This is the story of my Grandad, James Wafer and his best friend and shipmate Matty Towers. Become a Member Merchant Navy Awards 1939-1945 This collection details over 9,000 awards made to those who served in the Merchant Navy from 1939-45. The certificate number obtained from the index indicates: Certificate numbers with a letter(s) prefix NWS were issued in the colonies. He died on 21st Aug 1973. Art . You need to sign in to tag. Read tagging guidelines. Most of the masters and mates were from West Wales. giving a true reflection as to when the name-change was made. There were still some men on the after deck, but could not see if they had jumped clear before the ship sank. The date commemorates the sinking of the first British merchant ship in 1939, just hours after Britain declared war on Germany. Brian Roy Clarke SS Sithonia, Sea. To have have kept all the cards together would have rendered them out of alphabetical order (in contravention of the specification) with possible adverse consequences for the list. MO has 20th Century military records for discharged and deceased veterans. 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. 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. Registers were created to record the awarding of these certificates to officers and what they had done to qualify for them. Catalogue entries for this series have been enhanced as part of a project supported by volunteers. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. I hope to also take a digital diary when it is finished to the Arctic Convoy Museum at Loch Ewe. There have been times when I've thought about the few months of kindness and friendliness shown by Frau Wilmbrock and her family in the village of Kirch, where I and fellow Stalag X-B prisoner Jock Reid worked their farm. The ship turned out to be a disguised German raider. Supplying Victory: The History of Merchant Marine in World War II The image you order will usually come with a number of medal records for other seamen. It was the job of the Ministry to decide what cargo the ships would carry and the function they would fulfil in order to best support the war effort, while crewing and provisioning remained under the jurisdiction of the shipping industry. Search 5: service details of Merchant Navy cooks 1913-1956 This is a search in record series BT 319. Merchant Navy mariners were recorded in the 1841 census but unfortunately not those on board ships either stationed on shore or at sea. Conditions on the raider were passable, but the prison ship was deplorable. Ronnie stayed with the Merchant Navy during the war and was torpedoed off the east coast of the USA at some point. The column on the right of each record contains a reference number to the entitlement file held by the Registry of Shipping and Seamen. By war's end 410 merchant ships had been built in Canada. ", JEng. Merchant Navy timeline - The Merchant Navy - NZHistory By 1878, Canada was the fourth largest ship-owning nation in the world, with a merchant fleet of 7,200 vessels. This meant that Monarch of Bermuda with eight other liners and the cruiser HMS Royal Sovereign increased speed from 13 knots to 16 knots. Domestic and Foreign Policy (1945-1958) 17. The Canadian Merchant Marine had only forty-one ocean-going merchant ships at the outbreak of the Second World War. In early 1945, in the face of advancing British forces, the camp was evacuated, and we were marched to Marlag und Milag Nord, from where I was later repatriated. 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. 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. Before 1747 no formal record keeping of crews on merchant ships existed. During that period the ship may have been on several voyages, and he may have been engaged for some or all of the period. United Kingdom, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941 - FamilySearch Merchant Vessel Files: Also included among the Coast Guard records is a series of Merchant Vessel Information Files, 1939 - 1952, which is arranged alphabetically by name of vessel and contains information about merchant vessels that entered U.S. ports during World War II. In the Merchant Navy there is a requirement that the 28 days should have been served at sea. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. "On the 16th July 1940, I was on 4-8 watch when according to the 8-12 watch a ship flying Yugoslav colours had opened fire from the port quarter, killing the radio operator and setting fire to the bridge. It was the Knights of Columbus Hostel on Harvey Road which was frequently used by the servicemen. Ryan, John McMahon in World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of For more information on the Arctic Star and advice on how you can still apply for it, see our guide to Merchant seamans medals and honours. His brother Francis David Short was in the First War but I have no details on his service. Archival records and resources from the Second World War Second World War (1939-1945) Archival records and resources from the Second World War Archival resources from Canada's participation in the Second World War. In May 1943 S.S. Samaria was in West Huskisson dock at my grandfather's home port of Liverpool. The entries are arranged in date order and provide: Apply for a copy of a certificate from the National Maritime Museums Caird Library you will need the certificate number. This was simply a record of the. *Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. A total of 254 officers and men lost their lives in the sinking of Anselm, of which 176 were RAF, 70 from other services and 4 crew. 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. The following books may also prove useful: In general, seamens records for the period 1913-1972 can be found at TNA (unfortunately, most records for the First World War period do not appear to havesurvived). 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 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. 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. Despite sharing the word Navy in their titles, the difference between the Royal and Merchant Navies was that sailors in the latter were classed as civilians. Generally awarded if the seaman qualified for one of the Stars. I was held in Stalag X-B for two years, and I will never forget that smell it lingered constantly. "Service in the Merchant Marine was considered civilian service under several different civilian personnel agencies. Thomas Coakley examined the body and states no violence was used in his death but his body was badly damaged, due to it being trapped for days under the lock gates of the dock. The T124T records detail the sea service of merchant seamen who served on tugs. 1939 194 Yeah, reviewing a book Embleme Wappen Malings Deutscher U Boote 1939 194 could . 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. We can either copy our records onto paper or deliver them to you digitally, Visit us in Kew to see original documents or view online records for free, Consider paying for Our They sailed up the Irish Sea to join with the Clyde portion to form convoy WS 9B. After four months aboard the raider, we were transferred to a prison ship. 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. All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 Unfortunately, all their hard work diverting troops and stores came to nothing because Singapore fell into Japanese hands. The Oil Concessions 15. At the National Archives, researchers can find information on the United States Navy ranging from the wooden hulled ships of the Continental Navy used in the Revolutionary War, to the deployment of massive Carrier Battle Groups and Navy Task Forces. The official history for the Second World War, Australia in the War of 1939-1945, has been digitised and is available for viewing on the Memorial's web site. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. Awarded for service in the Burma Campaign between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. William Gibb and Sgt Fox found my Grandad's body in the South West corner of the West Huskisson dock. SA. 1939-1945. In these instances the cards have been separated and placed alphabetically according to the name shown without a deletion. Description. 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?). They do not contain details of any passengers or crew. ","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. In any case, there might be a legitimate reason why only some cards indicate the latest name, i.e. (d.13th October 1945), Capt. Service Number . The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources. Tragically, 30,248 merchant seamen lost their lives during World War Two, a death rate proportionally higher than in any of the armed forces. Second World War, 1939-1945 - Home | Australian War Memorial Maurice John Case MBE: 20 . All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 results for Giron. The convoy arrived in Durban on 18th December. (6th June 1944 - 8th May 1945). "Along with this new series have come some new experiences. All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 results for Ruth Mcmillen. A microfiche index to their holdings is kept by TNA.