my other grandfather 'dennis cobb served in world war two on this boat during the war for a couple of years. what would he have done as a stoker on a ship that was moored on quayside in portsmouth supporting minesweepers? confused by his service record i have recieved the other day, mainly was based on lots of land bases finally saw action in med on MM4 & MM5 as stoker 2nd class. anybody help?
what would he have done as a stoker on a ship that was moored on quayside in portsmouth supporting minesweepers? At a guess - been part of the engine room watch that kept one engine/boiler running to make electrical power?
I managed to turn up this rather distant pic of the disarmed Marshal Soult in Portsmouth Harbour... Royal Navy Monitors ...but here's a link to a much more detailed one... Marshall Soult (1934) French Navy | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
View attachment 100944 View attachment 100945 HMS Marshal Soult as at June 1942: (trawler Base Portsmouth) Under Command of Captain REW Kirby DSO RN (Retd) The navy list Also listed WREN third officer: Miss Norah Ann Grogan served on : The navy list
My great grandfather Charles Albert Smith was also a stoker on the Marshal Soult from 10 Dec 1940 and served on HMS Vernon 1 & 2 before this. He was aged 40 at the start of WW2 so that could be why he served on a docked ship.
