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Norwegian Merchant Fleet
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: A.H.BUTLER SHANTUNG 1941 Hi FOLKS, seek your help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rob Martin Brilliant site Thanks very much for all your hard work, thanks to you I've been able to tell my 89 yr old Grandfather about some of the convoys he sailed on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Pueblo Webster Wow... Very well done site! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Philip der Lente Be proud of your website, it's great Thank you for making this website. Phil. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: LE BAIL Silius I found a message from Yvon Chartier dated Nov 12 2001 asking you for photographs. I noticed the name of Silius. I am very interested in this ship, sunk march 9 1916, because my grand-father was awarded the Aedel Daad medal from King Haakon VII for the rescue of the crew. I am currently writing a genealogic work on my family. By running a search on my Ship forum, I found some threads on this ship. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ingvar Per Freely nice site! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: W.L.Hume Amendment. CHRISTIANIA 727/1885 Disposal is noted as having been sold to England !. I'm not entirely sure what he means by "amendment", and he left no E-mails address, so I'm unable to clarify - my information under Christiania says " Sold to England in Nov.-1952 for breaking up". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Mcfadyen Corvus/Einar Berger Johnsen Sir, See my page about Corvus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Gordon Tebbutt Suderoy VI If it is possible to contact Mr. William Elsigood I would greatly appreciate that information. Incidentally, my own grandfather (maternal) was Cato Hammer Hendricksen. He was born in Bergen and landed in Canada at Newcastle N.B. Gordon is referring to the story found on this page. I have provided him with the E-mail address. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: DONALD TODD LOSS ss MOSLI I have been unable to confirm the loss by torpedo of ss MOSLI in convoy SL118 August 1942 en-route to UK. She was torpedoed in afternoon and only 1 man was saved she sank in about 2 minutes. The vessel was loaded with iron-ore from Pebble Sierra Leone. I was on a vessel starboard of the MOSLI. Your records only indicate a MT MOSLI ?? Kind regards -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Odvar Holm Kaare II I happened to come on your web page and saw the story on the boat Kaare II escaping from Norway during the war. The one person that I knew and I do not think that she is still living is Margot Novik. The last time I talked to her was in the mid nineties. Odvar is referring to this story. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Bjorkvoll Stal 1 (SF 160 SU) My father Sigfred Bjorkvoll was the engineer on this boat. Also on the boat was Leif Krakeness who was the first lookout on the bow of the boat looking for mine fields. Because of the heavy weather was soaked through. My father joined the Norwegian navy aboard MTB 711 as engineer. Both my father and Leif settled in Aberdeen after the war but not before they had returned to Norway for several years. Hope this is useful for you. Alan Bjorkvoll The boat Alan is referring to can be found here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruth Palm Blomquist The American on the M/S Morviken Dear Ms.Lawson, Ruth is referring to my crew list for Morviken. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nov. 21 From: Sijo Roberts hello good site -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Olav Halvorsen Golar Patricia Hello Olav is referring to the picture on my page about my father's ships. I'm putting him in touch with the others from Golar Patricia who have contacted me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Marek Twardowski Convoy ONS.5 Hello Siri, Just stumbled on such a page: (My own page about Bonde also has some details on this convoy). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Stuart G. Reeves Titanian Hello, thought you may be interested to know that my late father served on the Titanian in 1935. He was the lookout who sounded the alarm off Cape Race on the night of April 23rd 1935. From my understanding the Titanian (4,867 gross tons), was completed by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Wallsend on Tyne, as the "Iossifoglu". She was owned by W. A. Souter and Company, of Newcastle upon Tyne. The incident above (April 23rd, 1935) refers to a near miss with an iceberg - and the all too chiling consequences, had the Titanian sailed on, oblivious to the impending danger ... as indeed did the Titanic before her... The Titanian referred to here is one of the ships my father served on right after the war. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Kirk Smith WW2 North Atlantic Ships My father served in the navy during WW2. I'd like to find out the name of the ship he was on, and the names of the other crew -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Pearl Hurlock nee Whitmore Finnanger I read with interest, about the sinking of the Norwegian Oil Tanker Finnanger, on which my father Colour Sergeant William Thomas Whitmore was serving when it was sunk. He was a Chief Lewis Gunner in the Royal Marines when he served on the Finnanger. And I was only 15 When we got the news that he had been killed at sea. The date we were told was the 24th of February. Although he came last on the list of those who died, I was so pleased to see that he was mentioned, and also a little sad, as it has always felt to me, that he went away and left us never to return. So I was doubly pleased to see his name mentioned, makes one feel he wasn't forgotton. My text for Finnanger -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fra: Aston Forsberg Sökning Hej! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robin Olsen Thank you I am a grandson to ALFRED OLSEN, who died when the BONNEVILLE was sunk. I also am a sailor in the Canadian navy now and I want to tell you how much the help you gave my brother ERIC OLSEN in finding answers to our grandfathers death means to us!! Here's my text for Bonneville. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Kai Schindlmayr Solvang Hi! The section that has interested me is the use of the vessel during WWII. I have now learnt (mainly from your site) that the operation was known as 'The Shetland Bus'. However, I have been unable to locate any reference to the Solvang itself. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jason Bailey John P Pedersen - 20th May 1941 My Father, William Bailey, was on board the JPP on the 20th May '41. He was one of the fortunate ones that survived (listed as Deckboy on the survivors list). I am pleased to let you know that my father is still alive today, living in the North West of England. He will celebrate his 85th birthday next week. It is with fascination that I listen to my father's recollections and memories of that day - memories that even today are as clear to him they could have happended 2 or 3 years ago and not 63 years ago! It would be great to hear of / from any survivors and/or any survivors relatives. Does any one have any pictures of the JPP? as I only have 1 which is of poor quality. Can you help me out here Siri? Kind Regards Jason Bailey For info, John P. Pedersen can be found on this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Chris Warriner EMPIRE SAILOR & EMPIRE SNOW Could you please get me in touch with both David Carter who left a msg on 29 sept and Alan Fairley who left a msg on 7th Jan. They will most likely have info. regarding the Empire Sailor on which my Grandfather HERBERT MOUAT sailed as cook. He survived the sinking and went onto sail on the 'Empire Snow' on the Arctic convoys. If anyone out there has any info on these two ships or my Grandfather then please get in touch. Thanks Chris Warriner (Addresses have been forwarded. Please contact me for Chris' E-mail address) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Escallier Xavier Town and ship TOULOUSE Bonjour I replied: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Steve My grandad was a war sailor. We called him Sinbad. Good site, glad its here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Per Egil Ramuz Evensen John P Pedersen Fabulous web site! Per Egil is referring to a previous Guestbook message. Here's the story of John P. Pedersen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Gabriel Vandervort Espen F. Johansson Hello- Gabriel is referring to the pictures found in my Santo Tomas Documents section. I contacted Espen, but it apperas he has gotten a new E-mail address since we were last in touch, because my mail came back to me as undeliverable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Bolt BULT/BOLT Hi folks First, may I commend you on your Warsailors web site. I am researching my grandfathers service in the British Merchant Navy (1925-1963) and have found a lot of interesting information as well as ex merchant sailors. I have traced my ancestors back to the Shetland Islands.Around 1500 the family name changed from BULT to present day BOLT. I have reason to believe that BULT was Norwegian is this so? Best Regards David Thornton Bolt -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Judy MacIntyre Convoy SC-48 My father, Daniel Joseph MacIntyre, and two friends - Simon Guthro and Angus McKinnon - were in Convoy SC-48 which departed from Sydney Cape Breton. Simon and Angus boarded the Erviken and my father said that he was on the ship immediately behind the Erviken. Simon and Angus died when the Erviken was torpedoed. I cannot find the name of the ship which was immediately behind the Erviken. Can anyone help? Thanks, Judy My Ship Forum is a better place for queries, mainly because I remove all E-mail addresses from this Guestbook. