Links & Sources

Websites / Links for Merchant Navy and Relevant Research

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Associations

Burma Star Association: Site for and about those who fought in Burma 1941-1946. Mainly British but also includes forces from other countries. Find old comrades and wartime recollections. There are also sites for the Australian Chapter, the BC Chapter, and the Chindits.

Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans Association: (no website). CMNVA is an organization of Canadian (and some allied) veterans from World War II who served in the Merchant Navy. Current president is Bruce Ferguson

CMNVA Halifax/Dartmouth Branch - Links and other relative information.

Merchant Navy Association: British national association for seafarers. Their archive holds complete records of all (British) merchant seamen who lost their lives during wartime (full name, rating, ship, date and often age and hometown) records of their ships, how their ships were lost (cause of loss, U-boat details, time and place of attack, voyage and cargo, references to official records at the Public Record Office and much more), details of all decorations awarded to merchant seamen for the Second World War and the “keys” to locating the “service cards” of merchant seamen 1918 – 1941 at the Public record Office. Small administrative charge.

Rescue Tugs: There is a Deep Sea Rescue Tugs Association, URL: www.nafts.com/dsrta.htm and a National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors, URL: www.nafts.com/

T. S. Vindicatrix Association Official website of T.S. Vindicatrix Association, for former students of this training ship for young seamen.

Convoys

Arctic Convoys: the list of Merchant ships in the Arctic convoys, along with the convoy numbers.

Battle of Convoy ONS 154: U-boat-net gives information about the battle, ships, and U-boats involved.

Canonesa, Convoy HX 72 & U-100: Tom Purnell describes the attack on Convoy, HX 72 and pays tribute to his father, who lost his life when the Canonesa was sunk. This is a well-researched, detailed site.

Convoy Web: Databases for South Atlantic (and other) Convoys. The greatly expanded site now includes the databases of mercantile vessels that sailed in the OS and OS/MS Convoy series, the SL and SL/MKS Convoy series, the Russian Convoy series, a detailed study of Convoy OS.33, plus a Multi-Convoy Web Search.Convoys are still being added.

uboat.net: A large, well-known site, which includes masses of details about the U-boats, famous convoy battles, books, etc.

uboatwaffe.net contains information about kriegsmarine and ubootwaffe history, including crew lists.

Merchant Marine / Merchant Navy

Allied Chinese Ships WWII: Website about the Merchant chips owned by British companies and operating in China, that were requisitioned or commandeered by both Japanese and Allied authorities for naval service in World War II. Site contains information on the wartime service of the Australian crew members.

Allied crew sailing on Dutch merchant navy ships during WW 2 (http://home.wanadoo.nl/hmeurs/)

Allied Merchant Seamen of World War II: Written by Maureen Venzi as a tribute to her father and the allied merchant seamen of World War II, this site contains a wealth of information, including website links and other sources.

Australian Merchant Navy: Excellent comprehensive site dealing with their role from 1939 to 1946, with particular reference to the war in the Asia/Pacific area. Narratives include the Bahar Massacre.

British Merchant Navy: Brian's website contains Notice Boards for Merchant Seamen looking for old friends and for those looking for information on lost friends and relatives, as well as photographs of ships

DEMS Navy Gunners in Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships:

Empire Mica: Website dedicated to Joseph Steele and the crew of the Empire Mica includes some underwater photographs of the wreck.

Empress of Asia: Website about the Canadian Pacific ship Empress of Asia lost by aerial bombardment while entering Singapore on February 5th, 1942.

Fort Ships of WW2: site dedicated to the Fort, Parks, and Oceans ships of World War Two.

In Memory of Able Seaman William Christopher Fielding: A tribute to a British Able Seaman lost on the SS South Western,. a Channel Islands ship torpedoed and sunk in World War One.

Leslie H. Russell, British and Canadian Merchant Navy, 1936 to 1946. An interesting and informative site that includes photographs and information on his ships and his experiences.

Mariners: An excellent website for researching world wide information on mariners and ships.

Merchant Marine Veterans Site: in honor of Harold F. Bud Schmidt - Information and links about the US Merchant Marine in World War II

Merchant Navy Officers: another great Merchant Navy site, with news, history of shipping lines (BI, Clan, Blue Funnel) and much more.

MILAG: Merchant Navy Prisoners of War - Allied Merchant Navy prisoners in German hands WW II.

The National Merchant Navy Association: Official website of the British Merchant Navy Association.

The Red Duster: An impressive and informative site on the British Merchant Navy.

Rhiv.com - Sea and Seafarers - including the story of Capt. Hugh Roberts, Captain of the Athelknight.

Tinker Taylors's website: Home page of Captain Martin Taylor.

U.S. Merchant Marine: Includes World War II information about men, events and ships, including ships and tankers built during the war.

