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). "Along with this new series have come some new experiences. For service before 1845, when registers of Merchant Navy officers were not kept, you must look for records kept for other purposes (such ascrew lists, agreements and log books) but which may include incidental mention of officers. Samaria sailed out of Liverpool on Friday 14th of May 1943 and was on the Clyde Monday 17th of May. 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. Little did I know, but back home I was considered missing and presumed dead. She left Aden on 21st August and arrived at Suez on 25th August. Operations in and around the Dodecanese, Corsica, Greece, Sardinia and Yugoslavia after 11 June 1943 would also qualify. Ordinary Seaman Charles Lomax served with the Merchant Navy in WW2. Research guidance for records relating to World War 2. Although the Merchant Navy was a civilian service, during the periods of hostilities some mariners served in uniform with the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Naval Reserve Trawler Section, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. This caused miserable conditions throughout the overcrowded and claustrophobic troopdecks. You might also find information about an officer by searching the records of ordinary merchant seamen. I was held in Stalag X-B for two years, and I will never forget that smell it lingered constantly. MERCHANT NAVY SEAMAN'S SEA SERVICE RECORDS Sea Service Records . Canada's air support was crucial throughout the 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. Ronnie stayed with the Merchant Navy during the war and was torpedoed off the east coast of the USA at some point. World War Two 1939-1945 - Archives New Zealand Skip to main content Our reading rooms are open. Dad signed off the ship on 8th May. I have a record of him being on HMS Leonian in 1941/2 from a list of people he wanted to write telegrams to from the ship. These records were compiled at the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. Sanitary arrangements were, as usual, inadequate. Willenbrock. The convoy arrived in Durban on 18th December. At Halifax she embarked American troops to Reykjavik in Iceland and arrived back on 17th October a total journey time of three months. Helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by 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). Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from Fireman. By now the United States had entered the war and Japanese forces were invading Malaya. Friends of The National 1939-1950. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. 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. Search The Gazette for lists of masters and mates who passed officer examinations. This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. 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. To find out about a seamans entitlement, contact the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. 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. The National Maritime Museum holds the registers (see below). The official records state the purser took possession of his discharge book, his I.D. 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. James Wafer S.S. Samaria (d.14th May 1943). In the eleven months on the ship Dad had spent three months in Liverpool. He listed drowning as the probable cause of death. 1 With only two decades since the ending of the Great War most serving shipmasters would have been at sea during . 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. The Miramar ship index can be useful for obtaining this information. The less said about our stay at Drancy the better. This information will help us make improvements to the website. Brian Roy Clarke SS Sithonia, Sea. All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 results for ae. 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. If a ship had a former name this would be written in brackets. 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. ConsultBT 122-126and BT 128 (index in BT 127). On 28th of May 1943 he was buried in El Alia Cemetery Algiers. 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 there is no entry on a card for the early or later part of the war, check the crew lists and agreements in series BT 99, BT 100, BT 380or BT 381which may hold further details. In some cases, not all the cards relating to a vessel have been amended to reflect the latest name-change. Ships & Convoys. The certificate number obtained from the index indicates: Certificate numbers with a letter(s) prefix NWS were issued in the colonies. Records we hold This website Search ","copyright":"INF13-213 (52)","url":"https://images.prismic.io/findmypast-titan/9794e89f-46cb-4342-8b53-47272a1b0f4b_inf13-213-52-world-war-ii-poster-the-life-line-is-firm-thanks-to-the-merchant-navy.jpg?auto=compress,format"},"caption":"The Life-line Is Firm Thanks To The Merchant Navy Image: INF13-213 (52)"}},{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceText","type":"slice-text","primary":{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceTextPrimary","content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"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. Records of Merchant seamen serving in the Royal Navy under T124X and T124T contracts The UK National Archive (formerly the Public Record Office) holds the following records which are available for online access: The reference BT 391 includes the T124X records which detail the sea service of merchant seamen who served on Royal Navy ships. 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. A merchant seaman had to serve in the Atlantic, home waters, North Russia Convoys or South Atlantic waters. Contents Part Two 11. 