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Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Sunday 15 November 2026No. 21Serial sectionBack to the front page

Serial

Stories told in weekly parts.

The Chulmleigh, 1942

Fifty-eight men sail from Iceland for Russia in November 1942, alone, and are wrecked off the South Cape of Spitsbergen.

By Rafa del Valle

Four ship's officers round a chart table under a lamp; the captain stands with two fingers on a folded sheet.

Part one · One Star Will Do

Iceland, the last day of October 1942. A British steamer with fifty-eight men aboard is sent to Russia alone. Under the cloud there is no sun and no star, and her compass cannot be trusted.

Read part one