I've discovered a good description of WS12Z and DM1 which I don't see referenced anywhere else on this site. www.msabbekerk.nl It confirms that the guns and ammunition for 35th Regt LAA were on the Abbekerk and Sussex. I think the only guns that were on the wrong ship and went to Bombay were those of 6 HAA. It also emphasises how important DM1 was in the fact that 5 merchantmen had an escort of 10 warships as it approached Singapore. Tim
Hi Bamboo43, Your attached images of the convoy sailings are very interesting. I am trying to get some information on my gandfathers movements - he sailed with WS20 on 21/6/42, and arrived in Bombay 21/10 which must mean that he ended up as part of WS22B. Obviously had some delay on the way, most likely Durban. Do you have any info on either? I'm afraid I don't know his unit information, apart from the fact that he was in RAOC. Many thanks,
Convoy WS.20 From: LIVERPOOL Saturday, 20 June 1942. To: FREETOWN Thursday, 2 July 1942. This convoy was then split from Freetown into 4 different ones: Arnold Hague convoy database - misc convoys Convoy WS.20A From: FORMED AT SEA Saturday, 1 August 1942. To: DISPERSED OFF ADEN Thursday, 6 August 1942. Convoy WS.20B From: FORMED AT SEA Saturday, 1 August 1942. To: BOMBAY Sunday, 9 August 1942. Convoy WS.20C From: CAPETOWN Thursday, 23 July 1942. To: SPLIT INTO A & B Saturday, 1 August 1942. Convoy WS.20F From: FREETOWN Monday, 6 July 1942. To: DURBAN Monday, 20 July 1942. The only ship I can find on the Hague database arriving in Bombay on 21st Oct 1942 is Arnold Hague Ports database Mombasa, Oct 13, 1942 WS.22B2 ( - ) Bombay, Oct 21, 1942 ALMANZORA Almanzora - National Maritime Museum TD
Hi Tricky, Thank you for the information - this has proved invaluable. The website does indeed confirm the sailing details of the Almanzora being the only candidate. Quite why she sailed via mombasa separately from the main WS22 is another matter.. And what did my grandfather do in his 8 weeks in cape town. He arrived as part of WS20 and somehow became part of WS.22B2. As an aside - I appear to have maxed out my searches on convoyweb - anybody know how to get around this?
I usually wait a while and it seems to reset, or you can contact the webmaster on the contact email provided TD
Hi Timmo81, Sorry for the delay in replying. Here are the pages from Winston's Specials for WS20, WS22 to follow shortly:
With ref to post 16 of this thread, You might wish to check out The SS. Anting, and SS, Subadar. could be helpful. Graham.
Thanks Graham. As the events concerning these ships are post the WS12Z convoy I'll take this up in a few days on another thread I started a year ago. Perhaps you and others may then be able to add or correct me on the Anting and Subadar. Tim
Here are the pages for WS7. Sorry about the quality of the scans and I hope they come out ok on the forum:
I'm not sure if this is of help to anyone. The attached is some research I did for my mother a number of years ago. Her father was on the WS 12Z and kept a small diary which I transcribed. He was with the RAF ended up in Palembang shortly before it fell and left on the Kota Gede.
I'm still reading through this, but so far it's a solid piece of well-presented research. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Charley, very appreciated. If there are any errors - please let me know. There were so many family strories about my grandfather and the small diary appeared to say very little until you checked the dates - oh the joy of the internet! It was so engrossing digging into events and discovering the story. I'm trying to work out what he was doing in India as it appears he spent the rest of the war travelling around the coast
John, Well done for assembling the jigsaw. I was puzzled at the mention of the American ship, The Mount Vernon, carrying the 18th Division, as it would have been two or more days after Pearl Harbour when first encountered. Have a peek at this Wiki, which has a passage on the convoy: USS Mount Vernon (AP-22) - Wikipedia The 18th Division is a WW2 "ghost" US Army formation, so I doubt they were aboard. See: United States Army deception formations of World War II - Wikipedia
Convoy WS12X was a convoy from Halifax to, originally, India and the Middle East. It consisted of the USS Mount Vernon, USS West Point, USS Wakefield, USS Joseph T Dickman, USS Leonard Wood and the USS Orizaba. They were carrying the 18th Division, but it was the British 18th Division. All part of US assistance before they entered the War. Tim
Thank you for your replies - so glad I stumbled on this site. It's facinating so will do more exploring re the US assistance before Pearl Harbour. I origninally put it together over 15 years ago and wished I'd added the references. A quick search - it looks like I got the text re USS Vernon from this Dutch site The Singapore-convoys