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. This was a process which had started with the award of Merchant Navy War Service medals, and the inclusion of the merchant navy in Anzac Day marches in the mid-1970s. Arrangements for those who succumbed to seasickness consisted of 40 gallon drums which slid about the deck with unpleasant splashings. You may be searching for a vesselfor which these cards were never used. You can also search: the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. Other ways to find service records. Records available only at The National Archives in Kew To access the records in this. They subsequently sailed on convoy WS 17. 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?). From 1835, details of seafarers were recorded in registers by the Register Office for Merchant Seamen, later the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, using information from the crew lists. The cards are presented in alphabetical order by ship's name. In the top left corner of the record is the ships name. They give the seaman's name, age, rank, rating/grade etc with details of the ships on which they served. ","spans":[]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Main image:Allied convoy crossing the North Atlantic in 1942 during World War 2. 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. 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. Contact the appropriate state or national archive. They do not contain details of any passengers or crew. 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 Armed Forces Memorial roll of honour. They were first recorded on board vessels in port from 1851 (1861 for Scotland) and from 1861 measures were taken to record mariners at sea. In any case, there might be a legitimate reason why only some cards indicate the latest name, i.e. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. Digital copies of Merchant shipping movement cards 1939-1945 can be searched and downloaded. At this point the body of Matthew Towers A.B. You can find out whether a medal was issued by looking at the markings on the records. Add a Name to this List . 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. Owners and gross tonnage (G.T.) 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 SS Otranto, Capt. (6th June 1944 - 8th May 1945). 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. Most of the masters and mates were from West Wales. The column on the right of each record contains a reference number to the entitlement file held by the Registry of Shipping and Seamen. At 6.25 p.m. Wednesday 26th of May 1943 P.C. Unfortunately, all their hard work diverting troops and stores came to nothing because Singapore fell into Japanese hands. Tragically, 30,248 merchant seamen lost their lives during World War Two, a death rate proportionally higher than in any of the armed forces. Object category. All surviving agreements and crew lists with their logbooks are held by The National Archives, . Visit the Crew List Index Project (CLIP) website, which has information about merchant seamen on British registered ships from 1861 to 1913. 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. In these instances the cards have been separated and placed alphabetically according to the name shown without a deletion. The exact number of New Zealand Merchant Navy war deaths will probably never be known with certainty, as the recording of personal information, nationality, next-of-kin and service in the Merchant Navy was not as comprehensive as it was for the armed forces. reference to the medal papers file (held at the Registry of Shipping and Seamen), DNA: Director of Naval Accounts (the Royal Navy medal issuing authority) or, more recently, Do Not Authorise, Refer to Aust: the medals were not issued to an individual by the Registry of Shipping but referred on to the Australian authorities, Refer to NZ: the medals were not issued to an individual by the Registry of Shipping but referred on to the New Zealand authorities. The records are held in alphabetical order by seaman's name . For details of the Arctic Star see our guide to Merchant seamans medals and honours. Conversely, it was fortunate that fair weather allowed the rescue of 80 per cent of the total on board. How do I find out where my uncle was stationed during his stint in the Navy? Visit The National Archives bookshop for a range of publications on the Merchant Navy. If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. To access the records in this section you will either need to visit usor, where you can identify a specific document reference, order a copy(). You can find more details here. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small 3rd Radio Off. Few if any of the troops had ever crossed the English Channel let alone been exposed to the rigours of the North Atlantic. This is the story of my Grandad, James Wafer and his best friend and shipmate Matty Towers. Services and information Second World War death records Search the war dead service files from the Second World War. 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 A little after 1.30 a.m. the last person to speak to Grandad was Able Seaman M. Towers. Many years later he wrote a short fictional story about a Maritime Regiment gunner who brought nothing but bad luck. Domestic and Foreign Policy (1945-1958) 17. Service Number . We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. At 5.10 p.m. he was assigned A.R.P. The database includes every British registered ship from 1855 to the early 1950s with official numbers 1 to 200000. Archives, Open Government Licence The library does have collections of books, dealing with . Military ; Card Catalog ; Member Search ; DNA. heavily illustrated book presents the details of those ships and describes the fate of those lost between 1939 and 1945. (These were originally described as 'Asian seamen' but that is misleading. A merchant seaman might also qualify serving in operations off the Moroccan coast between 8 November 1942 and 12 May 1943. The Oil Concessions 15. List view Image view. Nortraship. 