I am trying to find out if a British RN officer was part of a landing craft flotilla on Omaha Beach on D Day. I only have a name and DOB but anecdotal evidence that he was there. Does anyone have a thought as to the first port of call where I may get going on this enquiry? Thanks
Unfortunately no G H Weekes in the Navy Lists for the summer of 1944, but they're not known for being fully up to date.
Have you any thoughts as to where else I might try? I'm not after extensive deep details just if we knew if he was there and where. Its really just as a surprise for his daughter as we plan a Normandy trip . Like most of his era he never really wanted to discuss it Thank you
Probably not an officer, because not in any of the available Navy Lists. Any idea of what kind of landing craft?
Could he have been on one of the British Landing Ships. Those who took US troops to Omaha were: Amsterdam*, Empire Anvil*, Empire Javelin*, HMS Invicta, HMS Prince Baudouin, HMS Prince Charles, HMS Prince Leopold and Princess Maud*. Those vwith a * are merchant ships who carried a Lieutenant and/or a Sub-Lieutenant who were in charge of the navy LCA crews.
Thanks Kevin, I copied that out of one of my own books, goes to prove 'don't be;eive everything you read in books'! Roy
After scouring the Navy Lists, my opinion is that he was not there at all, at least not as a naval officer. Can you share the "anecdotal evidence", lest we embark on a wild goose chase? As usual, the best first step would be for his daughter to request his service records. Michel
Thank you so much. As a result of this I find he wasn't an officer and we now know he seems to have sailed from Salcombe. Trying to do this hopefully as a family surprise hence my scany information.
The only British vessels at Salcombe were two Motor Launches. Moreover, Salcombe was a base for UTAH Area and definitely not for OMAHA. Unless you can post your "anecdotal evidence", all this confusion leads me to conclude that this is a perfect example of wishful thinking and that he was nowhere near the Normandy beaches on D day. Michel
Its not wishful thinking you thoroughly rude man!!! Its a small piece of information from a very old ex RN man who has now passed. I said at the beginning this was with very little information and for you to simply assume and imply this is something he made up is an awful slur that clearly you took no time at all to consider. I thought such forums would be useful and a source of expert information in a respectful way. I see that's not the case here. I kinda wished I not bothered. You can return to you smug chair now and feel good about yourself. Thank you for nothing
I appreciate you want it to be a surprise, but I suspect the service record is likely to be the most productive route.
You are very welcome! Back to my smug chair, it appears that you utterly misunderstood me: the "wishful thinking" thing was not directed at George Henry Weekes, whose actual words I have no idea about, but at your good self and what you said, after spending a good many hours trying to answer your query. What little information you provided is incoherent. You wrote: "a British RN officer" - no trace of him as an officer, be it RN, RNR, RM, RNVR, RNZNVR, RANVR or else "part of a landing craft flotilla on Omaha beach" and "he seems to have sailed from Salcombe" - these are mutually exclusive finally you allude to "anecdotal evidence that he was there" and repeatedly fail to spell out what this evidence is.Until I can see this anecdotal evidence, my conclusion remains that you want him to have been at Omaha on D Day but have offered nothing to show for it so far. I have the utmost respect for and cherish the memory of all Allied WW veterans who helped liberate my parents' generation from Nazism and made possible my growing up in a free country, but do confirm that I have no patience with people of later generations who use veterans for their own ends, or who waste our time by presenting assumptions as actual facts. This, in my view, is not acting in a respectful way. Finally, as Owen rightly pointed, for my sins I was indeed born French, which you would have known if you had done your homework and checked my profile before exposing yourself to my Gallic ire with so frail a case. Fortunately, as you can see from other members' replies, not everybody in this forum is as thoroughly rude (or French) as I am, so please finally tell us why you think sailor George Henry Weekes could have been in OMAHA Assault Area on D Day, and we'll try and check it out. Failing which, my answer to your initial question: "I am trying to find out if a British RN officer [George Henry Weekes] was part of a landing craft flotilla on Omaha Beach on D Day" remains "in view of the evidence provided: no, he was not". Michel
Hello everyone. I have an ongoing enquiry very similar in nature to this, with which Michel Sabarly amongst a couple of others have been assisting me. I am looking into the history of [Telegraphist/Leading Telegraphist] John Daniels, DOB 27/1/1920. I believe that he joined the Royal Navy in 1936, and I have reason to believe that he sailed on HMS Glasgow between 1943 until at least the bombing of Cherbourg on the 25th of June 1944, and that he was somewhere in Normandy on D-Day. Spitfires of the Sea I wonder if there is any record of J Daniels within the Naval lists that you referred to? If anyone else is kindly able to please consult any Royal Navy personnel lists or any other sources that would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance of any responses.