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Linda Dawson MS Spaulding Hi, my grandfather Capt. Karl Christensen, was a master with Standard Oil Company. Iam looking for any information about a motor ship Spaulding. He was a master of the ship and in Dec of 1937 lost his life while on duty aboard the ship. We had heard it was because of German spies and he was going to report them when they got into port. He died off the coast of Florida....I can not find any information about the ship or any pictures, as I am trying to complete my family history. Is there anyone out there that can help me? Thank you, Linda Dawson I suggested posting a query to my Ship Forum instead. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ivar W. Storvik m/v "Prospector" Just a few words about how I came to know the "Prospector". My dad was one of the first Captains (if not the first) of the ship back in 1951. He worked for Alcoa for many years prior to that. I was born and raised in Trinidad. Ivar is referring to one of the ships my father sailed on - see the page "Odd's Ships" on this website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Phil Morgan Convoy HX 91 Many thanks for your good work, it has been very useful in helping me to look up info for a few old salts. Can anyone give details of sinking of Greek ship Dionyssios Stathatos which is noted in convoy HX91. Here's my info on Convoy HX 91. I directed Phil to U-boat.net's account on HX 90. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Don Cody British ships A very interesting and informative site. Do you know of similar for the British Merchant Marine in WWII? (My granddad (Olaf Paulsen) was Capt. of the MS Broompark which is listed in a couple of convoys.) (My Merchatn Marines links page has some pointers). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Erik Einar Forsman, born in Norberg Sweden 18.05.1900 Hello, I live in Kongsvinger Norway, and I am seeking my ancestors born in Norberg Sweden. E.E.F was a nephew to my grandfather- Ernst Albert Hedman. Grateful for answers. Greetings from Stefi Koht Krogh -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Finn Overlie S/S Christian Michelsen My grandpa was a sailor on S/S Christian Michelsen (ABOUT 1900-1910?). Does anybody have any information obout this ship? Best Regards I suggested my Ship Forum -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Carter Empire Sailor Can you please get me in touch with Alan Fairley who has a message posted in Jan 04 about the Empire Sailor. My father's brother was one of the 23 who lost their lives and I would like to contact as he may have information that I have been unable to obtain. Many thanks. Done! (The message referred to was posted on Jan. 7 this year - scroll down to the end of this page). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Erik Sunde Arne Sunde I have enjoyed your website immensely. My grandfather was Arne Sunde, of whom you write in regard to Nortraship. I have a lot of old photos that may or may not be of interest. Many of them are of the government's return to Oslo following the end of the war. Best regards, Erik Sunde -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tanya The Lincoln and Mansfield Destroyers I am looking for info on Sigurd Erich Armand Sigurdsen 1905-1943 his father was Sigurd Frederik Kristiansen 1880 (Fredrikstad). His father was Peter Kristiansen 1835 (Skjeberg) and I believe his father was Christian Olsen 1812 (Skjeberg) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From:Ron Lawson Thank you for your website. It was a pleasure looking and reading all the inforation about your family. I noticed the Lawson name and was wondering where it comes in to your family. You can reply anytime... Thank you in advance. Ron Lawson -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tom Scharf Madrono: Bedrich Scharf Hi, I'm Bedrich Scharf's son, Tom. Best Regards: Tom Scharf See my text for Madrono, as well as a post war interview with Bedrich Scharf. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sept. 18 From: Ray Buck San Zotico Let me first say how informative the site is and you must be commended on the amount of research that has been put into compiling the excellent site. Now on a personal note can any one help in the history of the Eagle oil tankers, one in particular at the moment was the Tanker San Zotico on which my mother's sister's husband served as Chief Engineer. His name was Herbert ( Nobby ) Clark from South Shields , the ship was torpedoed in the engine room but went to Rosythe dockyard for repairs, Herby as he was known to us, survived the torpedoing, but on returning to the San Zotico on completion of the repairs he dropped down dead. This is a perfect query for my Ship Forum -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Desmond Cormack Elias Sandoy, or Bernt Elias Sandoy Desmond Cormack I'm afraid I cannot help with queries such as this one. For what it's worth, my Find Old Shipmates Forum is an option. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sept. 2 From: Mike Colton Memorials and Linking Dear Siri, Blia casualties can be found on this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aug. 29 From: Suzanne Olsen Ships my father sailed on I am looking for photo's of ships my father sailed on. He left Norway on the ROYAL in 1939. Then served on the ACADIA, SEIRSTAD and BRITISH COLUMBIA EXPRESS. I have the dates he sailed on these ships and what he was employed as. I would also like some or all of the history of these ships and the ports they sailed too if possible. My eyes are not so good and I find it difficult looking through all the sites. Hope you can help. Suzanne. Everything I have on these ships is included in my Ship Lists. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Phil Morgan ugs45 G'Morning Ref your comment HMS Sheil?? SHEIL or SHIEL? Phil Convoy UGS 45 is discussed on this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Carla Payne Gunderson Thanks so very much for having this site because of it I was able to write to the Museum in Oslo and received info and a photo of the the ship my Cousin Clyde Ebanks from Little Cayman, Cayman Island British West Indies perished on. His story is especially sad his father Albert Ebanks left my Aunt Dora with a family of five boys and never returned it was Clyde's first trip to sea trying to take care of the family - sadly he lost his life. Kind regards. Here's my page about M/S Gundersen -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Harvey Great Site, its good to see such a nice, well presented site! Cheers David Harvey -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Harold "BUD" Schmidt Sr. Another interesting web site I urge ALL Mariners from ALL countries to look through this site as well for yet some new, never before links about what we . S. Merchant Seamen of WW II went trough, included are over 150 pictures of posters produced by the U.S. government during that timeframe, which might be of interest to many of my fellow Mariners of WW II years. "BUD" Schmidt Sr. of Sequim,Wash. U.S.A. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cliff Mombourquette Norwegian oil tankers during WW11 Sir, On the 17th August 2004 my Father from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada was honored by the Norwegian Government. He was presented with the 'Norwegian Participation Medal' for his service aboard two (2) Norwegian Oil Tankers between 1940 and 41. The two ships he served on were; M/T Solsten and the M/T Inneroy. In January 1942 the Inneroy was torpedoed and sunk while on it's way from Aruba to Halifax. My question is; do we know if the M/T Solsten was torpedoed or did it survive till the end of the war. Also, are there any pictures available of the two ships. Regards, Cliff Mombourquette As far as I know Solsten survived the war. