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Wartime Merchant Navy
Queries & Frequently Asked Questions
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We
appreciate your comments, but we do not have the facilities to answer your
questions. Please consult our Links and Sources page
for links to relative sources of information. The reference librarian at your
local public library is a good place to start. Although they may not have the
books at hand, they should be able to suggest sources and how to find them.
Your query may have already been answered on
Mariners;
they have a list that you can join and ask questions about the Merchant Navy.
You can check the Mariners'
archives to see whether your question has already been answered.
Another discussion list that you can join is
Mercantile Marine Discussion Forum.
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FAQ re
Wartime Merchant Navy
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Front, 1949-1945 - Glossary: Defnitions of common
abbreviations (ARP, CORB, etc.) and commonly used word (Anderson
Shelter, Barrage balloon, etc.) from World War II.
Maritime Definitions:
Comprehensive list of maritime terms and their
meanings located on the United States Merchant Marine site.
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Adolph S
Ochs - Information wanted:
Information and photographs of the the Adolph S Ochs
wanted by Keith Haywood. He is
writing the company history of George Nisbet & Co., and wants to put
together a complete fleets list.
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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.
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Behar
Massacre:
On March 9, 1944, the P&O ship
mv Behar
was sunk and the crew taken aboard the Japanese vessel Tone.
Seventy-two members of the crew were executed. |
SS
Bovey Tracey and Capt.
Robert Smith Riley
Information wanted by his grandson
Simon. The Bovey was sunk in
November 1941, and Capt. Riley received several awards for "bravery beyond the
call of duty", OBE etc. . |
| SS
British Chivalry
If you have any information on Robert O'Neil, or
the tanker SS British Chivalry, sunk 22/02/1944, contact
Sandra.
The
ss British Chivalry was sunk in the Indian Ocean. The Japanese
submarine then 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 (Lamport and Holt). Bill
Ure would appreciate hearing from any of her crew, particularly
the apprentices who gave up their cabins to us three apprentices.
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SS
British Progress - Information wanted:
Can anyone provide information
as to where the ss British Progress was based between 1932 & 1933.
Contact Kerry. |
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MV
British Vigilance (tanker) - Information wanted:
My Uncle
George Dawson was serving as a Royal Naval gunner on the Tanker MV British
Vigilance and was killed on Sunday, January 3, 1943. My father
is getting on a bit now and would dearly love to know what happened to the
ship and where it was at the time. Contact
George Dawson |
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HMCS
Cailif T-276 - Information wanted:
Do you have any information on wartime history of HMCS
Cailif? Sold to Norway in 1946, rebuilt as fishing trawler. Contact Douglas Wilmot
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| Carlbeath
(collier) & Capt. William McCreadie OBE
Jim McCreadie is
seeking information. His great-uncle was Captain of the collier
Carlbeath. About November 1926, he rescued the crew of
the German schooner Anne Marie. The second mate of the
Anne Marie was Baron A. D. Benno von Stulpnagel, former
District Commissioner of German East Africa and former Aide de
Camp to Field Marshall von Hindenburg during World War 1. He would
gratefully appreciate any information on either of these two gentlemen.
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 City
of Pretoria (Ellermans)
John had a relative
lost on this ship sunk off Cape Race on March 3, 1943, by the U-172.
Any information about the ship and the attack etc would be much appreciated. |
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Convoy
HX223
If you have any information on this convoy, contact Eric Bissmire.
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Convoy
Boards (Did you see my grandfather's ship in the convoy?)
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.
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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 entries on
Links & Sources and
Maritime
Royal Artillery as well as
Royal Navy
personnel below.
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RS
Dewsbury (Rescue Ship)
If you know where to find a photograph of this ship, contact Leslie McCrea.
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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.
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Empire Careth. Also
Empire Bronze, Candak
and
Silivri
Molly is transcribing a journal belong to her father, a WW II Merchant Navy radio officer,
and would appreciate any information about these ships. The Candak and Silivri
left Glasgow in convoy in December 1941 for Turkey. There is also a stamp from
the Empire Careth in his Discharge
book (ship not given in Empire Ships book). |
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SS
Empire Celt & Capt. Edward McCreade
Jim McCreadie
is looking for any information about his paternal grandfather who was Captain
of the Empire Celt. This ship was torpedoed and probably sunk 24-02-1942 by
U-158, Kapt. Erwin Rostin).
Tanker Empire Celt, 8,032grt, (MOWT, Oregan SS Co. Ltd) had sailed in
ballast from Greenock and joined up with the 37-ship Halifax, Nova Scotia
bound Convoy ON-67, which left Liverpool on February 14, 1942. 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)
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SS Empire
Sky
Bob Cheesman
is looking for any information on the SS Empire Sky.
In The Empire Ships (Mitchell & Sawyer), it 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.
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Film about
ONS154
Kathleen Grantham
asked if anyone know whether National Geographic made a film about ONS154,
possibly in 1998?
