If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. They sailed up the Irish Sea to join with the Clyde portion to form convoy WS 9B. Awarded for service in the Pacific Ocean, South China Sea or the Indian Ocean between 8 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. The book's structure follows the chronological evolution of geographical opinions and retains a geohistorical narrative. However the majority are held by the Maritime History Archive. George Smith died later of his injuries. Index record for Ryan, John McMahon in the World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 from Ancestry.com, historical military records. Other ways to find service records. The ships formed up with the Clyde contingent for convoy WS 16 west of Orsay on the 17th. Monday, July 16, 1945 o First atomic bomb exploded Heat generated by the blast was 4 times the temperature at the center of the sun Blew out windows in houses more than 200 miles away Killed every living creature within a mile o Ruby Wilkening joined several other women waiting for the blast Worried about her husband who was already at the test site No one knew what to expect o . After the outbreak of war, Germany declared that every vessel of the British mercantile marine was to be regarded as a warship, meaning that the sailors of the Merchant Navy faced tremendous risks. The cards record the movements of both British-registered and Allied vessels engaged in the war effort. On 13th December the weather reached gale force which repeated the heavy rolling and misery in the troopdecks experienced on the first leg of the voyage. Gunner, R. W. Orr D.E.M.S. These records are digitised cards recording the movements of British and Allied merchant ships during the Second World War. These records were compiled at the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Coast Guard Nav Bouy Patrols in Pacific 1964 Ship name Grisham. Most of these men were not born in Asia; many were Egyptian. In themerchant navy the term officer can refer to a master, mate, engineer, fishing boat skipper, second hand or cook. How do I find out where my uncle was stationed during his stint in the Navy? The convoy arrived in Durban on 18th December. Nine types of medals were awarded to British merchant seamen who served in the Second World War and who met the qualifications for each medal. Although the design of this website looks rather old-fashioned, it's still updated and is a good resource for Welsh Merchant Navy records. heavily illustrated book presents the details of those ships and describes the fate of those lost between 1939 and 1945. The National Archives' catalogue Catalogue description Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Database of World War II Medals issued to Merchant Seamen Search within or browse this series to find. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. Read tagging guidelines. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. At 8 am on December 7, the Japanese submarine I-26 torpedoed SS Cynthia Olson, manned by mariners and transporting lumber for the Army from Tacoma, Washington to Honolulu.All aboard perished, making these merchant mariners among the earliest American casualties of the war. This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The stokehold and engine-room were soon flooded and with the engines stopped, the ship lost way and within eight minutes, Captain Elliott reported that Anselm was badly down by the head. Some copies of the latter have been digitized and put online by theMaritime History Archivein Canada. As the outbreak of World War II edged closer in 1939, the British merchant fleet remained the largest in the world, employing some 200,000 men and women. Some idea of the danger awaiting convoys is given by the following story. Merchant navy defence courses: general information ([Melbourne? A merchant seaman might also qualify serving in operations off the Moroccan coast between 8 November 1942 and 12 May 1943. The details are in an appendix entitled An Alphabetical List of all the Masters and Mates in the Merchant Service. Catalogue description Registry of Shipping and Seamen: War of 1939-1945; Combined Office Merchant Navy Operations, Seamen's Pouches Search within or browse this series to find specific. Medals and awards Refer to our research guides: Campaign and service medals Australian military honours and awards Where to look for photographs These entries record a single voyage during which the seaman was engaged on a particular ship. These files have joined our collection in an effort to better serve the public who are looking for proof of their ancestor's service, The first block of this series contained 4,800 cubic feet of records, The Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC) is the approving official for World War II Merchant Marine separation documents. E. A. Huntbatch SS Orama (d.15th July 1941), Fireman James Gilbert Goodwin S.S. San Casto (London). Arrangements for those who succumbed to seasickness consisted of 40 gallon drums which slid about the deck with unpleasant splashings. 1939 194 Yeah, reviewing a book Embleme Wappen Malings Deutscher U Boote 1939 194 could . Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records. Canada's air support was crucial throughout the war. Also some happy times with the Indian Army who were great allies and enjoyed partying English style, as a relief from the war time battles. Let us know. . On 28th of May 1943 he was buried in El Alia Cemetery Algiers. ","spans":[]}]}},{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceImage","type":"slice-image","primary":{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceImagePrimary","image":{"dimensions":{"width":1200,"height":742},"alt":"Black and white photo of a group of officers on the SS City of Manila, a cargo steamer of the Ellerman City Line","copyright":"Mary Evans/Pharcide","url":"https://images.prismic.io/findmypast-titan/16661bfe-a635-4d82-a616-66a6b14d10d7_group-photo-officers-of-ss-city-of-manila-a-cargo-steamer-of-the-ellerman-city-line-sunk-in-the-atlantic-by-a-german-torpedo-in-1942-with-just-one-crew-member-lost-mary-evans-pharcide.jpg?auto=compress,format"},"caption":"Group photo, officers of SS City of Manila, a cargo steamer of the Ellerman City Line, sunk in the Atlantic by a German torpedo in 1942, with just one crew member lost. The official records state the purser took possession of his discharge book, his I.D. The weather was initially fair but by the 16th November they were in heavy seas in a Force 8 gale which was right on the beam causing the ships to roll heavily. Use our guide Abbreviations in merchant seamens records to interpret the records. Against J. The database includes every British registered ship from 1855 to the early 1950s with official numbers 1 to 200000. Numbers were allocated to the certificate of service in BT 130 are as follows: We hold indexes to registers of certificates of competence and service for cooks, 1913-1956 in BT 319. She was torpedoed and shelled by the German U-boat U30 without warning, becoming the first merchant vessel casualty of the Second World War. - Merchant Navy during the Second World War -. The Consolidation of the Arabian Territories around Najd (1918-1926) 12. A merchant seaman could qualify after six months service with at least one voyage in an operational area. The National Maritime Museum holds the registers (see below). Search for the National Maritime Museums records of master and mate certificates (1850-1927) on Ancestry.co.uk (). 09:00 to 17:00. Want to know what life was like during the War? A register entry for a foreign trade voyage, from BT 124. If a ship had a former name this would be written in brackets. Alternatively, search The National Archives Library to see what is available to consult at Kew. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. v3.0. Welcome to the The British Merchant Navy - Old Friends Plus. In 1939 the Admiralty instructed the Board of Trade, for reasons of security, to prevent masters of merchant vessels from using ships logs or crew lists and agreements to record destinations or ports of call. This series contains records of Merchant Seamen's Service on Royal Navy Ships. Registers were created to record the awarding of these certificates to officers and what they had done to qualify for them. You need to sign in to tag. Research guide C12: The Merchant Navy: Ship registration and Custom House records; Research guide E1: . The story is called The Jinx. By war's end 410 merchant ships had been built in Canada. Back to Search Results Veterans History Project Service Summary: War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945 Branch of Service: Merchant Marine Unit of Service: SS George W. Lively; SS George Sters; SS James Hyram Walker; SS War Bonnet Location of Service: Atlantic; Pacific; Normandy, France; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands) Highest Rank: Active Boatswain 1 With only two decades since the ending of the Great War most serving shipmasters would have been at sea during . Also awarded, with no minimum service requirement, if service was terminated by death, disability due to service or capture as a prisoner-of-war. Our first night there we had doors for beds. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. The Socio-political Structure of Saudi Arabia after its Creation 14. Sanitary arrangements were, as usual, inadequate. Our On August 26, 1939, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) took control of all shipping. After the outbreak of war, Germany declared that every vessel of the British mercantile marine was to be regarded as a warship, meaning that the sailors of the Merchant Navy faced tremendous risks. the Armed Forces Memorial roll of honour. First World War Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve recordscan also beaccessed online. The cards are presented in alphabetical order by ship's name. The ship left Suez on 27th August via Port Sudan to load commercial cargo at Mombasa for Capetown and the UK. My mum told me that he did serve. Under an Admiralty instruction during World War II masters of merchant ships were ordered not to record in the tabular section of the log book the ports at which their ships called or details of their voyages in case this information got into enemy hands. At 7.05 p.m. Matthew Towers A.B. Visit the Crew List Index Project (CLIP) website, which has information about merchant seamen on British registered ships from 1861 to 1913. They contain the following information: Search BT 352, a combined index to masters, mates, engineers and fishing officers certificates of competency covering home and foreign trade. Add a Name to this List This number made up around one third of the entire global merchant fleet at the time, with many of the seamen coming from all over the Empire, including India, Hong Kong and West Africa. He describes why . She left Aden on 21st August and arrived at Suez on 25th August. ConsultBT 122-126and BT 128 (index in BT 127). This information will help us make improvements to the website. This is the story of my Grandad, James Wafer and his best friend and shipmate Matty Towers. ","spans":[]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Main image:Allied convoy crossing the North Atlantic in 1942 during World War 2. Look at the websites of other archives and organisations which hold agreements and crew lists, including the Maritime History Archive in Newfoundland, the National Maritime Museum, the National Records of Scotland, the