Warsailors: A wonderful site. Siri Holm Lawson tells the story of her father, O.C. Holm, the Norwegian Merchant Marine, and ships, along with links to sites and sources.

Women Merchant Mariners: Article about the "unsung women" who served - and died - in Canada's Merchant Navy in the Second World War.

Merchant Marine / Merchant Navy: Conditions, wages, etc.

The Merchant Seamen's War: Extracts of Sons of Empire concerning seamen in the Merchant Navy during World War II.

US - Comparison of salaries during World War II, US Navy vs. US Merchant Marine.

Naval History -- World War II

Ahoy: Mac's Web Log - Articles by Lieutenant Commander (ret) Mackenzie Gregory about WWII.

Encyclopedia of World War 2 Naval Battles: analysis of each battle and the ships involved.

Fleet Air Arm Archive, 1939-1945: Naval aviation history of the Royal Navy and Commonwealth.

History Channel:

A Midshipman's War: A young man in the Mediterranean Naval War, 1941-1943. Frank Wade was a midshipman in the Royal Navy during World War II.

My Life in the Royal Navy during the Second World War: J. K. Dixon's website about his experiences in the Royal Navy during World War II.

Naval History: Links to articles and other writings by Robert C. Fisher are given on his website. The article that applies to Convoy ONS154 is called "The Impact of German Technology on the Royal Canadian Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1942-1943" ©1997. See Article .

Naval-History.net: Excellent source for naval history of First and Second World Wars, campaign summaries, etc.

Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945 (Canada War Museum)

W.W.II; a British Focus: Information, plus a database giving links to other relevant sites. Follow the website database to other links such as World War II sites / Navy

WWII US Navy Armed Guard and WWII Merchant Marine. Website of Agnes Bridger and Tom Bowerman. Includes bulletin board & message system.

Naval / Maritime Museums, Societies & Magazines

The Marine Society: Dedicated to the well-being of all seafarers past, present, and future, the society provides education, libraries and financial support for the professional development of seafarers.

Maritime and Naval Museums in Britain and Ireland. About 275 museums and museum-ships in Britain and Ireland, plus supplementary lists: a regional index, historic vessels, and additional information of maritime interest.

National Maritime Museum, Centre for Maritime Research, Greenwich. Has online database of historic photographs. They also publish Research Guides giving specific help for those tracing family history from maritime records.

The Naval Club of Toronto: A club primarily for those with Naval connections. Site includes links to websites of interest.

Sea Breezes Magazine: Established in 1919, the magazine has interesting articles. They are, however, probably best known for the "Slop Chest" and "Help Wanted" sections.

Ship Society of South Africa: founded in 1953 by a small group of maritime enthusiasts. The aim of the Society is includes a forum of guest speakers and a book-and-image library relating to the shipping world.

Photographs

Haze Gray & Underway:: Naval history and photography. Includes Dictionary of American Navy Fighting Ships, The Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today, Naval History Information Center, Photo galleries, etc.

Historic Photographs: Link to ship photographs available from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, UK

John H. Marsh Maritime Research Centre (South Africa) has an online catalogue of a collection of 18,000 photographs of 9,2000 ships taken in South Africa, mainly between 1921 and 1953.

Military Images: Discussion of uploaded military and other wartime images.

Reflections: Ships, Liverpool docks, Cammell Laird, etc. - high quality black & white photos from the past.

Prisoners of War

Radio Room, Morse Code, etc.

Colwyn Bay Wireless College: website for former students.

Liverpool Marine Radio & Electronics Society: An association of ex-Merchant Navy Radio Officers and marine electronics staff.

Marine Radio Historical Society website of society in California

MaritimRadio from Marconi to EMDSS (in English): the history of the use of radio, especially at sea, from Marconi to the present day.

Radio Officers' Association: (See http://www.roass.org/) - QSO newsletter has articles, etc. about marine and aeronautical radio communications, past and present.

The Radio Room has information as well as links.

Ship's Radio Equipment (1943) a detailed description of equipment found on Canadian ships during WW II.

See also the Merchant Navy Radio Officers page on this website for more information and links.

Researching (Records, etc.)

A & C Society: The Archives & Collections Society contains many links to maritime information and research.

British Mercantile Records covers 19th & 20th Centuries. A realistic guide to what is available. Also academic papers on the Royal Navy.

Dad's War: Finding and telling your father's World War II story. An invaluable resource.

Mariners: Researching the mariners and ships of the merchant marine and the world's navies.

Maritime History Archive: List of the principal records of British shipping and seamen, showing their present locations.

Maritime History on the Internet:: A guide to doing maritime history research online. The first set of links contains pages focusing on doing research, while the second set gives links to maritime sites on the internet.

Maritime Royal Artillery: (DEMS) Information on the Maritime Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery, renamed the Maritime Royal Artillery in 1943. Research.

