WW2 Royal Navy Records

Question

Are there likely to be records to access for more information for my father (deceased in 1993)? He served aboard a number of ships (land sites) from 1943-46. I have his certificate of service which shows not much except Glendower, Pembroke and 3 others with dates and a Port division with official number.

Answer 1

I assume that your father's service was with the Royal Navy during WWII.

The "ships" you have named (HMS Glendower and HMS Pembroke) were in fact shore bases.

HMS Glendower was a training establishment at Caernarfonshire, Wales in what had been a Butlin's holiday camp. That was probably where he did his basic recruit training.

HMS Pembroke is a very popular name in RN History that might refer to any one of several different bases. Did your father work in finance or cryptography?

• HMS Pembroke II - accounting base at Chatham between 1940 and 1957.
• HMS Pembroke III - accounting base at London and outstations between 1942 and 1952.
• HMS Pembroke V - secret base at Bletchley Park between 1941 and 1945

When you think about it, giving the naval group at the (secret) code-breaking establishment the same name as the pay office would have allowed them to move people with a mathematical bent there without attracting too much attention.

So the relative shortage of detailed information might mean that your father had a very boring war service or a highly classified one.

If you have his service number, make your next stop The National Archives.

Answer 2

As mentioned here, it's possible to order personnel records for servicemen from the MOD, although this is a very expensive option and the records can take a long time to arrive.

Answer 3

I am going through this process at the moment. I am applying to the MOD for service records for my Great Uncle who was killed in action during WW2.

Follow this link. You then need to download the relevant forms and send them off to the department indicated within the forms.

It costs £30, but beware the records may not exist, as lots were lost during the bombing at Portsmouth. Unfortunately there is no way to tell if the service records are in tact until the search has been made.

Seeing as your father passed away after service, it think you will need to provide a copy of the Death Certificate.

On the MOD website, they state the following:

Under the scheme, and in recognition of the duty of care owed to the family of the deceased subject, for a period of 25 years following the date of death of the subject and without the consent of the next of kin, MOD will disclose only:

• Surname
• Forename
• Rank
• Service Number
• Regiment/Corps
• Place of birth
• Date of death (where it occurred in service)
• The date the individual joined the service
• The date of leaving
• Good conduct medals

After this period, and if it is held, in addition MOD will disclose without the requirement for next of kin consent:

• The units in which he/she served
• The date of this service and the locations of those units
• The ranks in which the service was carried out and details of WWII campaign medals

Answer 4

As it seems that Bletchley Park is a possibility you should check the Roll of Honour that the Bletchley Park Trust maintains.

It's not complete, so if he isn't listed there and you manage to determine that he did serve there then I'm they would love to here from you so they can add him.