The official record of these two mens' deaths falls so short of telling the whole story. 2. 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. giving a true reflection as to when the name-change was made. Our . privacy policy, Registry of Shipping and Seamen: War of 1939-1945; Merchant Seamen's Service on Royal Navy Ships. Anyone who qualified for both the Pacific Star and the Burma Star would be awarded the first Star earned. SA. 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. SS Otranto, Capt. Our first night there we had doors for beds. All surviving agreements and crew lists with their logbooks are held by The National Archives, . If they appear on the same page, you should only pay one fee. He said he always craved the soil under his boots. "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. They give the seaman's name, age, rank, rating/grade etc with details of the ships on which they served. 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. Help us improve catalogue descriptions by adding tags. ConsultBT 122-126and BT 128 (index in BT 127). research. By war's end 410 merchant ships had been built in Canada. We also found evidence after 1943 of his return to the Army, promotion to Captain and his service in India, near Karachi. (M.N. Read My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman by Christopher and Michael Watts (Society of Genealogists, 2002) this title is also available in our shop. Gunner) fell from the gun platform on A deck to B deck, receiving head injuries. 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. The seamens discharge book numbers are usually listed, and you may find the date and place of birth too. You can search ()the records in Discovery, our catalogue, by filling in the form below. Other ways to find service records. 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. On August 26, 1939, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) took control of all shipping. 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. research. In themerchant navy the term officer can refer to a master, mate, engineer, fishing boat skipper, second hand or cook. 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. Merchant Navy Day. Two days later the Coroner held an inquest into Grandad's death and the verdict was given as unascertainable. Description. All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 results for Giron. This series contains records of Merchant Seamen's Service on Royal Navy Ships. This information will help us make improvements to the website. Find answers to your research questions at, How to File a FOIA Request for Archival Records. At first it was voluntary and applied only to foreign-going vessels. The Miramar ship index can be useful for obtaining this information. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration The details are in an appendix entitled An Alphabetical List of all the Masters and Mates in the Merchant Service. Dad signed off the ship on 8th May. Ships & Convoys. In the Merchant Navy there is a requirement that the 28 days should have been served at sea. After a change of orders she eventually left the Clyde with escorts on 30th June. Although the design of this website looks rather old-fashioned, it's still updated and is a good resource for Welsh Merchant Navy records. You need to sign in to tag. 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. Using testimony from new witnesses and hitherto undisclosed public records, he seeks to explain why they were reported missing: believed killed. Women also sometimes served at sea in the Merchant Navy. By now the United States had entered the war and Japanese forces were invading Malaya. 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. Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records. 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. The Royal Canadian Navy was the third-largest fleet in the world by the end of the war, having enlisted 100,000 men and 6,500 women. Records of Merchant Navy from other sources. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Merchantmen at War Official Story of Merchant Navy 1939 - 1944 at the best online prices at eBay! It supported Britain's Bomber Command from 1943 to 1945, contributing a huge strike force. My mum told me that he did serve. 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. Don Fraser, "'Men of a service . Information is contained in pouches and includes personal details such as name, age, rank, rating/grade and qualifications, together with details of the vessels on which the individual served. What ship was Admiral Harold Stark on during D-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. 1939-1950. The Guildhall Library does not hold crew lists. These were to be my grandfather's final words on earth. Fireman. 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. Show all records. 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. Merchant seafarers were involved in the Second World War from the first day to the last. Edit Search New Search. Many thousands of POWs died there. For details of the Arctic Star see our guide to Merchant seamans medals and honours. By 08.20 both escorts were proceeding at 6 knots towing Anselms empty boats, but as speed increased to 13 knots these gradually broke away and were lost. The ships formed up with the Clyde contingent for convoy WS 16 west of Orsay on the 17th. Art . Divided first by country and then by shipping company, the book includes the ships of such great They do not contain details of any passengers or crew. v3.0. The Lloyd Captains Registers were compiled from the records of certificates issued to foreign-going masters. Search indexes to crew lists from 1861 to 1913 by name on findmypast (). Monarch of Bermuda arrived in Durban 30th July and carried out repairs. In any case, there might be a legitimate reason why only some cards indicate the latest name, i.e. During the war this fleet underwent tremendous expansion as Canadian shipyards produced 403 merchant vessels. For quick pointersTuesday to Saturday Nortraship. I remember him telling me that he was actually on his first day of a period of survivors leave when D Day commenced. duty by S. Pentith 3rd officer. 