Hi, I’m hoping to find movement list and maybe manifests for any ship that left Tilbury Docks on 19th March 1945. I wouldn’t even know where to start as this is off my normal path! Alex.
I am sure other forum members will help Found this interesting and there is a contact link Port of Tilbury & Military Links – A Time Line – Prepared by Jonathan Catton – Tilbury on the Thames Trust Regards Clive
Thanks Clive. Very good that webpage, especially as I’m originally from Gravesend which is opposite Tilbury.
How about asking the owners of Tilbury Port, which is privately owned and not by the Port of London Authority? Their website states (cited in part): Link: https://www.forthports.co.uk/our-ports/tilbury-london/ A number of staff emails etc are shown, none for a historian, so perhaps they have a community relations officer? They may have kept the Harbourmaster's records.
You could also try Tilbury and Chadwell Memories | - stories, photos and comments from the area Tilbury Town | Thurrock Local History Society https://twitter.com/thurrockhistory?lang=en TD
According to Convoyweb three convoys left Southend at that time FN1665, 1666 and1667, all destination Methil, so most of the larger ships would be joining North Atlantic convoys. They were only small convoys - one had only one ship - so the next step would be to get the Movement cards from the National Archives (these are free at the moment, you can have up to ten at any one time). As for manifests I doubt that they carried much, if anything, other than solid ballast in the case of the Sam boat. The only other thing that might be carried could have been damaged US military equipment. Britain's main export was coal/coke - and that would be an unlikely cargo from the Thames. Hope that helps?
Methil, Buckhaven and Leven used to be holiday places when I was a kid - overnight sleeper trains and all that - good fun So found this as I was interested to know about Methil and it seems to have been a major MN port in WW2 and in fact at other times https://www.scotfishmuseum.org/perch/resources/largobaymaritimelog.pdf TD Yes I do understand that the thread is Tilbury biased
Thanks Roy. I’ll have to interrogate that website and try and make some sense. This is an attempt to find out what ships took what kit with the 6th Airborne as they prepared for Op Varsity. I know from documents I have that they had two movement orders. One on the 19th and the other 23rd March. This would’ve been vehicles and other kit needed once the Airborne troops had landed and established themselves. I know they went from Tilbury and landed at Ostend. Alex.
War Diaries 1945 19 Mar 1945 0545 hrs: Sea party under 2i/c leave for Tilbury to embark for N.W. Europe. TD https://www.nzsappers.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1950-March.pdf personnel went by train to Purfleet on the Thames, where we spent the night of the 11th in a vast transit camp. The next day we embarked at Tilbury in an L.S.I. and were carried swiftly to Ostend where we disembarked the following day. The vehicle party proceeded on to eastern Belgium and we followed by train. We joined them eventually at Geldingen, near the Maas. I am guessing these guys would not have 'dropped in' but travelled by sea and land ?? Royal Military Police : definition of Royal Military Police and synonyms of Royal Military Police (English) Operation Varsity Main article: Operation Varsity On 24 March 1945, the British 6th Airborne Division successfully launched Operation Varsity at Wesel, Western Germany. This airborne operation was part of the bigger Operation Plunder, the crossing of the Rhine. CMP units taking part in Operation Varsity were: 6th (Airborne) Divisional Provost Company, CMP HQ, 245th Provost Company, CMP Maybe some of the war diaries fro these units hold further info??
Alex, Now I know which destination you had in mind I reckon that those websites will not be of use to you, as I said these were northbound convoys. There is a section in convoyweb for shorter convoys, The series of convoys that could include some of the ships you want may be TAM 114 - 117, these are Southend (assembly point) to Antwerp (dispersal point) there is no cargo data given for these convoys. But, as TD has found an LSI, perhaps the Operation Varsity team went solely on those craft and not in convoy?
BBC - WW2 People's War - Dougie Davidson MBE,MN Following this excitement and a spell of leave, Dougie was appointed as 2nd Officer of the SS Portia joining her at Tilbury in early 1945. By this time the allies were pushing the German forces out of Northwest Europe and the SS Portia was engaged in taking military supplies to Ostend and other ports until Antwerp was liberated and convoys to this port could be undertaken. I have run out of credit at present with Convoyweb (it will restore itself at some point) so perhaps someone else could check out SS Portia TD Tank Landing Ship LST HM LST-366 additionally participated in the shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp Tank Landing Ship LST HM LST 160 - Operated in shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp Maybe the supplies and non parachuting personnel were sequenced in with the 'shuttle service'
I have found Portia making a voyage to Antwerp, though not on the dates in question. Unfortunately there probably won't be a voyage card as this coaster is shown as being under the Honduran flag. There was also an Empire Portia, but she was torpedoed in the Channel in 1944
Found a Portia of the right size, but the Movement Card only goes to 1941, no sign of it being sunk, so I guess it was re-flagged for some reason
Thanks for that. I’ve looked at all the sub units of 6AB and it only mentions basic detail like you’ve included there. I did find a movement order but only timings, no loads or personnel I charge etc etc.
Great find. Where is all that? On convoy web? There is a picture of an infantry unit coming home after VE Day who sailed from Ostend or Antwerp in a troop carrier, LSI type.
Hi Alex It comes from posing questions on google and then seeing what turns up, such as 'Tilbury to Ostend March 1945', 'LSI's in Tilbury March 1945', '6th Airborne in Tilbury' (unfortunately this mostly turns up the Dec 1944 movements that provided back up for the Ardennes) - having said that the systems would obviously be in place in March 1945, and from Nov/Dec 1944 onwards Tilbury was a busy port shipping men and materials to NW Europe let alone all the MN use of the same port TD There seems to be something called 21 Army Group Movement Control that might be worth investigating - perhaps Trux has examples from D Day that would have been used as a model for future 'operations' Movement Control Q(Mov) HQ 21 Army Group I assume this is for D Day but there might be others to help you Force Movement tables: Tilbury | The National Archives eg Movement Control Tilbury | The National Archives Reference: WO 166/17801 Description: Movement Control Tilbury Date: 1945 Dec. Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description Access conditions: Closed For 29 years Port M.C. | The National Archives Reference: WO 171/4675 Description: Port M.C. Date: 1945 Mar.- Dec. Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description There may be details in here : Operation Varsity: method of supply, security organisation of movements | The National Archives Reference: WO 205/338 Description: Operation Varsity: method of supply, security organisation of movements Date: 1945 Mar. Held by: The National Archives, Kew Former reference in its original department: 551/4/Ops B Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description
I’ve been at work and unable to do any proper research, so I can’t thank you enough for narrowing down the options. I’ll investigate this with some hope now! Thanks again. Alex.
