Must have been a tremendous,terrible strain for Pound. I mean those two months of the war July and August 1942 there is so much going on. Artic and PQ17 but one battle. Also Malta convoy with Pedestal. Atlantic convoy. North Africa and Rommel's so called Plan Orient*. German push toward the oil culminating in Stalingrad What we call the Far East and Guadalcanal (spell?) for the Americans. Dieppe raid. Frightful really. We were losing, everywhere.
*Not positive on plan name but did he not want to hook left up through Palestine and the Levant and link up with Army Group South?
So much going on. Sacrifice the Merchant men to save his cruisers and destroyers for another day?