Piggy-backing on this thread if that is permitted? Not sure where else to post otherwise. From his military records, my father disembarked (as a 16th/5th lancer) for N. Africa on 9-12-42 and arrived 24-12-42. Is there a way of finding out which ship he was on and or what the destination was? I have looked on the convoyweb site but can't find an exact match. I have no idea where he would have left from in the UK, but he was based in the South if that makes any difference?
It can be tricky, but your next step is probably to look at the Regimental War Diaries (for his regiment) for that period; say, winter 1942. (Doing this, led me to discover that my initial assumptions had been incorrect! ...my dad didn't sale with his regiment.) BTW: I'm assuming that when you say 'military records', these are his full service records. In my [limited] experience, the departure dates don't always exactly match the Convoy's departure date given in Convoyweb, e.g. my father loaded in Liverpool and sailed up to Scotland where convoy KMF-06 gathered and left for Bone, North Africa. But I think his records may show his departure date from Liverpool. Operation Torch kicked off in November 1942, so there's a better than even chance that your dad was a part of that. If he was, then it looks like he was on KMF-05 along with the majority of my dad's regiment You may be interested in my notes on these convoys, with a few first-hand accounts of what it was like on board, and more details on KMS-05 and the SS Strathallan, which was attacked on route: Sergeant ACK-ACK: Operation Torch convoys Good luck.
Forgot to say that you should start a new post, or ask for someone to move your question (...maybe a moderator will see this and move it for you). The title of this thread is not suitable, so chose one more closely describing your question and put it in the forum: North Africa & the Med
Thanks for the nudge in the right direction. I did get his full military records yes. Looking at the Regimental War Diaries for Nov-Dec. 1942 I can see that his departure and arrival dates match up with the Cameronia, which I see you refer to in your notes, quoting Jim Buchan's account which is on the BBC WW2 people's war site. Progress! Thanks again.
