Once you have obtained a certificate number from the index in BT 127, consult the table below for the respective record series reference: Certificate numbers with a letter(s) prefix NWS were issued in the colonies. The image you order will usually come with a number of medal records for other seamen. The cards record the movements of both British-registered and Allied vessels engaged in the war effort. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. Although the design of this website looks rather old-fashioned, it's still updated and is a good resource for Welsh Merchant Navy records. If they appear on the same page, you should only pay one fee. During that period the ship may have been on several voyages, and he may have been engaged for some or all of the period. On August 26, 1939, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) took control of all shipping. 1939-1945. 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, . However, service was considered military in nature for those who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946. 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. After the declaration of war in September 1939, the Ministry of Shipping then under the control of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Gilmour took control of the merchant fleet. In May 1943 S.S. Samaria was in West Huskisson dock at my grandfather's home port of Liverpool. The troop decks in this compartment contained many RAF and RAOC and the number of casualties was probably increased by the wooden laddersbeing smashed by the explosion. Anselm was indeed unfortunate to have been sighted and torpedoed whilst within the supposed protection of an anti-submarine screen by an isolated homeward bound U-Boat. Two days later the Coroner held an inquest into Grandad's death and the verdict was given as unascertainable. was taken ashore by the military authorities for burial. Inicio; FAQ's; Biblioteca; Ayuda; Bsqueda avanzada; Comentarios/sugerencias . All First World War records for these formations have been transferred to TNA. These records are digitised cards recording the movements of British and Allied merchant ships during the Second World War. In Britain, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries, 3 September is Merchant Navy Day. 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. You may be searching for a ship on dates before or after movement cards were in use on that vessel. During wartime, however, they can become an auxiliary to the United States Navycalled upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military. Awarded for service in the Pacific Ocean, South China Sea or the Indian Ocean between 8 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. The Atlantic Star was also awarded to those awarded a gallantry medal, with no minimum qualifying period. These were to be my grandfather's final words on earth. Merchant mariners or merchant seamen are assigned to vessels that primarily transport cargo and passengers during peacetime. Digital copies of Merchant shipping movement cards 1939-1945 can be searched and downloaded. Much of the information would have come from the Royal Navy. The National Maritime Museum holds the registers (see below). The series generally contains information about radio equipment . On 28th of May 1943 he was buried in El Alia Cemetery Algiers. You may be searching for a vesselfor which these cards were never used. From 10.00 a.m. 11.00 p.m. he was seen on his rounds attending to blackout by J. Lowe. Our Owners and gross tonnage (G.T.) All surviving agreements and crew lists with their logbooks are held by The National Archives, . 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. Want to know what life was like during the War? To find out about a seamans entitlement, contact the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. 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. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, SAINT LOUIS, December 16, 2019 The public now has access to previously unavailable information concerning former merchant mariners and their maritime service through Merchant Marine Licensing Files, made available by the, The public can access these records in two ways: through a request made via an. IWM collections. The database includes every British registered ship from 1855 to the early 1950s with official numbers 1 to 200000. Monarch of Bermuda left Durban on 24th March and returned to Liverpool via Cape Town and Freetown arriving back on 23rd April. These records have only been held at the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. If anyone knows of my father, Captain Len Chapman I will be pleased to hear! Image: Mary Evans/Pharcide"}},{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceText","type":"slice-text","primary":{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceTextPrimary","content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Particular emphasis was put on implementing the convoy system, by which warships would customarily escort groups of merchant ships to deter attacks from German U-boats. Ships & Convoys. Despite the fact that merchant crews were not compelled to sail on the dangerous ocean passages, most indeed did. The National Archives holds indexes to the registers covering the period 1913-1956 (the registers themselves, for 1915-1958, are held at the National Maritime Museum). This collection of records, BT 395, lists the medals awarded to merchant seamen for their service in the Second World War (1939-1945), with the exception of the Arctic Star. This information will help us make improvements to the website. The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers and the free to access part of the website is funded by donations from our visitors. 