Cumberland Bay is a bay, wide at its entrance between Larsen Point and Barff Point, which separates into two extensive arms,

Cumberland West Bay Cumberland West Bay is a bay forming the western arm of Cumberland Bay, South Georgia. It is entered southward of Larsen Point, where it is wide and extends in a southwest direction. It is separated from Cumberland East Bay by Thatcher ...

and Cumberland East Bay, which recede inland along the northern coast of

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

. It was discovered and named in 1775 by a British expedition under

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the whaling stations were closed except

Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a Hamlet (place), hamlet on South Georgia in the South Atlantic. Formerly a whaling station, it was the largest settlement on the island. Grytviken is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, ...

and

Leith Harbour Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia Island, South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen, Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation f ...

. Most of the British and Norwegian whalers and

factory ship A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier ...

s were destroyed by German merchant raiders, and the remainder were called up to serve under Allied command. The resident British Magistrates (W. Barlas and A.I. Fleuret) attended to the island's defence throughout the War. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

deployed the armed merchant cruiser to patrol South Georgian and Antarctic waters, and deployed two four-inch guns to protect key approaches: at Grytviken to protect Cumberland Bay and at Leith Harbour to protect Stromness Bay. The batteries still survive. They were manned by volunteers from among the Norwegian whalers who were trained for the purpose.

References

* * Bays of South Georgia Falkland Islands in World War II {{SouthGeorgia-geo-stub