began working towards obtaining Museum Accreditation status – an important step towards best practice in collections care and future sustainability. A curator has been employed, bringing the professional skills required to implement accreditation standards across all of the Museum’s activities. Achieving this recognition will put the Museum on the path to securing its future as a key player in the United Kingdom’s network of wartime museums and the only one dedicated to the Arctic Convoys.

In 2024, the Museum secured extra land behind the building. Funds have been raised for a small, modular building to allow collections work to take place during the season, when there is no available space in the Exhibition Centre.  This will allow the curator and volunteers to more easily handle the high volume of donated objects the Museum receive throughout the year. A new memorial is also envisioned in the grounds to recognise the losses of all the nations involved in the Arctic campaign.

There is a small Museum shop, where visitors can purchase books, gifts, and clothing, including the Arctic Convoy’s own tartan . . .

. . . which has inspired the colours of the Arctic Convoy designs.

These patterns will be sold in the Museum shop, and promise to be a valuable fundraiser towards running costs into the future.  Every purchase is much appreciated for its contribution to helping the Museum thrive. On behalf of the Museum trustees and staff, we thank you for your support! 

Thank you, Karen, for telling us more about the museum’s important work. Please consider making a donation or purchasing a kit to support that work, and I’ll be back with Wester Ross club members tomorrow to explore more of the extraordinary landscape around Loch Ewe, and its 1940s legacy.