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Loss of
Pay: sunk seamen
Chris Lovell asked if
seamen received their pay after their ship was sunk, or was pay stopped at
the date the ship sank? Chris says that 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. Kathleen said that her father's allotment to her
mother stopped as soon as the ship was sunk. It was nearly three months
before she 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.
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Marnex? (Troop Ship)
Joan Clarke wants information about a troop ship (Marnex?) attacked in the
Mediterranean in October 1943 en route to Bombay, India. The men abandoned
ship and were picked up the next day.
In The Allied Convoy System, Hague says that a Dutch ship named
Marnix van St. Aldegond with 2,924
troops aboard in convoy KMF 25A left Liverpool October 19, 1943. The
ship came under air attack on November 6, 1943 in the Mediterranean, but no
one was killed. |
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Merchant Navy Badges |
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On the left, is the Merchant Navy lapel badge
issued to all British seamen during World War II (front & back view).
Except for officers, seamen did not wear a uniform, and this badge
identified them as Merchant Navy seamen. On the right, is a brooche with
an enamel background (front & back view) known as a "sweetheart brooche"
presumably because a sailor gave it to his girlfriend (Thanks to Billy
McGee for information). |
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Another interesting brooche with a Merchant Navy
connection, front and back views (click to enlarge). The
maker's stamp shows that it was
made between 1962 and 1967. Any information would be appreciated. |
ss
Nerissa & Capt. G. R. Watson
Information wanted on Capt. G. R. Watson
and the SS Nerissa. This ship was
sunk (with heavy losses) on April 30, 1941, about 200 miles from Liverpool.
The ship was carrying Canadian troops from Halifax.
Contact. |
Orcades
(Orient Line troopship)
Information wanted. Ship was sailing independently when sunk
by U-172 on October 10,1942, 280 miles off Cape Town. Contact
Marilyn: Her grandfather was one
of the 28 crew to lose his life. |
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Rio Dorado
Wm. B. Rose is
looking for information about the Rio Dorado, sunk in North
Atlantic, March 16, 1941.
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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).
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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.
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Russian Convoys
There were 184 Merchant ships in the Russian convoys. For the
names of ships and convoys, see Arctic Convoys. |
SS San
Emiliano
Fran Pairman is
looking for information on this ship.
See
Stephan's
Study Room for the fate of this British tanker. Also see High Awards for Bravery. |
Seaplane
on the HMS Fidelity
Julius Grigore, jr. said
that the seaplane aboard HMS Fidelity was from the Free French
submarine, Surcouf, but all our sources say this seaplane had been
replaced by two Kingfishers. Does anyone have any more information on this? |
Shipping
Pools
The Merchant Navy was an essential service during WW2. Canada
had what the crew called the "sail or jail" clause. A seaman signed
on at the shipping pool and had one choice of three ships. If he didn't like
any of them, then he went were he was sent. Britain had "Reserve
Pools" while Canada called them "Manning Pools," and a ship's
captain used them to make up shortages in his crew.
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Ship's Articles (December 1942)
Empire Shackleton, Empire Union; King Edward, or Norse King
If you have a copy of the Ship's Articles (crew list) for
December 1942, for any of these ships, we would appreciate the names of the
crew members to identify the DEMs gunners. They signed on as crew, but their
records (war graves) may not include the name of the ship they were on when
they were killed in action. Contact us by
email |
SS
Virginia (Glasgow) - Information wanted:
Edward McBride is
researching Robert John Sansom (Steward) on the SS Virginia (Glasgow) who
died by enemy action at sea, Monday 24 November 1941, and wants information
about the circumstances of this action.
The CWGC has made a mistake on a the
spelling of this ship on the commemoration of some of the men lost, including
Mr Sansom. The ship you are looking for was the tanker SS Virgilia, 5,723grt
(Gow Harrison & Co.) which was attacked and torpedoed by the German
E-boat S109 while sailing to London in the coastal Convoy FS-54. |
War Brides
- Information wanted:
Eswyn Lyster wants to
contact any British women who married Canadian Merchant Navy seamen during
WW2. She is writing a book on the history of Canadian war brides. |
Weight of Ship:
Could you please explain to me the difference in Gross
Tonnage, and Dead Weight when used to described a ship..
The tonnage figures for a ship do not refer to weight, but to volume. Gross tonnage is the total internal volume of a ship. It is a cubic
or space measurement of all areas of a vessel with some allowances or
deductions for exempt spaces such as living quarters, while
Deadweight tonnage is the difference
between light and loaded displacements. It comprises the cargo, stores,
ballast, fresh water, fuel oil, passengers, crew and their effects.
Displacement Tonnage (usually quoted in
long tons of 2240 lbs.) is the total weight of the ship and everything in it,
and refers to the actual weight of the water "displaced" by the ship.
For more information on definitions, please refer to Terminology on our Links and
Sources page. |
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