Can anyone tell me what kind of ship it was and what it did during the war? Maybe someone has information about those who were on board, especially Henry Bertram Nielsen (ship's cook), has been informed that he was nominated for three medals (1939, AT, AF), but not for what. Hope someone can help me.
45a0062.tif Aaro : Lloyd's Register of Ships | Southampton City Libraries Lloyd's Register Of Ships Online | Archive & Library | Heritage & Education Centre Medal listing of Nielsen, Henry Bertram Discharge number: R262298 Date of... | The National Archives Report Of Survey For Repairs &c For Aaro 2nd June 1944 | Documents | Archive & Library | Heritage & Education Centre
6 Oct 44 Aaro Denmark The cargo ship (1,426 GRT, 1925) dragged her anchor and collided with Yewdale ( United Kingdom) in the English Channel off the French coast. She was declared a total loss. List of shipwrecks in October 1944 - Wikipedia
Welcome Rikke ‘1939, AT, AF’ refer to the 1939-45, Atlantic and Africa Stars which were campaign awards for service in specific areas rather than for any specific act(s). In addition he would have been eligible for the 1939-45 War Medal which I note is obscured in the record that Tony provided the link for. Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility and https://web.archive.org/web/20181108231439/http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/h/index.html will provide some useful background for these awards. TNA also have a number of relevant records for Aaro accessible in person in addition to her movement cards which are available to download: Search results: aaro | The National Archives
Hello and welcome, Henry Bertram Nielsen has a Seaman's Pouch held at TNA Kew in piece BT 372/484/5 - this pouch can be hit or miss with regard to detail, some contain a lot of information others, not so much, the pouch may include application forms (most with a photograph of the seaman), certificates, identity cards etc. Pouches are not service records however and for that you should obtain his CRS 10 which should be held at TNA Kew in piece BT 382/1307 this file should list details of his ships from January 1941 until leaving the service. AARO's Logs including Crew Agreements/lists are held at TNA Kew for WW2 - they are kept separately in year order (1941 - 1944). Regards Hugh
Hello Rikke, There is a crewmember account in the fourth book (Danish). Søfolk og Skibe 1939-1945 (4. De sidste år) written by Christian Tortzen. Pages 428-429-430, included a photo of the saved flag. See also pages 409 and 436. Christian Lund: Danske skibe under engelsk administration under 2. verdenskrig. 1944 6-10 SS AARØ Kollideret med norsk SS LYSLAND ved Omaha Beach, Normandiet; kondemneret. I am not able to verify this information. Danish owner: Dampskibsselskabet Heimdal (Martin Carl). British administration: The Northern Coal & Shipping Co. Ltd. London
I have digged a little bit more, SS Yewdale must be the correct answer. Index of World War II Attacks and Sinkings of Merchant Shipping and List of World War II Statistics, 1941–1945 Merchant Ships Sunk By Months: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/318478214?objectPage=883#object-thumb--883 https://catalog.archives.gov/id/318477082?objectPage=1104#object-thumb--1104 https://catalog.archives.gov/id/318474722?objectPage=2#object-thumb--2
Every day is a school day... If I’ve understood Hugh correctly, these appear to be catalogued according to their serial numbers rather than their names, so didn’t appear in my previous search link. Search results: 167581 AND "BT 381" | The National Archives
Yes, that is correct, those are Official Logbooks which include the Crew Agreements and are filed under the ship's official number. Regards Hugh