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. Genealogical enquiriesshould be made in writing and search fees are 30. He may have been in the Devon or Dorset Regiment. This collection of records, BT 395, lists the medals awarded to merchant seamen for their service in the Second World War (1939-1945), with the exception of the. Consult our guide to records of merchant seamen serving after 1917for advice on searching within registers of seamen and seamens pouchesto establishvoyage details which you may be able to apply to the service of officers. Log book and Crew Agreements to be found in BT 381, Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, 1872-1992. The movement control staff in Durban were receiving signals from London changing the instructions for the destinations of the various troops. The ship turned out to be a disguised German raider. When the war began, Canada had 38 ocean-going merchant vessels. Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from You may also like to read ourguide on Merchant seamens medals and honours. ","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. . USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration "The World's largest shipping company". SS Otranto, Capt. Another important archive open to the public is theLloyds Marine Collectionat the Guildhall Library which holds the Captains Registers for the period up to 1948, voyage record cards 1927 to 1975 and runs of theLloyds Registers, Lloyds ListsandMercantile Navy Lists. There were no portholes, and ventilation came from the open access hatches which had to be closed at night when the ships were darkened. The world has been led by intensive and extensive waves of darkness from renaissance all the way down to the Covid crisis. The survivors in the water and boats were picked up by HMS Starwort and Challenger approximately 230 on the former and 820 on the latter, but owing to the intense overcrowding an accurate count was not possible. Nortraship. Details of masters and mates who have voluntarily passed an examination appear inthe Lloyds Register of Shipping (copies of which are available at The National Archives). This caused miserable conditions throughout the overcrowded and claustrophobic troopdecks. 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. Want to find out more about your relative's service? You need to sign in to tag. This is the story of my Grandad, James Wafer and his best friend and shipmate Matty Towers. Records of people younger than 100 and still alive, or who died after 1991 are officially closed. 09:00 to 17:00. Woodman here relates the Merchant Navy's colourful history and brings to life the day-to-day experiences of the seamen. Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records. Awarded for service between 6 June 1944 and 8 May 1945, in direct support of land operations in France, Belgium, Holland or Germany, in the North sea, the English Channel or the Bay of Biscay (service off the coast of the south of France could qualify for the Italy Star, see below). 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. According to a later report by the ship Cathay, the previous nights U-Boat dispositions siutuated a submarine close to the position of Anselm and which, despite the three corvette anti-submarine screen, allowed U-96 to put in a successful attack at 05.37 when a torpedo struck the port side reserve bunkers of Anselm. photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. After a change of orders she eventually left the Clyde with escorts on 30th June. Fort Pepperrell was in St. John's and many American servicemen were to resident in the capital city. Records available only at The National Archives in Kew To access the records in this. Become a Member 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. Here's some details: Full Name: Harold Dowle Born: 7th June 1911 I have a card with a discharge A number in the name of H Dowle of 714335 for 12/7/1938 on a ship called Lornaston (148881) from Liverpool. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. The certificate number obtained from the index indicates: Certificate numbers with a letter(s) prefix NWS were issued in the colonies. Registration of cooks in the Merchant Navy began on 30 June 1908. For quick pointersTuesday to Saturday The library does have collections of books, dealing with . Suffice it to say the remainder of the convoy including Monarch of Bermuda made the passage safely arriving in Freetown on 13th July to fuel and take on water and sailing on 17th July for Durban. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence From 1850 onwards, an officer was only officially qualified or certified as an officer if he had been awarded a Certificate of Competency (by passing an exam) or a Certificate of Service (for long service). A single oak leaf emblem attached to the War Medal ribbon denotes a Mention-in-Despatches; the silver oak leaf, a Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct. After the First World War King George V, in recognition of the contribution made to the British war effort by merchant ships, granted the title of Merchant Navy to non-military sailors. Records of Royal Naval Reserve ratings in service between 1914 -1955 are available online atwww.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/royal-naval-reserve-service-records.htm. He died on 21st Aug 1973. Order records to view when you visit. duty by S. Pentith 3rd officer. 1939 194 Yeah, reviewing a book Embleme Wappen Malings Deutscher U Boote 1939 194 could . Use our guide Abbreviations in merchant seamens records to interpret the records. They sailed up the Irish Sea to join with the Clyde portion to form convoy WS 9B. From 1845 onwards a system of examinations was introduced for masters and mates. Search and download () records of World War Two Medals issued to Merchant Seamen (BT 395). The two Ellerman ships City of Lincoln and City of Edinburgh had to return to Liverpool and the Clyde because cargo had shifted. Next Apply for your own . Few if any of the troops had ever crossed the English Channel let alone been exposed to the rigours of the North Atlantic. In the indexes, names beginning with Mc or Mac are usually found under the letter following that prefix. 