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Cal Litchfield Shipmates I would like to hear from any of my old shipmates that were on the US Marathon APA 200 when we were torpedoed in Buckner bay Okinawa. The war was almost over and we didn't sink.We lost 39 men.Would like to hear from any of these people that are still alive. Thank you Calvin Litchfield If anyone wants to get in touch with Calvin, please contact me through the address provided at the bottom of this page (I've withheld his own address to prevent him from receiving Spam mails). Include the date of his message and Guestbook - Page 4 in your mail, to enable me to find his address more easily in my files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joseph Wilfred Comtois Convoy HX-212 You have a great web site and many thanks to you for it. I would hope that some day you would be able to get convoy information for HX-212. My brother Joseph Albert Comtois was a US Navy Armed Guardsman about the Tanker "Pan New York"and was killed when it was torpedoed and sunk on October 29, 1942 by U-624 (Graf von Soden Fraunhofen). All I know is that his ship was in position #42 and that a total of 6 ships were lost. It would be nice if I could get the names and positions of all the ships in the convoy. In any event, I have gleaned a mountain of information from your site with specific reference to the ships in the HX Atlantic convoys. Many thanks. This convoy has since been added to my Convoys section. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: M R Holmes M/T Glittre I am the son of the R Holmes a gunner on the ship at the time of its sinking in 1943. He is still alive and well having survived the war. I am grateful for the information any other details or sites I could research for him would be very gratefully received. Thank you so much for the information. My text for Glittre can be found on this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Chuck Elg When I was a small child, my mother used to take me to the government wharf in Campbellton, NB, Canada. She often talked to the sailors on the ships in her native Norwegian. I still remember the name of one of the ships, it was the "Elg". I found your website while searching for the origins of this ship. I wanted to find a record of its ports of call and cargos but, thanks to you, I have discovered where and when it was built. BTW: Nice job on the website! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Malam, UK WW2 Norwegian Merchant Fleet on film Greetings! You have made an excellent website. I thought you would like to know that an 18 minute British film exists of the Norwegian Merchant Fleet in WW2. The film is called "PASSAGE TO FREEDOM : a tribute to the Norwegian merchant navy" and was made in 1943 for use in British cinemas. The film is preserved at the Imperial War Museum, London. The link to it is: I have seen the film and it records in detail the meeting at Aandalsnes, at which the British agreed to transport Øivind Lorentzen, Arne Sunde and Benjamin Vogt to London. These men are all in the film. kind regards This film can be found by going to http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/atsea/ - click on "Merchant Navy", then scroll down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Giblin D/S Ingerfire Great site, David (my wifes dad) who has never used the internet was well impressed with what could be found, your site a classic example. An emotional time reading about DS Ingerfire. But could you please correct crew list. Gunner listed as David Parson should read David Pearson. Many thanks for the research and keep up he good work. John Here's my text for Ingerfire -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Nick Madden M/S Jamaica Hi, Just thought I'd drop you a line to thank you for such an excellent website. My mum has often told us the story of how my gradfathers ship was torpedoed during the war and how the U-Boat surfaced and the captain spoke with the survivors. Recently I was speaking with my grandfather, Olaf Olsen, and he was telling me more about the incident. I decided to see if there was any details on the internet and was delighted to find your site. I printed off the report on the sinking of the M/S JAMAICA and read it to my grandfater. He was amazed that the report on his ship could be found. He remembers the incident, and many of his crewmates, exactly as the report on the site. He also told us, as in the report, that he was in bed at the time of the attack and didn't have time to put his shoes on before getting into the liferaft. He told me that he injured his hands badly on the ropes as they lowered the liferaft from the ship. Olaf is now 88 years old and living in Liverpool where he visits the Norwegian church regularly. He has 4 granchildren and has recently become a great-grandfather. If you need any more information on the ship or crew please let me know and I will ask Olaf. Many thanks again from us both. Nick. Jamaica's story can be found on this page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Derek Cogle D/S Dagny I Great web site -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Pauline Ementon P614 Submarine Action Hello there, My father Able Seaman William Paul Avery was awarded the DSM on 17 Nov 1942 during an attack on a German Submarine while serving on theP614 (a Turkish sub used during WW2 by the Royal Navy). I can't discover exactly what he did to deserve it even though I have been given the PRO file with ref no. ADM 1/12392. Can anyone help please. Regards Pauline PS This is a great site. Pauline's E-mail address can be obtained by contacting me via address given at the end of this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mark Allen Question about M/K Viola Hi! I am the editor of the Maritime Museum of San Diego's quarterly journal, "Mains'l Haul." I am under deadline this week editing a story about the Norwegian Navy's WWII secret base at Peterhead. I found an interesting reference to the motor cutter "Viola" in your fantastic pages. Can you help me find out if, as I've heard rumor, "Viola" still survives today? Thank you for your consideration. Incidentally--and this is truly a "long shot"--do you personally have the issue of the Norwegian magazine that contains the WWII photo of "Viola" that is cited on your web page? If so, could you possibly scan it to a CD at 300 dpi, and express mail it to me? I would gladly compensate you, by credit card, for the expense, if it could arrive within the next week! Best Regards (and congratulations on your impressive website, which I've used more than once!), Mark Allen -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frm: Barbara Bednarz Your Homepage I just love your homepage, you add humor with history. The photos are wonderful. My friend, Deanne Rowen of South Dakota is a third cousin of Crowned Princess Mette-Marit and we have been looking for one of her ancestors who was born in 1816 in Hegra but haven't found out yet but still looking. Thank you so much for creating such a wonderful website. Bye for now, -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tony Price DS Blink I can confirm that my uncle William Lloyd Lewis identified in your text was the Gunner on board DS Blink and is the same person identified on the Portsmouth War Memorial Panel 71, Col.3. He was Welsh, from Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire and although I never knew him, I am, and always have been so proud of him. He came from a large and close knit family and his death hit them all very badly. He has never been forgotten, I and his one remaining sister (now well into her 80s) still talks about him from time to time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- more thanks Siri, I just finished reading your father's letters. The uncle John is, of course, my great grandfather (Alma's stepfather) and Grace is my aunt and godmother, Grace Wilson Tradup. What a thrill to read these! I had heard stories from Grandma Wilson about correspondence with relatives in Norway during and following the war. Now I can see some of it myself! Do you know when and by what means Olaf emigrated to America? I'd like to find his ship's passenger list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ruth Hayes HOLM family info Siri, you have a wonderful site! I am a novice, just starting to find information about Olaf HOLM's daughter, Alma HOLM WILSON. My sister Rita Laumer directed me to your site, and I've been spending this entire morning gleaning information. We have known only bits relating to Alma's family. