Whilst preparing the promised article on my father's participation in the Arctic Convoys of the last war, I came across a parcel of tallies (black silk ribbons tied around the flat white sailor caps) of the Royal Navy ships my father served on as well as his cap and jacket of second radio officer in the merchant navy.
The photo (below) shows 7 caps with their tallies:
Two of them were shore bases - HMS Malabar and HMS Osprey. The former was a shore establishment in Bermuda responsible for aircraft repair and replacements and the latter an anti-submarine training establishment at Portland.
Jim served on HMS Kent, a county class heavy cruiser; HMS Valentine, a V & W class destroyer; HMS Caledon, a C class light cruiser; HMS Bruce, an Admiralty class destroyer leader and HMS Vidette, an Admiralty V class destroyer.
The jacket bears two wavy lines of gold braid on the sleeves denoting the second radio officer - the braid only went half way around the sleeve owing to a shortage of gold braid!
In applying for the Arctic Star medal for Jim, I was fortunate to have his Continuous Certificate of Discharge logbook which gives dates and details of his merchant service. It reveals fascinating information which I am still in the process of researching. The article continues with Convoy PQ1 and QP1.
To be continued ...
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
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