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 However, it was still important to record the movements of merchant vessels and so the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen established this series of cards, now held by The National Archives in series BT 389. Search Discovery, our catalogue, by name of person or ship in T 335 to find what the award was, the persons rank at the time, and the ship they were serving on. Helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by Log book and Crew Agreements to be found in BT 381, Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, 1872-1992. 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. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence TNA has detailed research guides on the Fourth and Fifth Registers of Seamen and other records. We weren't sorry to leave there in a cattle truck three days later, when we were taken to Drancy Prison in Paris. Edit Search New Search. Research guidance for records relating to World War 2. I remember him telling me about runs to Malta and how soldiers shouldn't have been on ships. Below is the last movement card for the SS Athenia. Saudi Arabia and the Second World War (1939-1945) 16. Awarded after the Battle of the Atlantic for service between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945. Up to 1854 records are arranged by port and registry number; subsequently by ship's official number. Samaria sailed out of Liverpool on Friday 14th of May 1943 and was on the Clyde Monday 17th of May. The men went to their boats in an orderly and quiet manner. Want to know what life was like during the War? LOG BOOKS AND CREW AGREEMENTS Genealogical enquiriesshould be made in writing and search fees are 30. 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. 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. This guide will help you find and interpret records of Merchant Navy officers from 1845 to 1965. This meant that Monarch of Bermuda with eight other liners and the cruiser HMS Royal Sovereign increased speed from 13 knots to 16 knots. He signed up in 1915 at the age of 18. Furthermore, the MID does not appear on the Order of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards approved from time . We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. World War Two 1939-1945 - Archives New Zealand Skip to main content Our reading rooms are open. These records were compiled at the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish ; Military ; Wills & Probate ; Immigration & Travel ; Schools, Directories & Church Histories ; Public Member Trees ; . 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 AB. Like this page to receive our updates. The column on the right of each record contains a reference number to the entitlement file held by the Registry of Shipping and Seamen. Archives, Open Government Licence 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. You can search for ships official numbers through the Crew List Index Project. the National Archives. 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. Shortly after, Samaria set sail for Algiers via the River Clyde, Glasgow. It should be noted that the cards do not always reflect changes in the ship's name and that it may be necessary to search for a ship under its various names. His brother Francis David Short was in the First War but I have no details on his service. The book's structure follows the chronological evolution of geographical opinions and retains a geohistorical narrative. A certificate came with a number (and new numbers were assigned if a replacement certificate was issued following the loss of the original). The medals were claimed and issued from 1946 to 2002. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. 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. 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. Merchant mariners or merchant seamen are assigned to vessels that primarily transport cargo and passengers during peacetime. 3rd Radio Off. Despite the fact that merchant crews were not compelled to sail on the dangerous ocean passages, most indeed did. Read tagging guidelines. 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. 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. Gunner, R. W. Orr D.E.M.S. For quick pointersTuesday to Saturday 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. 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. 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. For example, MacDonald will not appear under the letter M but under D. There were still some men on the after deck, but could not see if they had jumped clear before the ship sank. The minimum qualifying period was one day. This caused miserable conditions throughout the overcrowded and claustrophobic troopdecks. Let us know. recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. Registers were created to record the awarding of these certificates to officers and what they had done to qualify for them. Most of the prisoners, including myself, were sent from Drancy to concentration camps. Merchant seamen who were discharged from the navy between 1940 and 1972 had their records filed in what became known as 'seamen's pouches'. The date commemorates the sinking of the first British merchant ship in 1939, just hours after Britain declared war on Germany. Records we hold This website Search There was no minimum time qualification for a Merchant Seaman. All Web: UK, World War II Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 results for Ruth Mcmillen.