Cornish Railways War Diary

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by CornwallPhil, Apr 4, 2017.

  1. CornwallPhil

    CornwallPhil Senior Member

    The Cornwall Railway Society are publishing the diary of events I have compiled from a range of sources showing what happened on the railways in Cornwall during WW2. The first part - 1939 - is now on their website and subsequent years will follow at monthly intervals.
    CORNISH RAILWAYS WAR DIARY
     
  2. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Phil great work and thank you.

    regards
    Clive
     
  3. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    A most interesting read.
    I have a large selection of GWR books as I used to model GWR in "O" scale or 7mm to 12".
    Regards
    Tom
     
  4. CornwallPhil

    CornwallPhil Senior Member

    Thanks guys. I think it gets more interesting as the war proceeds so worth checking out each month.
     
    dbf likes this.
  5. CornwallPhil

    CornwallPhil Senior Member

    Part Two covering 1940 has now been posted on the Cornwall Railway Society website. I think you'll enjoy the read.
    CORNISH RAILWAYS WAR DIARY
     
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  6. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Phil very interesting about the Polish jewels and the Norwegian heavy water


    regards
    Clive
     
  7. Oldman

    Oldman Very Senior Member

    Phil
    Great post looking forward to the next installment
     
  8. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Phil,
    Great work.
    A couple of points: the CHORZOW, with the Polish National Treasure, did not leave Le Verdon until the 19th and arrived Falmouth on 21st p.m. I think. The BROOMPARK had arrived that morning, her cargo included gem diamonds worth about £3 million then. These had been brought to Bordeaux by the MD of the Antwerp Diamond bank. Lord Suffolk did not commandeer the BROOMPARK. He, his partner Major Golding, a member of Military Intelligence, and their secretaries, were allocated the ship by the British Embassy who were temporarily in Bordeaux before being evacuated under Operation Aerial. The Master of the ship was one of many waiting in France to embark troops and refugees.Halban and Kowarski had been told by their boss Joliot-Curie to get the Heavy Water to Britain.
    Sorry I know it's rivet counting! There is quite a lot about it elsewhere on WW2 Talk, including Golding's papers posted by his son.

    Regards,
    Roy
     
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  9. CornwallPhil

    CornwallPhil Senior Member

    Hi Roy,
    Thanks for correcting me.
    The Harbour Master's Journal has the Chorzow arriving on Sat 22nd but given the number of vessels arriving the Journal can't be relied on for precise timings. The train to London would have been that same day.
    As regards Suffolk & the Broompark the comments were based on an interview given by Kowarski. He used that phrase. The ship arrived in Falmouth on the morning of the 21st. The train travelled overnight leaving Falmouth on the 21st & arriving in Paddington at 9 am on the 22nd. The Reader's Digest 1943 also spoke of Suffolk "bagging" the ship. I get a sense of Irving (from the Embassy) saying "There's this one available" and Suffolk replying "We'll take it!"
     
  10. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Hi Phil,
    Not meant to correct you, just passing info! I don't have a time of arrival of the little Chorzow, but she arrived after Broompark, so the Harbour Master's Sat 22nd sounds right. Kowarski's interview was given after the war and is a bit woolly in places. The Reader's Digest article comes from an American newspaper piece and contains quite a bit of fantasy. 20th Century Fox wanted to make a film based on that article; but the family, particularly the Dowager Lady Suffolk put a stop to that. If anyone, reading us in copy, wants more info I can provide it.
     
    CornwallPhil likes this.
  11. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Roy start t another thread it would be interesting

    regards
    Clive
     
  12. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Will do Clive, I will first have to find the thread with the information that Ian Golding posted.
    Regards,
    Roy
     
  13. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Clive,
    I've had a look through and i have posted quite a bit on this 'Mission' over the years (in 1940), including:
    s.s.Broompark taking 'Heavy water' from Bordeaux; Operation Aerial & Operation Cycle; What were Ian Fleming's movements in France in June 1940 and Polish steamer Chorzow from Bordeaux 1940. I don't want to bore Members with one of my hobby horses! Strangely I can't find the information that Ian Golding posted. If you will forgive the plug the story is in my book!
    Regards,
    Roy
     
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  14. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  15. CornwallPhil

    CornwallPhil Senior Member

    Roy, I bow to your superior knowledge and detailed research on the subject, and am quite happy to be presented with new evidence that challenges anything I say. I am quite sure Kowarski's experience is as a "passenger" concerned for his "luggage" rather than as an organiser like Suffolk or Golding, so his perception of events is likely to be quite different from their accounts.

    Have you come across any other unusual cargoes arriving in Falmouth or Fowey on any of the vessels you've looked at?
     
  16. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

  17. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Phil,
    From memory I don't think that there were other cargoes, but of course there were tens of thousands of refugees/evacuees. Plymouth was designated as the main port for military landings and Falmouth for civilian ones, though there was a certain amount of 'cross over'. It was several years ago, I will go back through my files.
    Regards,
    Roy
     
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  18. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Phil,
    Nothing superior about my knowledge! Like you I follow up things that a chance upon. I can only find one other cargo reference that may have lead to a special train: Among the lading on the Broompark were 500 or 600 tons (depending on the source of the info) of US machine tools. These were 'landed and retained at Falmouth'. A note in the margin of the Customs documents says that it was decided to send them to 'The Motor Packing Co, in Coventry'; in a later note it says that 'part of the consignment was sent the the Chief Engineer, Locomotive Department, GWR - I assume that this would have been at Swindon?

    Roy.
     
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  19. CornwallPhil

    CornwallPhil Senior Member

    Thanks for that Roy. You are a modest man.
    I had come across reference to the machine tools before but didn't know where they ended up.
    I am sniffing around for unusual cargos that came back into the port of Fowey.
     
  20. Roy Martin

    Roy Martin Senior Member

    Phil,
    I don't think any of the Aerial ships berthed in Fowey, I will check.
     

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