National Archives of Ireland, and local archives. In the longest campaign of the war, the British merchant fleet, with its naval escorts, struggled to bring food, fuel, equipment and raw materials from America and elsewhere across the Atlantic,. The funeral for 46 year old Jim Wafer was held on Tuesday 1st of June 1943 at St Dominic's Roman Catholic Church then burial at Ford Cemetery. Eight of them are searchable here whilst the ninth, the Arctic Star, was not awarded until 2012 and records of its award do not exist at The National Archives. The Oil Concessions 15. I was held in Stalag X-B for two years, and I will never forget that smell it lingered constantly. Little did I know, but back home I was considered missing and presumed dead. On 5th July when she was 300 miles astern of convoy WS 9B she was torpedoed by U-96 under Capt. Their targets now travel in convoys, fiercely guarded by Royal Navy destroyers, and when contact is finally made the hunters rapidly become the hunted. We also found evidence after 1943 of his return to the Army, promotion to Captain and his service in India, near Karachi. Whilst it is only short, it gives a vivid account of life on board ship as a RA gunner during WW2. A silver rose on the ribbon bar signifies the award of a bar. I know that during 1939 to 1945 he served on a few Navy ships as an engineering officer RNVR and some time ago I sent a letter to obtain a record of the Naval ships he sailed in. This section includes over 21.000 Allied Warships and over 11.000 Allied Commanders of WWII, from the US Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, The Polish Navy and others. Merchant Navy - The port where the merchant mariner signed on as a member of a ship's crew at the commencement or during the war. 1.30 a.m. Friday 14th of May 1943 Jim Wafer was seen apparently asleep in Seaman Gunners Quarters by Able Seaman Stanley Poole. The British Merchant Navy was the largest in the world and required more crew than Great Britain had merchant seamen, as a result large numbers of Indian, Chinese and West African seamen were engaged to crew ships which regularly traded from Great Britain to ports in those areas. Operations in and around the Dodecanese, Corsica, Greece, Sardinia and Yugoslavia after 11 June 1943 would also qualify. They give the seaman's name, age, rank, rating/grade etc with details of the ships on which they served. Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from IWM collections Menu. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. In general Second World War Royal Naval Reserve officers' records and post 1950 records are held by CN Pers (Commodore Naval Personnel). These records are digitised cards recording the movements of British and Allied merchant ships during the Second World War. All First World War records for these formations have been transferred to TNA. The British Merchant Navy fleet was the largest in the world in 1939 and around 185,000 men served in it during the Second World War. As fast as they drew up new convoy plans, the instructions would change. Germany turned submarines, battleships, aircraft and mines on Britains supply lines, while British and American shipyards worked tirelessly to replace those ships that were sunk. The swell was of considerable height and the ships became almost unmanageable and steering had to be assisted by engines. Most of the prisoners, including myself, were sent from Drancy to concentration camps. All were willing and did their best to help abandon ship quickly in the short time available. . The National Archives' catalogue This record (browse from here by hierarchy or by reference) Catalogue description Registry of Shipping and Seamen: War of 1939-1945; Merchant Seamen's Service. The struggle for control over the Atlantic shipping routes, which would eventually become known as the Battle of the Atlantic, was one of the longest campaigns of WWII. By the 26th of June 1943 the crew of the Samaria had heard of the body of Jim Wafer being found in Liverpool. Merchant Navy 1939-1945 Royal Navy 1939-1945 Naval Warfare Atlantic 1939-1945 Malta 1939-1945 British Home Front 1939-1945 British Army 1939-1945 Submarines German Home Front 1939-1945 Prisoners of War, . There was no minimum time qualification for a Merchant Seaman. A Clasp would be worn to signify service for the other Star. Saudi Arabia and the Second World War (1939-1945) 16. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration ConsultBT 139for certificates of competency from 1861-1921, BT 142forcertificates of service from 1862-1921 andBT 140for certificates of service of engineers examined in the colonies from 1870-1921 (index in BT 141). Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. During the one-way exchange of fire (the raider kept of range), Able Seaman George Smith was seriously injured and the third engineer, Mr. Gibson, and the steward, Mr. Gernardt, were killed. Dad signed off the ship on 8th May. I think the tag '' should be removed from: Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events, All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, BT - Records of the Board of Trade and of successor and related bodies, Division within BT - Records of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen and successor, Merchant Navy seamen in service since 1918, About our Even if a person had several mentions, he would only have one emblem. The convoy was originally supposed to sail at the end of October 1942 as WS 13 but its designation was changed to WS 12Z (a lucky omen?). Two days later the Coroner held an inquest into Grandad's death and the verdict was given as unascertainable. In some cases, not all the cards relating to a vessel have been amended to reflect the latest name-change. Historically many vessels