Medals issued to Merchant Seamen (WW II): Documents from UK government archives to aid research into medals given for World War II war service.

Medals - World War II: Images of medals for wartime service with an explanation of why the medals were awarded.
Also see British Gallantry, Orders, Decorations, and Campaign ribbons.

Mercantile Marine Discussion Forum. Another good place to pose questions about the Merchant Navy..

Ministry of Defence Veterans Agency - Gives contact addresses to contact to obtain service records for veterans of the Armed Forces (including DEMS) and others

Mother of All Maritime Links: John's nautical links list.

Rank Maven: Gives drawings or pictures of the rank insignia of most of the world's armed forces.

Don't forget to consult the "link" pages in other websites given here

Sailors' Lore, Songs & Tales

Kilroy Was Here, The origin of these words that were scrawled on ships. Also many other locations where they were found during WWII.

Tales from the Scuttlebutt.

Search for Shipmates, etc.

Biscuitsbrown: A database for searching for lost comrades from army, navy, royal marines, TA, and merchant navy.

Comrades and Colleagues: a database of over 6000 military Units in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada

Colwyn Bay Wireless College: Former students of Colwyn Bay can contact classmates, etc. on this site.

Lost Trails: Veterans search locator: Fleet Air Arm Archive: includes lists of links for searching old shipmates, etc.

Missing you: A FREE instant on-line message-posting service designed to help enable you to locate missing persons, lost friends, relatives, workmates, forces pals, etc, that are thought to be anywhere in the UK.

Ships and Shipping Lines

Athelian Apprentices Association: This is an association for former officers and cadets of the Athel line.

Canadian Ship Listing: For information on the Canadian navy of World War II

Farewell to the China Boats: This website about the Blue Funnel Line includes information from the 1960s, as well as officers' reports made concerning the sinking of the Rhexenor in 1943.

Liberty Ships. a master list of ship names of all Liberty ships built.

Tankers: An alphabetical list of all tankers built in U.S.A. during World War II, and more.

WW II Ships: Includes detailed listings for Empire ships, T2 Tankers and Liberty ships, plus ship types.

Survivors' Tales

Athelknight, Excerpts from Bill Cook's log kept in the lifeboat.

Harry's Tale, Harry Howard was on the King Edward, when it was lost in Convoy ONS154.

The Loss of the Putney Hill, Alan Shard (F.N.I.) was on the Putney Hill, lost in Convoy HX 72

Wilfred Williams: his wartime experiences as a prisoner in Timbuktu, after the sinking of the SS Allende

Survival at Sea section of website

Terminology (definitions, etc.)

http://www.k-sea.com/faq's.htm: This page on FAQs from the K-Sea Transportation site gives definitions with easy-to-understand illustrations.

http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/glossary.htm - This is the Ship's Inventory page (with definitions, tonnages, and equivalents) on the official web site of the Military Sealift Command of the U.S. Navy.

http://www.du.edu/~jcalvert/tech/fluids/cargo.htm - This page with definitions related to Cargo Ships is contained on the website of Dr. James D. Calvert, of the University of Denver.

http://www.usmm.net/terms.html - The U.S. Merchant Marine site contains this long and useful list of maritime terms and definitions, from "abaft" to "yaw".

War Graves

British Merchant Seamen in USMM: honour roll

Canadian Merchant Navy War Dead Database. This database is part of the Veterans Affairs Canada website.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission's online database that you can search. For a report of those who died on a specific date or within a given period, which includes the name, ship, etc., please contact them directly.

Merchant Mariners killed on U.S. operated ships during World War II. Alphabetical listing

Netherlands War Graves Foundation: List of war victims. Click on 'Slachtofferregister' click on 'Raadplegen van het Slachtofferregister'. Enter the name you wish to find and click on 'Zoeken' (Search). There is a monument in Rotterdam called 'De Boeg' (the bow) in memory of the Netherlands merchant seamen war dead, but no names are mentioned on this monument.

Radio Officers Database: off-line Memorial Register, compiled by G.V. Monk and P.J. Barber to honour the 1,408 British Radio Officers killed in WW II. For information, contact George Monk.

Wreck Sites

International Registry of Sunken Ships. world wide database & information centre

Wreck Databases and Lists: List of the databases and links to wrecks of ships on the Nordic Underwater Archaeology website..

Wreck site: Belgian, Dutch and Eastern Scheldt

The Wreck Site: contains a wreck database with over 3400 wrecks in the North Sea for wreck divers.

Websites / Links for Merchant Navy and Relevant Research

Queries & FAQs World War II Bookshelf Selection of books about the Merchant Navy and other topics

Book Search

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Queries & FAQs
World War II Bookshelf
Selection of books about the Merchant Navy and other topics