Wartime Merchant Navy
Queries & Frequently Asked Questions

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FAQ re Wartime Merchant Navy

Home Front, 1949-1945 - Glossary: Defnitions of common abbreviations (ARP, CORB, etc.) and commonly used word (Anderson Shelter, Barrage balloon, etc.) from World War II.

Age of Merchant Seamen in WW2:
During the war, a merchant seaman was probably under age, over age or unfit for service in the regular uniformed Armed Forces. A captain's comment (courtesy of Carol): "Walter Skitch, aged 70 years; joined the SS Bondicar in March 1942 and has served continuously since as First Engineer." See oldest and youngest Merchant Navy casualties.

SS British Chivalry
When the tanker SS British Chivalry, was sunk 22/02/1944, in the Indian Ocean, the Japanese submarine circled the survivors in two lifeboats, raking them with machine gun fire. A cine camera was used to record this act of murder (not war). After 37 days in an open boat, 38 survivors were rescued by mv Delane (including Lamport and Holt).

Convoy Boards
For security reasons during wartime, the ship's name was not painted on the side, nor on the stern. Instead, two name boards, commonly called Convoy Boards, were mounted on either side of the ship above the bridge. The boards were hinged horizontally in the middle, so they could be folded in half. The name of the ship was painted in large letters and could be displayed in port, but, when the board was folded in half, the name was concealed.

DEMS
Merchant ships that carried weapons were called Defense Equipped Merchant Ships. Some 150,000 Merchant seamen received gunnery training (e.g., Gordon received gunnery training and manned a machine gun). Merchant ships could also have Navy or Army gunners aboard. According to Billy McGee (British Merchant Navy at War website), there were 24,000 RN gunners (nearly 5,000 killed) and 14,000 army gunners (1,222 killed) aboard Merchant ships during WW 2.
See Royal Navy personnel below. On the Links & Sources page, see Maritime Royal Artillery.

Dog Watch
Dog Watch is a short watch. First Dog Watch (4 - 6 pm) and Last Dog Watch (6 - 8 pm) are terms used in the Royal Navy. The term Second Dog Watch is not used.

SS Empire Celt & Capt. Edward McCreade
The Empire Celt (a tanker) was torpedoed and probably sunk 24-02-1942 by U-158, Kapt. Erwin Rostin. The 8,032 grt ship (MOWT, Oregan SS Co. Ltd) had sailed in ballast from Greenock and joined up with convoy ON-76. The 37-ship convoy left Liverpool on February 14, 1942, bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. On February 21, the convoy was intercepted by a patrol line of 6 U-boats who attacked the following day, sinking 3 Merchant ships. The U-boats launched further attacks on February 24, sinking 5 Merchant ships and damaging a further 2. The Empire Celt was on of the ships hit about 420 miles South-East of St John's by U-158 and sank in Position 43' 50N 43' 38W. The Captain, Edward McCready and 22 men were picked up by the Canadian ship Citadelle. A further 24 were picked up by the naval trawler HMT St Zeno and all were landed in St John's, Newfoundland. Four crew were killed and are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London on Panel 38. Two DEMS gunners (names unknown) were also lost. (From B. McGee)

SS Empire Sky
The Empire Ships (Mitchell & Sawyer) says the ship was sailing independently (not in convoy) when torpedoed by U-625 south of Spitzbergen, Barents Sea, 76.20N 17.30 on November 14, 1942.

Film about ONS154
Kathleen Grantham asked if anyone know whether National Geographic made a film about ONS154, possibly in 1998?

Loss of Pay: sunk seamen
Did seamen receive their pay after their ship was sunk, or was pay stopped at the date the ship sank? The rules were changed in May 1941, and sailors were to be paid until they got back to their signing-on port, but no one told the sailors. In many cases, the pay to a seaman who lost his life was often stopped as soon as the ship was sunk. It could be three months or more before the widow received her widow's pension, and that was only one-third of the allowance she had received whilst her husband was alive and at sea.

Royal Crown of Newcastle
The first Royal Crown of Newcastle was bombed and gunned by aircraft 15m South of Smith's Knoll Light vessel on January 30th. 1940. The ship was sunk in a later action  by the Gneisenau on March 15th, 1941, in LAT 42 N LON 43W (approximately).

Royal Navy personnel (DEMS gunners) on merchant ship
The three names: HMS Glendower, HMS President III, and HMS Wellesley, do not refer to actual ships. They were Royal Navy bases that trained gunners to man Merchant ships, known as DEMS (Defense Equipped Merchant Ships).
The name of a DEMS gunner assigned to a Merchant ship appears on the ships articles, but he was was not a Merchant seaman. If killed, his name appears under the name of his Royal Navy training base, not the merchant ship.
Royal Navy DEMS records are still held at HMS Centurion naval base. Information will only be given to the next of kin and may take some time. Please contact the following address:  Centurion. Naval Pay & Pensions (Accounts), Centurion Building, Grange Road, Gosport, Hampshire PO13 9XA England.
Ask specifically for the names of the Merchant ships served on, or all you will get is the DEMS depot that they were from. If you already know the names of the ships they served on you can access the crew list and agreements from the Public Records Office. The crew list and agreements are held under the ship's official number.