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. If you have any unwanted For each officer registers provide: Look for a certificate entry in theregisters of certificates (they are arranged by certificate number) listed below. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. . Order records to view when you visit. Read My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman by Christopher and Michael Watts (Society of Genealogists, 2002) this title is also available in our shop. Main image:Allied convoy crossing the North Atlantic in 1942 during World War 2. At 8.00 a.m. Matty Towers looked in his bunk and then reported Grandad missing to the Bosun, J. Hynes. - Merchant Navy during the Second World War -. In 1939, a third of the world's merchant ships were British, and there were some 200,000 sailors. Merchant Navy ships' records: movement cards 1939-1945; Merchant Navy ships' records: registration of merchant ships; Add a tag. Many were singing songs while the boats were being lowered. 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. The two Ellerman ships City of Lincoln and City of Edinburgh had to return to Liverpool and the Clyde because cargo had shifted. The date commemorates the sinking of the first British merchant ship in 1939, just hours after Britain declared war on Germany. The steamer Anselm had left Liverpool with Monarch of Bermuda to join convoy WS 9B but hadnt been able to maintain the 12 knots speed. 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. There were no clasps awarded with the Italy Star. 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. From 10.00 a.m. 11.00 p.m. he was seen on his rounds attending to blackout by J. Lowe. 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. 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. It lists nearly 24,000 Welsh merchant masters, mates and engineers who were active between 1800 and 1945. 09:00 to 17:00. But by the time its recommendations were implemented in 1994, the 15-year- old deckboys would have been in their mid-60s, while a seaman of 50 when the war ended would have been 100. One statement indicates he fell forward unhindered over the gun deck another says he staggered, gripped a rail and fell backwards to his death. Those giving evidence included J. Cornwall M.N. 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. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence 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. Search and download () records of World War Two Medals issued to Merchant Seamen (BT 395). Shortly after, Samaria set sail for Algiers via the River Clyde, Glasgow. 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. Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records. 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 shipping movement cards 1939-1945, Merchant Navy ships' records: movement cards 1939-1945, Merchant Navy ships' records: registration of merchant ships, About our William Gibb and Sgt Fox found my Grandad's body in the South West corner of the West Huskisson dock. 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. All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 results for Ruth Mcmillen. Some copies of the latter have been digitized and put online by theMaritime History Archivein Canada. 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. IWM collections. In 1939 the Admiralty instructed the Board of Trade, for reasons of. 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. Information about official records for the Merchant Navy (UK) can be found at the National Maritime Museum (UK) Details about the role of the Australian Merchant Navy and the role Australian merchant ships played in World War II can be found at Merchant Ships of Australia in World War 2. 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. The men went to their boats in an orderly and quiet manner. These entries do not simply record a single voyage, but a half year (January to June or July to December) during which the seaman was engaged on a particular ship. Thomas Andrew "Tots" Storey (d.7th Sep 1940), L/Bdr Norman Power Maritime Regiment Royal Artillery. As the U-boat is forced to hide beneath the surface of the sea a cat- . Alternatively, search The National Archives Library to see what is available to consult at Kew. Description. ", JEng. Search All Records ; . Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish ; Military ; Wills & Probate ; Immigration & Travel ; Schools, Directories & Church Histories ; Public Member Trees ; . Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records. ","spans":[]}]}},{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceQuote","type":"slice-quote","primary":{"__typename":"PrismicArticlePage1939BodySliceQuotePrimary","content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"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. 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 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. These were to be my grandfather's final words on earth. Records of Merchant Navy from other sources. What are these records? His brother Francis David Short was in the First War but I have no details on his service. At 7.45 p.m. the Samaria was about to sail. Matthew Towers was 48 years old when he lost his life. Modern entries giving wholesale name-changes to a ship's multiple set of cards could not be made to historic records. 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. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Welcome to the The British Merchant Navy - Old Friends Plus. Generally the qualifying service period for the Pacific Star could only begin after the 1939-1945 Star had been earned by six months service. 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. 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.