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rita Laumer Holm cousin from South Dakota, USA Siri, Imagine my surprise and excitement at seeing a picture of my step-great grandfather, Johan (John) Magnus Holm, taken with his brothers in Norway! John was a blacksmith in Jasper, Minnesota, and he moved to Dell Rapids where he continued his trade. There are still rock walls and a variety of things he made in Dell Rapids. My paternal greatgrandfather was Olaf Holm who married Karoline Johannesdotter Sandbolokken. They had one child, my grandmother, Alma Christiana Olafsdatter Holm, who married Bert Wilson. My father was Ralph Orville Wilson, born March 9, 1921, died February 20, 1996. I am the 3rd of 6 children born to Ralph and Inez Wilson. My older sister, Ruth Hayes, and I have been doing some family history research because we are coming to Norway on a tour August 26 thru September 9 - the time is fast approaching! Our mother, Inez Risvold Wilson, age 79, is also going to come to Norway as are 3 of her cousins. We are going to be on a tour - but will be spending 4 or 5 days in Meraker during the Emigration Jubilee Celebration the first week in September. How wonderful it would be if we would be able to meet you and any other Holm and Risvold relatives. We plan on bringing family history information with us - but we could also email you the family information. Do you live near Meraker? My maternal great-great grandparents emigrated from Meraker, Norway, to the United States in 1867. They were Ane and Paul Anderson Risvold. 5 of their 6 living children emigrated with them; their married daughter, Beret, stayed behind in Meraker. I have been corresponding with Beret's great-grandson, Helge Hugdahl, Stjordal. Beret's brother, Peder, was my great-grandfather. I must look over some of the information that my Uncle Jim Wilson gave me regarding Grandma Alma Holm Wilson's history. He said that Alma's father, Olaf, died after helping clear out swamp land for a neighbor in Minnesota. John and Karoline then married but never had children. We have pictures of Karoline and John. Karoline was a very tall woman as was her daughter, Alma. My mom remembers mailing packages from John to Norway. So we know that he kept in contact with his family back home. Uncle Jim also mentioned an uncle Conrad Holm that had been imprisoned by the Nazi's during the war. He said that Conrad had refused to stop writing Norwegian patriotic poetry (or music??) and that was the reason he was imprisoned. Even though it is late at night, I just had to send this message to you, Siri. Thank you so much for all of the effort you have put into your website. It is wonderful! I have not had a chance to read through all of it - but will be doing so! I had to call my sister, Ruth, and tell her what I had "discovered". I bring you greetings, Siri, and wish the very best for you and your family. We will be anxious to hear from you. Very sincerely, -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dave Williams Convoy Records Your site has an amazing amount of detail. Thank you for your efforts. I came to the site in search of lists of convoys so that I could build more of my fathers war record. He served on the Canadian corvette HMCS FENNEL and was mentioned in dispatches for his efforts in the March '44 sinking of U744. Where would I be able to find listings for 1943-44 Atlantic convoys? I have departure and arrival dates from the FENNEL's logs but they do not list the convoy numbers. Dave Williams -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rod Sothern Venturer My Father in Law worked for a local newspaper in Middlesbrough Cleveland England during WWII & he recently gave me some pictures from the work he did as a 16 year old boy. One of the photographs that may be of interest to you is of the Whaling Ship "Southern Venturer". He photographed it at the Smith's Dock Shipyard on the River Tees during its construction. He is not sure of the year. I can scan it a send you a copy. Thank you & good luck Rod -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jackie Sheldon M/T Havsten I was delighted to find the information on your site about the role that the the Havsten played in relation to the rescue of 34 survivors from the torpedoed D/S Thursobank. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Louis Dorny, CDR, USN (ret.) D/S Prominent / USS LARK Greetings from Seattle, WA, USA... I have been researching the Allied Defense campaign in the East Indies 1941-2 for many years, specifically the United States Asiatic Fleet and its aviation component, Patrol Wing TEN. In this regard, I find in the deck log of USS LARK (AM 21), an 850-ton minesweeper that had moved from the Philippines to Java in December 1941 and was working with the Dutch Navy there, sailed from Tjilatjap 1 March for Australia. The following day, 2 March, her logbook notes that they sighted a lifeboat and hove to for inspection, noted the ship's name as 'Prominent - Haugesund', and that the boat showed damage from gunfire or shelling, but no sign of life or any indication as to what might have happened to the occupants. Under the circumstances, there was naught to do but continue on for Fremantle, Australia, where she arrived safely 9 March. This is not any help really and adds nothing to your splendid research on the fate of D/S Prominent, but it does help paint the picture of those terrible days south of Java in March 1942. Thank you again. Cheers, Lou Here's my text for Prominent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike Bunting Ref Russian Convoys Hi Siri Just a few lines to say what a wonderful site. My late father William Frederick Bunting orig from Belfast was in the merchant Navy from 1942-45 and served on the Russian Convoys. He sailed on the San Venancio which was part of convoy JW 61 Oct 20th 1944 and Ra 62 10th Dec 1944. I would be very grateful if you could send me an e mail address or a contact number for Laurence Downey who sent you a message on 14th june 2003 as he also served on the same convoys. regards Mike Bunting -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Isaac Tiller Family Hi Alan Isaac -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Laura Hillenbrand Omori and Ofuna POW camps I am an author writing a book on a man who was held in Omori and Ofuna POW camps. The accounts of those camps that you provide on this site are superb. Could you share with me your sources, living and in print? I would like to investigate them further, and make inquiries regarding my subject. I would be especially appreciative if you could let me know of any living Norwegian POWs from those camps, or any books or articles, Norwegian or otherwise, in which I might find more information. You are doing a wonderful service in creating this website and offering so much information on this critical period in history. Thank you so much. Laura is referring to my Life in imprisonment page (my sources are listed on the page). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Barb MS Ferncliff NS I am trying to locate any photographs of the M/S Ferncliff NS for my uncle. Apparently a number of Canadians served on this ship during W.W.2. This is the Ferncliff that was built in Hamburg in 1924 and was a military transport in Operation Torch in North Africa 1942 (information from this site - thank you). Apparently there were two other Ferncliffs, one built in 1955 and one in 1981 which is making it even more difficult to track down the W.W. 2 Ferncliff photos I would like to find. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jessica Wahlén Gunnar Larsson, presumed dead May 1st 1943 Mr George Midgley! I just saw your message in the guestbook, mentioning serving oon the M.S. Fernplant, and I hope and pray I shall be able to get in touch with you this way. My grandmother's brother Karl Gunnar Larsson (born in Öregrund, Sweden on the 25th of March 1913) served on the M.S. Fernplant. He sent his brother Arvid a postcard of the ship, card stamped in Boston, Mass. on the 23rd of July 1941. I have been told Gunnar died when his ship went down on the Atlantic ocean the 1st of May 1943. I don't know for sure if the date is correct or what ship he worked on at the time but I so hope to be able to find out what happened to him, and where. If you, or anyone else, has any information regarding Gunnar Larsson I'd love to know. And so would my grandmother. Sincerely, Jessica Wahlén. (This is in response to a message posted on May 17-2003) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: SANDY NAIMAN NEE MARIES RMS SAXONIA MAY 2 1956 I WAS A PASSENGER ON THE RMS SAXONIA LEAVING FROM LIVERPOOL MAY 2 1956 ARRIVING IN MONTREAL MAY 10 1956. I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD AT THE TIME. I IMMIGRATED WITH MY MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER. MY DAD HAD IMMIGRATED 14 MONTHS BEFORE. ENJOYED THE VOYAGE BUT WAS SEA SICK FOR THREE DAYS. A FRIEND AND I WON THE FANCY DRESS. WE WERE DRESSED AS BRIDE AND GROOM. I IMAGINE WE ONLY WON BECAUSE WE WERE ONLY 8 AND 9. JUST LOOKED CUTE I SUPPOSE. WOULD LIKE TO TALKE TO ANYONE RE THAT VOYAGE. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: DIANE PARKER HMS ESKIMO HI, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU CAN HELP ME FIND SOME INFORMATION ON HMS ESKIMO, I WOULD LIKE TO SURPRISE MY MOM, SEE IT WAS HER DAD THAT WAS ON HMS AND MY GRANDMOTHER DOESN'T TALK ABOUT. I'M TRYING TO DO A SCRAPEBOOK FOR MY MOM. I FOUND SOME OLD PICTURES OF HIM WITH HIS UNIFORM AMD HIS CREW. HIS NAME IS GEORGE WALTON FROM A SMALL TOWN IN ENGLAND NAMED WINGATE, HIS WIFE NAME IS HILDA. ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. The Internet has plenty of info on this ship - I suggested a Google search. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: George Marsinko Hello, Sorry, can't help. Suggested a Google search for websites about (Norwegian) warships. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Liz Johnson Borgestad - Norma Hayes Nergaard Dear Siri, First, I really appreciate your efforts on this website. It's really great. Second, I'm writing to ask about the Borgestad and your updated posting. I'm another neice of Norma Hayes Nergaard (she has 6 neices and 5 nephews). My family was told the Borgestad was the commodore. Naturally, I was suprised to hear differently. Can you please tell me a bit more about the gentleman who added to this information? Where did he get his dates and data? Thanks again for your huge effort. This website is a treasure. Liz Johnson P.S. See my text for Borgestad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Greg Leck Shanghai Internment camps Hello, The Just Sandberg family was in Stanley Camp in Hong Kong - wife Marie, sons Anthony and Knut, and daughters Marie and Solveig. You also mention Einar Krogseth wife and young son - I have no record of them so I suspect they were not interned. Do you have Einar Krogseth's grandaughter's address? Greg Leck Greg is referring to the names found on Page 3 of my POW's section. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Simon Kochen Captain Frithjof Utne Dear Siri, With Thanks,Yours Sincerely, I'm doing my best to help with this - here's my text for Leka. See also this posting to my Ship Forum. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Egil Schmidt M/T Egda M/S Hird Hi What a great site. I have been trying to trace information on my father Gilbert Schmidt. I was told he was Captain of M.S Hird, but I found out that the Captain Ansger was her Captain when he was awarded medals for bravery, both from Norge and the UK. Is there any way that I can find out the list of crew members on M/T Egda, so that I may find out if my father was on this ship. Or can you point me in the right direction to find out what ship or ships he served on. I am not very good with the use of the computer, but I have pictures of M/T Egda in dry dock at New York. The pictures have the stamp of Norwegain Underwriters Agent S.C. Halvorsen. Hand written is File 107/42 which ties up with the information on your great pages of information. Best Regards (Gil) Egil Ansger Schmidt I ran a quick search on this website and found a Gilbert Schmidt in the crew list for Norland, but haven't heard back from Egil, so don't know whether this is the same man (I suggested he write the National Archives in Norway, addresses listed under Please read this on my site. The text there also has a link to more information on what sort of records are kept at the archives). I have a crew list for Hird (Captain named as Ansgar M. Fredhjem) but not for Egda. The pictures mentioned above have since been added to this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ian McNeil Cooke BERGENSFJORD SICILY 1943 Am seeking anyone who served on the Bergensfjord during the Sicily landings and witnessed the attack and sinking of the hospital ship TALAMBA on July 10th 1943 in which my father, who was wounded during the landings, lost his life. Would like to know eye witness reports. Many thanks. I've removed Ian's E-mail address to prevent him from receiving spam - should anyone want to contact him, please mail me at the contact address given at the end of this page, and I'll pass on his address. Bergensfjord is listed on this page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Raymond Hamilton Missing ship Hi Balholm Wreck 51 36 751 N 05 04 155 W Any imformation who built it or plan, photos I would be extremlly greatful -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Charles Smith Photos I'm Looking for photos of two Norwegian flag vessels I worked on the "MS Naess Meteor" and the "MT Gunner Knutsen later Sunny Prince". I would like to use them in a personal website http://users.eastlink.ca/~cis65/_sgt/f10000.htm if you can help thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Lars Brændø Anna Odland Ship bell Dear Sir -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Den Budden Arnold Peterson Hi, Many thanks for a very interesting site. I wonder whether you could help me, or point me in the right direction of enquiry. I live in Gosport, Hampshire, UK. I have been for some years, researching the war casualties of the Gosport area. Amongst this research is the RN Hospital and Cemetery of Haslar. One of the deaths recorded as having happened in the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar is the gentleman listed below. I have not been able to find anything else out about him, not even where he was buried, and wonder whether he was returned to Norway for burial? The details I have come from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, listed under "Civilian War Deaths"? Any help would be most gratefully recieved, if there is anyhting I may be able to help you with, please let me know, I dont have all the answers, But, I will try. Details: Once again many thanks for a great site, and I promise to reply to any answer. Best Wishes, Den Budden The only person I can find who fits this information is 1st Mate Arnold Pedersen of D/S Ala who was indeed from Vega in Nordland and 35 years old when this ship was lost - follow link for details. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: D J MacLaughlin Enjoyed the site, but I need to warn against 419 scammers, who will inundate your with scams. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Stuart Usher Norwegian steamer m/s STAMSUND I have been admiring your exceptional website! I'm very impressed. I wonder if you can help, or at least point me in the right direction. For many years I have been involved in the search for the Royal Navy midget submarine "X-5" which was one of the three submarines which attacked TIRPITZ in her anchorage at Kaafjord near Alta in September 1943. In fact I have just returned from Alta where I was participating in a BBC documentary about this attack. I am trying to find some information about a Norwegian vessel known at the STAMSUND. She was in Kaafjord on the day of the attack, and actually was caught in the firing line of TIRPITZ' guns as she opened fire on one of the submarines. STAMSUND's captain was Sven Hertzberg and the ship was owned by the Vesteraalen Steamship Company of Stokmarknes. STAMSUND had been ordered to Kafjord to unload some motor vehicles for the German occupying forces when all of this started happening around her. One of the crew was killed and several injured in the shooting. Can you tell me: Given that this ship was clearly under German control, is it likely that her log survived? If the ships log does still exist, where is it likely to be archived? Can we assume that the captain would have been restricted in what he could write in his log? Do you have any suggestions as to where I could go for further information about the ship, her crew and her activities Many thanks and very best wishes Stuart Usher I referred Stuart to my Ship Forum -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Martin Worrow D-T Norfjell Hi, May I congratulate you on putting together a terrific site and thank you for so doing as I have been able to find out a little more about my dads WWII service. My father, Henry (Harry) Worrow spent much of WWII as a gunner aboard Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS) and was seconded to this role from the British Army Royal Artillery. I remember dad telling me about the time that he was torpedoed twice in one day and assume from the information you have supplied that the first of these U-Boat attacks was when he was aboard D-T Norfjell. I have a photo with 6 names on the reverse and believe that it was whilst they were aboard that same ship. The names are: Ken Wilcock, Frank Chadwick, Charles Mann, Maurice Kennedy, George Stokes & James Hill. Please let me know if you would like a copy. Regards from England and thanks again. Martin Worrow P.S. Harry Worrow died 27 Dec 1997 aged 81 years and had great regard for the Norwegian people. The picture mentioned above has been added to my page about Norfjell. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, Re SS Chulmleigh. My father D F Clark was third officer and one of the few survivors (I believe it was 7 out of 49). The reason why the dates of death of those in Tromso cemetery were spread over such a long time is related to them being stranded on Spitzbergen for so long before being found (5 Nov 1942-Jan 1943). Horrific story - read the details in Keith Jessop's excellent book "Goldfinder". They starved or died from cold over a period of almost three months in arctic winter. Dad lived to a good age - 76. Good site this - thanks for all your efforts to produce such a complete record. Regards David David is referring to my text towards the end of this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Patrick Walters Hi! what a fantastic web site; I really love it! Patrick -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joe Jones Interesting site. Glad to visit it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeff Giltz Grandfather Ernest Giltz My grandfather was a merchant marine during W.W.2 . His name was Ernest Giltz. He died at age 49 so I never got to meet him. I would like to hear from someone who knew him. Thanks Jeff Gilz (I have Jeff's E-mail address) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Lillian Salvesen Skjørten Boarding house in Liverpool I am writing this for my mother Lorina (Rena) Andrews Salvesen from Liverpool. In september 1942 she married Fredrik Salvesen from Mandal Norway. During the war my grandmother Lorina Andrews ran a boarding house in Liverpool called "one sixty" During the war lots of Norvegian sailors stayed with them. Is there anyone who knows anybody who stayed with them. Regards -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Siri Riner Nice Site Hello Siri, You have a very good site and a wonderful name. I am from Thailand but I live with my mother and step dad in Stockbridge, Georgia. I am 14 years old and was excited to see someone with the name "SIRI". Have a good day, Siri Riner -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Peter and Larry Hi! Great website! Keep it up. We're friends and we love your site. Peter and Larry -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Linda Just browsing. Great graphics and background, and use of muted color (my specialty). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Laurie Clarkson Steam Tanker "Marathon" Norwegian Merchant Marines Looking everywhere for a photo of the Steam Tanker "Marathon" which my father was on in 1941 while a member of the Norwegian Merchant Marines. Built in Sunderland 1930. Any help really appreciated. Thanks!! I usually recommend my Ship Forum for questions like this, failing that - the Maritime Museum in Oslo might be able to help (address on my main ship list page) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr. 25 From: Linda Just browsing. Great graphics and background, and use of muted color (my specialty). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr. 20 From: Trond Sundby Nice Website I would like to thank you for a most awesome website. Both my grandfathers sailed during WW2. One of them sailed on MS Velox, the other on a ship owned by Thor Dahl (cant remember which one). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Earle Mitchell Thanks Thank you very much for the major work you have put into this site. I do not believe I have ever seen such dedication before. Thanks - glad you enjoyed! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robert E. Rommel Missing relative You have a very good web site. I've been on it about 2hrs. tonight. I am looking for information on a German Naval Officer who was my grandmother's brother. All I have is his last name which is Manteufel. I would appreciate any information, thank you. As much as I would like to, I cannot assist with this type of query. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Craig Howard Convoy OB288 Refer you to http://web.onetel.com/%7Etanyahemmings/page3.html which has information of ships in the convoy, including the Svein Jarl which was sunk, the Dux (there was reference to a "motorbarge" in today's forum but I don't think this can be the same one), and the Lista. There were 10 ships sunk in the convoy which are not listed in Hague because technically it was dispersed at the time. As ever, best regards, Craig -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Claire www.17th-century.info/timetravel Carleen reminded me about your site and I wondered if it was possible to interview you for an article for my history blog? Here are the questions: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Nigel Pope Yugo Ship NEMANJA Would anybody who was aboard this vessel in late 1941 and early 1942 please post information. My late uncle AB B Parry was a DEMS and was lost. I have information but no personal records, particularly why 1st Officer Jacob Mardesic was recorded as a "Courageous Fellow". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Unknown Nice site Keep it cool and running -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Louis Cafiero, AMMV. Seamens sufferance & survivial. Dear Ms Holm; Since the beginning of ocean-sea travel, the Norwegian mariner has been a cut above the rest, with few exceptions. Seamen have always been used & abused since the early times, especially in wartime !! Even today, you can find a ship's crew in distress, left to face survial, on his own. Man's inhuman behavior to seamen, is history. In WW2, the sea war was grisly to all hands. Women, children of all nations suffered as well as the seamen, lost at sea, forever. The POW seamen was abused even more as he was treated brutally by his captors in Asia. The brave Norwegian seamen, survived the African POW camps, under enemy control and again cruelty was bestowed apon the seamen. Thank you for the Nowegian seamen history. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Peterson Empire Heritage HX-305 My grandfather was in the Merchant Navy and was on the ship Empire Heritage which was torpedoed in Sept 1944. He survived despite being unable to swim but never spoke much about the event. Now he is no longer with us but I would like to get as much information as I can about the sinking of the ship and what exactly happened. I know the rough details but are their any published accounts from other survivors or witnesses? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Hendrik Jan Bakker CHAMA - Shell tanker In 1956 I sailed with the tanker Chama from Singapore to Rotterdam - her last trip.She then was demolished. I remenber there was a brass plate in the messroom telling that this ship completely destroyed a Japanese warship with 0ne lucky gunshot.It was a direct hit in the gunpowder room.The Chama did not have a proper funnel because she has also been a baby flattop carrier.And it was obvious that building a proper funnel on a ship that was intend to be demolished was to expensive.There was only an exhaust pipe. Perhaps you can find the complete history of this fine ship.Thank you very much for your site. This is a perfect question for my Ship Forum -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Deane Wynne ss VENI I served aboard the ss VENI as a coal trimmer in 1942-3 doing 5 trips across the North Atlantic in atrocious weather. The VENI was built in Sunderland 1901 as the Tonbridge and sold to various Norwegian owners later on. She was a double well decker. Had no generators or refigerator . Smoky old duck lamps for lighting. Salt Beef, Pork and herring was kept in wooden barrells under the foc'sle head. A very hard ship for a young 17 year old to start his sea going career. There were two of us Englishmen aboard and I must say I found the Norwegian crew to be the finest I had ever sailed with. I finally left her during a refit in New York, February 1943 and was torpedoed on mky way home in a British ship. Your web site says she was wrecked near Leith in 1946 in fog. I have a newspaper picture of her wrecked on the western Scottish islands in 1946. I also have a good photo of the Veni if anyone is interested. I was on holiday in Norway in the 1970's and tried to find one of the younger crew members Hans Hjalmar Hansen from Tvedestrand, Telemark but with no success. We knew him as Ho,ho, Hansen. I am 80 now and wonder if there are any still around who remember the VENI ? Takk skal du ha. Deane Wynne I have Deane's E-mail address if anyone would like to get in touch with him - my contact address is at the end of this page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ANITA JOHNSON GREETINGS THIS SITE IS WONDERFUL, PLEASE KEEP IT UP. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Sharon Connor Searching for POW John G. McFarlane We are searching for John G. McFarlane of Miami Florida, US Navy in WW II, who was a crewman on the USS Penguin at Guam, captured on Dec 10, 1941. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Aud Christiansen M/S Thermopylæ Hello Siri, I absolutely love getting messages like this one - it shows me yet again that what I'm doing is important! Here is my page for Thermopylæ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mario Romano As an old sailor, I like to go through old and new marine subjects (in peace and in wartime). My compliments. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Philip Seils Kaare Remme Dear Siri, I see a letter from Michael Remme about an uncle who was on board D/S Skottland when it was torpedoed. I don`t remember the name but I remember the Donkeyman. He was quite a proficient player of the accordion and used to cheer us up at sea with his playing. P.Seils Skottland is discussed on this page -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Thomas Tobiassen Thorleif Tobiassen My father, Thorleif, appears several times in text relating to the Potentilla and Montbretia. I can confirm that he did sail on those ships - hence why the article was written in the "1st person". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ian McNeil Cooke SICILY 1943 I was interested to see that Norwegian ships were at the Sicily landings and wondered if you know of anyone who witnessed the sinking of the hospital ship TALAMBA on the night of 10th July 1943, during which my father lost his life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Richard Nice Good website -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Harry K. Langenes FERNGULF In 1954 I was sailing on FERNGULF of Oslo. There was a lot of rust under the winches. I was told that the ship had been bombed and sunk at Limfjorden near Aalborg Denmark and had been bombed at the end of the the war. Tried to find any information about FERNGULF. Unable to find anything. The shipowner was Fearnley and Eger. Thanks for a werry interesting WEB-site. Harry L. Ferngulf is listed in the Homefleet section of this website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Marco Eggert Update Silvaplana Fantastic Work about "Atlantis" last victim MS Silvaplana. I have some information for you. My Grandfather Gustav Eggert was the civil commander (navigation officer) on bord Silvaplana on the journey from South Pacific back to Europe. Are you interested in more information? Always interested! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mark ter Bals Your name (Siri) Hello, I found your site (which is good looking, by the way) when I entered a query "Siri" in Google. That's because we (my girlfriend and I) consider to name our future child Siri, if it turns out to be a daughter. Here in Holland it is not a commom name, we made the name up ourselves, it is not in the books we have. This is a question I get quite often. My books say that Siri is an old Norse name, stemming from Sigrid, and means "sun". A while back I found some websites that has sinformation on the meaning of misc. names, including Siri, by entering the phrase "meaning of names" in Google. When I was growing up it was a very popular name for cats, and I didn't know anybody else named Siri, but these old names are becoming popular again now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Neil Carlsen Chapman & Willan Looking for anyone or relatives of anyone who sailed in the Chapman & Willan fleet during the second world war who might have known or worked with my uncle James Nicholson Meeks. Most interested in Peterton and Generton but other ships (which all end in ....ton) would also be of interest. I have Neil's address in my files - if anyone would like to respond to his message, please contact me at the address posted at the bottom of this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Danny Campbell Shipwreck of the Runa We have found a shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina that we believe to be Norwegian freighter 'Runa' (built as Marie di Giorgio in 1911 at Nylands Vaerksted in Kristianna, Norway). It was lost December 1923 with a cargo of lumber. PS. You have a very informative and well laid-out website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dave Johnston A/S RASK Trying to gather information for my mother in law who's father George Henry Bishop Heppel was the Berwick Coastguard and was subsequently awarded the Member of the British Empire Medal(MBE) for his part in rescueing survivors of the D/S RASK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dianne Gowing My grandfather You had helped me in the past in my search for information on my grandfather, Andrew John O'Dea. He was in the Merchant Navy and died aboard the HAVTOR, when it was torpedoed during the war. I have received information (5 pgs) from the Norsk Sjofartsmuseum about him; all but one page is in Norwegian. The cover letter from them also stated that no medals were given post mortem after the war. Do you know where I should start in trying to see if my mother and sisters would be entitled to any medals he might have been eligible for? I have no clue where to start and any help would be appreciated. Thank you. ~Dianne Gowing. This is a question that pops up quite frequently, and I never know how to help. If anyone sees this and have some advice, please contact me at the address given at the end of this page, so that I can better help in the future. I have suggested writing to Sjøfartsdirektoratet but don't know whether this would be the right place to contact. (Here's my page about Havtor).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Roy Ackrill ww2 service on Vis. Adriatic Thought I would catch some of my mates before they crossed the bar. T124 spec ops SSRF ops. 3 group played havoc with Jerry bases up and down the coast courtesy of SOE, blowing big holes in installations and a wee bit of knife work thrown in for good measure- rescued downed airforce crews and kept Tito's Boys supplied. Operated in 2 man teams mostly but varied according to tasks allotted, up to 8 men sometimes. SBS were not liked by Admiralty we were wayward boys and didn't behave. Say no more . a good site and very informative.thank you... und kein Gluck... I have Roy's E-mail address if anyone would like to contact him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bernard Edwards Sydhav Require for book I am writing information on the sinking of the Norwegian motor tanker Syhav 6 March 1942. Can anyone let me have copy of article on this which appeared in Krigsseileren magazine in 2000? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My father Ian Newham (Australian) served in the Norweigian merchant navy from 1943-46. You didn't leave me an E-mail address, so It's impossible for me, or anyone else to help.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Marliese Whelan This site may be helpful to my search! This site is very interesting! You should be commended for the obvious hard work you put into it. I too am searching for information,anything I can get, about my grandfather, Iver Severin Iversen (it may also be spelled Ivar Ivarsen). He was a whaler, who emigrated to Newfoundland,Canada,circa 1939/1940. He may have been captured by the Nazis, however, I'm not sure. Details about his life seem to be very hard to come by. There was a Time Magazine article written about him many years ago(my mother has a copy of it); in it he claimed he was captured by and escaped from the Nazis, yet my grandmother,his common-law wife,says it isn't true. In fact, my grandmother doesn't give much information about him at all; it's like his life was some kind of secret. He died here in Nfld., in 1962. He was about 66 years of age. Before he came to Canada, he had a wife and children in Norway. The only detail I know for certain is that he had a son named John, any other children, I do not know about. My mother and her two sisters were always led to believe that he came from Tonsberg, however, church records in Tonsberg reveal no trace of him. I would very much like to find any living relatives in Norway. My mother and aunts had/have siblings in Norway; I may have cousins, who probably don't know we exist. I would love to contact them, as would my mother. I have recently found, through a general search engine, that he may have come from a place called, Strengsdal,Notteroy,Vf, but I am just grasping at straws at this point. Can you help steer me in the right direction as to what to look for and how to look. I have no info on names of vessels he may have sailed on. If you would like to contact me, I would appreciate it very much.