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. He describes why . In 1939, a third of the world's merchant ships were British, and there were some 200,000 sailors. Merchant Navy Day. Saudi Arabia and the Second World War (1939-1945) 16. Visit The National Archives bookshop for a range of publications on the Merchant Navy. the-raf-in-camera-1939-1945 1/11 Downloaded from uniport.edu.ng on March 2, 2023 by guest . Have you found an error with this catalogue description? 1 With only two decades since the ending of the Great War most serving shipmasters would have been at sea during . The story is called The Jinx. Many thousands of POWs died there. Modern entries giving wholesale name-changes to a ship's multiple set of cards could not be made to historic records. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Search 5: service details of Merchant Navy cooks 1913-1956 This is a search in record series BT 319. The following codes may be found on the record: Markings found on the record may include: The letter R over a code can signify that an application for that medal was reviewed and refused. Consult copies of the Mercantile Navy List for 1860 to 1864 in The National Archives reading rooms for alphabetical lists of masters and mates (with certificate numbers) as well as one-line obituaries for deceased seamen. Most of these men were not born in Asia; many were Egyptian. Anyone who qualified for both the Pacific Star and the Burma Star would be awarded the first Star earned. The Oil Concessions 15. 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. 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. Sanitary arrangements were, as usual, inadequate. At Halifax she embarked American troops to Reykjavik in Iceland and arrived back on 17th October a total journey time of three months. The registers follow a similar format to Registers of Seamen Tickets in BT 113. 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). A little after 1.30 a.m. the last person to speak to Grandad was Able Seaman M. Towers. card and his grey suit jacket. v3.0, except where otherwise stated, guide on Merchant seamens medals and honours, World War Two Medals issued to Merchant Seamen, records of merchant seamen serving after 1917, Abbreviations in merchant seamens records, Friends of The National 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). Some idea of the danger awaiting convoys is given by the following story. We are researching his time in India but know of some stories but not a lot except playing hockey against and Indian Team and winning! At 7.45 p.m. the Samaria was about to sail. At 8.00 a.m. Matty Towers looked in his bunk and then reported Grandad missing to the Bosun, J. Hynes. Medals and awards Refer to our research guides: Campaign and service medals Australian military honours and awards Where to look for photographs If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. The staff had been working 48 hours without sleep planning the convoy and then tearing up the plan and movement orders as changes took place. Index record for Merchant, Leslie Arthur in the World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 from Ancestry.com, historical military records. If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Records of Merchant Navy from other sources. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. Particular emphasis was put on implementing the convoy system, by which warships would customarily escort groups of merchant ships to deter attacks from German U-boats. Research guidance for records relating to World War 2. George Smith died later of his injuries. Read My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman by Christopher and Michael Watts (Society of Genealogists, 2002) this title is also available in our shop. 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. 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. ","spans":[]}]}},{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceText","type":"slice-text","primary":{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceTextPrimary","content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"After the declaration of war in September 1939, the Ministry of Shipping then under the control of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Gilmour took control of the merchant fleet. 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. Alternatively, search The National Archives Library to see what is available to consult at Kew. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence British seamen who served under the T124X agreement; British seamen who served under the T124T agreement; Non-British seamen who served under the T124X agreement. v3.0, the Lloyd Lists which are available at the Guildhall Library or the, record of voyages (certificates up to 1888 only) dates are for when the records were filed and are not arrival dates sometimes records were filed after a series of voyages, date of death (certificates after 1888 only and only sometimes), date, number and place of issue of the masters certificate obtained, any other special qualification, including the steam certificate from 1874, name and number (taken from the Mercantile Navy Lists) of each ship (date of engagement and discharge as master or mate and the destination of each voyage), any special awards (for example, war service), pasted-in summaries of the qualifications and service from 1851 of masters who were still active in 1869, green for skippers and mates of fishing boats. AncestryDNA Activate a Kit ; AncestryDNA Learning Hub ; What's Included in Your Results . A silver rose on the ribbon bar signifies the award of a bar. After five days of normal transportation (i.e., in cattle trucks), we arrived at Bremervorde in northwestern Germany near Bremen, and were then marched several miles to Stalag X-B in Sandbostel, where we were greeted by the stink of death. Captain Elliott concluded that Anselm was abandoned without panic or unnecessary confusion. Visit the Crew List Index Project (CLIP) website, which has information about merchant seamen on British registered ships from 1861 to 1913. Edit Search New Search.
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