have had their names changed, sometimes on more than one occasion. Now, many warships had immediately packed the harbour, so, the navy men and merchant seamen had all gone to St. John's for their off hours. The National Archives at St. Louis does not provide information for benefits or separation documents, such as DD-214s, for these records. They subsequently sailed on convoy WS 17. Merchant Navy 1939-1945. From 1845 onwards a system of examinations was introduced for masters and mates. Object category. Many years later he wrote a short fictional story about a Maritime Regiment gunner who brought nothing but bad luck. While in Freetown news came through that the Japanese had landed in Java and Batavia and the Dutch East Indies had surrendered which would mean no more convoys to the Far East. On being examined by the ship's surgeon life was found to be extinct. At 5.00 p.m. on Thursday 13th of May 1943, my grandfather Jim reported for duty on troop ship S.S. Samaria to J. Lowe 2nd officer. Monarch of Bermuda sailed for Suez with an estimated 2,200 troops on board on 28th June in company with seven other ships and escorted by the destroyers HMS Reading and Piorun (Polish). Want to find out more about your relative's service? Shortly after, Samaria set sail for Algiers via the River Clyde, Glasgow. Merchant Navy Awards 1939-1945 This collection details over 9,000 awards made to those who served in the Merchant Navy from 1939-45. Show all records. I believe, SS Port Sydney also survived the war so, I am uncertain on which ship Ronnie was serving when torpedoed. In any case, there might be a legitimate reason why only some cards indicate the latest name, i.e. research. Monarch of Bermuda embarked 2,287 troops and was one of ten liners in this convoy which eventually sailed on 12th November. MO has 20th Century military records for discharged and deceased veterans. These were to be my grandfather's final words on earth. He was rescued, repatriated and managed to survive the war. With all of Britains oil arriving by sea, half of her food, and most of her raw materials more than a million tonnes per week, in total- the smooth functioning of the merchant fleet was integral to the nations survival. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 261046 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. At 6.25 p.m. Wednesday 26th of May 1943 P.C. Underneath, the caption reads: `The life-line is firm thanks to the Merchant Navy`. Ordinary Seaman Charles Lomax served with the Merchant Navy in WW2. If a seaman is not listed, it may be because they have not claimed their medal entitlement. There were no clasps awarded with the Italy Star. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, IWM collections. The slower ships left the convoy at Capetown and the convoy increased speed to 14 knots rounding the Cape into a full gale which eventually turned so that they had a following sea. Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Research guidance for records relating to World War 2. Search The Gazette for lists of masters and mates who passed officer examinations. It was the Knights of Columbus Hostel on Harvey Road which was frequently used by the servicemen. Order records to view when you visit. To determine eligibility for a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD Form 214, or a Report of Casualty, DD Form 1300, customers will be directed to to, View the National Archives Operating Status. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence The only good thing I remember about Drancy was the kindness of the French women who had nothing themselves, but nevertheless threw loaves of bread to us past the guards. The passage to Durban took longer than anticipated because the route diverted to sail closer to the African coast and the convoy speed dropped to 6.1/2 knots to enable the RN escorts to rendezvous with a tanker for refuelling at Point Noire. Let us know. Unfortunately, all their hard work diverting troops and stores came to nothing because Singapore fell into Japanese hands. Anyone who qualified for both the Pacific Star and the Burma Star would be awarded the first Star earned. On the outbreak of the 1939-1945 war between the United Kingdom and Germany (3 September 1939), British-registered merchant ship masters were sent radio messages instructing them to open the sealed envelope which had been deposited in ships' safes as much as a year previously. research. ). Personnel records available to the public are now held byThe National Archives (TNA), formerly known as the Public Record Office, the website has helpful research guides. Search indexes to crew lists from 1861 to 1913 by name on findmypast (). From the mid-18th century, masters or owners of most British-registered merchant ships were required to keep a record of their crew before the ship left port. These cards have been selected as they reflect the economic, social and demographic condition of the UK, as documented by the state's dealings with individuals, communities and organisations outside its own formal boundaries (2.2.2.1 of PRO's acquisition policy). Conditions on the raider were passable, but the prison ship was deplorable. Remember, you'll need to show photo ID to be issued with records. The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers and the free to access part of the website is funded by donations from our visitors. Due to the multifaceted nature of the Merchant Marine, we are very grateful to obtain this collection in order to provide clarity to their service," said Theresa Fitzgerald, Along with this new series have come some new experiences. To find out about a seamans entitlement, contact the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.
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