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael Singer Halifax to Avonmouth, 1941 My Father In Law left Halifax, N.S. on July 19, 1941 and arrived in Avonmouth, England, UK, on July 31, 1941. I replied to this mail, but yet again my message came back, this time it was redirected to a "suspect email" folder (protected by a spam blocker). In this particular case there wasn't much I could do to help anyway, other than suggest my Ship Forum, but in many other cases I spend quite a long time researching the question and trying to help, only to have my mail returned as undeliverable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tim Dean Rajputana HI -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From:. A. B. SS Emma torpedoed 1942 Hi could anyone help I am trying to find out about my relative who sailed on the SS Emma. I believe he sailed from Cardiff on 30 April 1942 on the SS Emma and was torpedoed. He was allowed entry to Sydney on 20th June 1942 as SHIPWWRECKED. On the 14th June he was in Montreal. Then he was in Halifax on July 1942. regards AB. You didn't leave me your E-mail address, so I cannot contact you (nor can anyone else), but if you see this, you might want to try posting your query to my Ship Forum, I'm almost sure someone there will be able to help -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Noel Blacklock Merchant Navy Well done SIRI. What a wonderful Web Site, I have spent hours going through it. I was an R/O with Marconis right through the war, mainly in the Atlantic, and was sunk twice. We old salts have a lot to thank you lovely ladies for all the the research you have done, and for all your efforts on our behalf. Without it no one would know about the exploits and sacrifices made by men of the Allied Merchant Navies all those years ago. I would not be here today if it were not for the bravery of Dutchmen on ss Oberon who risked their lives to pick me and others up out of the water in Sept 1940 off Aberdeen. I wish I could have thanked them all those years ago. Too late now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Miles Dyson Great site It is very informative. Keep up the good work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Cyril W Lingwood General interest Enjoyed looking at your site. I am aged 81 and worked at a secret reseach & Development unit duriing WW2 ( see Malmesbury Memmories site) so naturally interested in wartime history. I was linked to your site from the U-boat site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Charles LeRoyer D/T(?)Crawford Ellis I have a half-model of the Crawford Ellis which was given to my grandfather by a friend who was president of the American Fruit Compnay. It is a very detailed model set in a wood and glass case against a mirror. The model measures about 3 feet long by 1 foot high. There was a letter from the president to my grandfather that accompanied the model which I seem to have misplaced. I believe it was given in the 1930's. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Richard Goold D/S Borgfred I have to say once again your site gives me hours of enjoyment & there seems to be no end with all the links. I came across the Borgfred, which I sailed on from Apr.1957--Apr.1958. At that time she was named Sandli, Capt N Wisht & owned by M B Johansen, Skien. The owners son was Second Mate. In Aug of 57 we sailed the Arctic & 500 miles up the Yenisei river almost into the centre of Siberia. It was great to read the history of that ship & her wartime ventures. Again, many thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Meyer, Hans Picture "Prinz Eugen meets Krossfonn" Dear Sirs, A link to the picture in question can be found in my text for Krossfonn on this page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Martin Walker Harry Collings message re Montevideo Would it be possible for you to pass my emai address to the Harry Collings who posted a message on Oct. 26 regarding the Montevideo? Done! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Abraham Luxembourg Dear Mr. Lawson, I came across your website and found your page regarding M/V Suderholm. Here's my page about Suderholm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jan. 11 From: Wayne My father served on Canadian and Norwegian merchant ships 1943 through 1946. The Norwegian ships were the Tropic Star, Norsol, Fjordass and the Ada. Here are a few Photos to share with you and if anyone can help to identify anything please contact me at wjackson@sympatico.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Gale ms Kongsfjord aka Gonzenheim My father was in Royal Navy aboard HMS Neptune. HMS Neptune stopped the Gonzenheim. My father was on boarding party who searched the ship. Following the transfer of the crew to the Neptune, the Gonzenheim was then torpedoed. I have 2 photos, one of the Gonzenheim and one of the boat bringing the crew to the Neptune. My father appropriated a knife kit, similar to a swiss army knife, whilst he was on board the Gonzenheim. When i was a child my mother used to cut my nails with the little scissors. It was known as the jerry knife in my family. M/S Kongsfjord is listed at this link in the Homefleet section of this website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Collingwood Harris U-482 While I was not present when U-482 torpedoed the Fjordheim, I was present as a radar operator aboard the USS Peterson, DE 152, when Hartmut Graf von Matuschka torpedoed the Tanker Jacksonville on August 30th, 1944, with the loss of all but two crew members. We searched for Matuschka for several hours, but to no avail, owing to rocky-bottom echoes that confused the sonar. In February 1989 I visited Hartmut's brother Volkhart in Wetzlar/Lahn, north of Frankfurt, where I had a graciously hosted Sunday-afternoon visit with him and his wife Heillwig. I perused the late Hartmut's well organized personal photo album and his extremely neat highschool geometry notebook. A family tree on the wall in Volkhart's den traced the family history back to the year 1250. After dinner Volkhart and I visited the family Gieserei museum. A day or two later I also visited his nephew, Albrecht Graf Matuschka, in Munich and actually had some business dealing with him (he is a financier) here in the US, in 1991! (Small world!) Hartmut's brother Volkhart, a twice-wounded Panzer Offizier on the Eastern Front during WWII, died of an embolism about four years ago. I still exchange Christmas greetings with his nephew Albrecht. I am currently putting together a Website on the USS Peterson and will have a link to your Website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Brian Milthorp MV Dea My father served as the Radio Operator aboard the S/S "Dea" from June 1942 to Feb. 1943. In a letter dated 25th June he described the ship as having a "fine crowd on board so I think I wil enjoy the job. The equipment is modern and easy to work. . . There won't be much for me to do, just listen for distress signals, take the time signals, news dispatches and keep the equipment in working order." He writes from Corpus Christi on 23 July 1942, "Sailing in the Gulf is very pleasant and we try to stay in fairly shallow water to lessen the submarine risk. On the way to Progresso we picked up the crew of a torpedoed Norwegian freighter, twenty five survivors of a crew of twenty six. They were torpedoed at eleven at night, two hundred miles off Corpus Christi and we sighted their lifeboats at nine the next morning." His first ship was the Danish "Sally Maersk" which was interned in Dakar by the Vichy French in 1941. Having a British passport, he spent nine months as a civilian prisoner at the Kourlikoro Internment Camp in French Sudan. If you are interested, I have a number of photographs he took of Dakar Harbour during the naval bombardment and of the Dea that I will gladly scan and forward. Dea can be found on this page. The survivors she rescued were from Gundersen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Fairley Convoy ON145 I have been researching the sinking of the Empire Sailor on 21 Nov 1942.My father was her Captain at that time.Included in her cargo was a quantity of phosgene gas rocket shells.Although all but 3 of the crew escaped from the ship a further 20 died within a few hours as a result of inhaling the phosgene gas. |
