Download or read book Tracing Your Merchant Navy Ancestors written by Simon Wills and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2014-01-19 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What was a merchant seamans life like in the past, what experiences would he have had, what were the ships like that he sailed in, and what risks did he run? Was he shipwrecked, rewarded for bravery, or punished? And how can you find out about an ancestor who was a member of the long British maritime tradition? Simon Wills concise and informative historical guide takes the reader and researcher through the fascinating story of Britains merchant service, and he shows you how to trace individual men and women and gain an insight into their lives. In a series of short, information-packed chapters, he explains the expansion of Britains global maritime trade and the fleets of merchant ships that sustained it in peace and war. He describes the lives, duties and tribulations of the generations of crews who sailed in these ships, whether as ordinary seamen or as officers, stewards, engineers and a myriad of other roles. In addition, he identifies the websites you can explore, the archives, records and books you can read, and the places you can visit in order to gain an understanding of what your seagoing ancestor did and the world he knew. Simon Wills practical handbook will be essential reading and reference for anyone who is keen to discover for themselves the secrets of our maritime past and of the crewmembers and ships that were part of it.
Download or read book Tracing Your Seafaring Ancestors written by Simon Wills and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-02-29 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photographs of your seafaring ancestors may tell you more about their lives than you realize, and Simon Willss helpful and practical guide shows you how to identify and interpret the evidence caught on camera. Since maritime roles have been so vital to Britains prosperity and military might, they are among the commonest professions depicted in photographs of our ancestors, and his handbook is the ideal introduction to them.Maybe your ancestor was a seaman in the Royal Navy, a ships captain, a steward on an ocean liner, or an officer in the naval reserves? This book shows you how to spot photographic clues to an individuals career. Whether your ancestor served in the merchant navy or the Royal Navy or in another seagoing role such as a fisherman, a lifeboatman, or even a ships passenger, Simon Willss book will be your guide.
Download or read book Tracing Your Ancestors written by Simon Fowler and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-07-12 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible, well-organized, easy-to-use beginners guide to the world of family history is essential reading for anyone who wants to find their way into this fascinating subject. In a series of short, practical chapters Simon Fowler takes readers through all the first steps that will reveal the lives of their ancestors and the world they lived in. He looks at every aspect of research, from finding family papers and interviewing relatives, through exploring websites, archives, newspapers and directories, to all the other sources that can throw a light into the past. In a clear, straightforward way he explains how vital records of births, marriages and deaths can be used as the starting point in a sequence of eye-opening family detective work. Simon Fowlers introduction, which is founded on a career of genealogical research and writing, is an indispensable basic book for anyone entering in the field.
Download or read book Family Fact Sheet written by and published by . This book was released on 199? with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tracing an Ancestor in the Merchant Navy written by Great Britain. Public Record Office and published by . This book was released on 1991* with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tracing Your Second World War Ancestors written by Phil Tomaselli and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-12-13 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Second World War was the defining conflict of the twentieth century and it is one of the most popular and fascinating areas for historical research and for family historians. More records than ever are available to researchers whose relatives served during the war. And this new book by Phil Tomaselli is the perfect guide to how to locate and understand these sources and get the most out of them. He explains how, and from where, service records can be obtained, using real examples showing what they look like and how to interpret them. He also examines records of the military units relatives might have served in so their careers can be followed in graphic detail. The three armed services are covered, along with the merchant navy, the Home Guard, civilian services, prisoners of war, gallantry and campaign medals, casualties, womens services and obscure wartime organizations. Also included are a glossary of service acronyms, information on useful websites, an introduction to the National Archives and details of other useful sources.
Download or read book Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews written by Peter den Hertog and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This investigation into the Nazi leader’s mindset is “an inherently fascinating study . . . a work of meticulously presented and seminal scholarship”(Midwest Book Review). Adolf Hitler’s virulent anti-Semitism is often attributed to external cultural and environmental factors. But as historian Peter den Hertog notes in this book, most of Hitler’s contemporaries experienced the same culture and environment and didn’t turn into rabid Jew-haters, let alone perpetrators of genocide. In this study, the author investigates what we do know about the roots of the German leader’s anti-Semitism. He also takes the significant step of mapping out what we do not know in detail, opening pathways to further research. Focusing not only on history but on psychology, forensic psychiatry, and related fields, he reveals how Hitler was a man with highly paranoid traits, and clarifies the causes behind this paranoia while explaining its connection to his anti-Semitism. The author also explores, and answers, whether the Führer gave one specific instruction ordering the elimination of Europe’s Jews, and, if so, when this took place. Peter den Hertog is able to provide an all-encompassing explanation for Hitler’s anti-Semitism by combining insights from many different disciplines—and makes clearer how Hitler’s own particular brand of anti-Semitism could lead the way to the Holocaust.
Download or read book My Ancestor Was a Merchant Seaman written by C. T. Watts and published by . This book was released on 1990-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Family Fact Sheet written by and published by . This book was released on 199? with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Guide to the Naval Records in the National Archives of the UK written by Randolph Cock and published by Institute of Historical Research. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tracing Your Family History written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Ocean Class of the Second World War written by Malcolm Cooper and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2021-12-30 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new book tells the story of the Ocean class of standard cargo ships, their design, building, and careers, and the author places them firmly in the context of the battle of the Atlantic which was raging at the time of the first launchings. They entered the vanguard of the Allied shipping effort at a time when the German U-boat threat was at its most dangerous, and British shipping resources were stretched to the limit. They were deployed in the North Atlantic, on the long supply routes around Africa to the Middle East, in the Russian convoys, in operations in support of the invasions of North Africa and Italy and the land campaigns which followed, in the D-Day landings, and later amphibious operations on the south coast of France. Finally, some of the class joined an invasion force making its way towards Malaya when Japan surrendered in August 1945. The Oceans paid a heavy price for these accomplishments, one third of the class being lost to torpedoes, bombs, or mines in places as far apart as the Florida coast, the Norwegian Sea, the Bay of Algiers, and the Gulf of Oman. While these achievements alone would merit an important place in histories of the war at sea, the impact of the Oceans stretched far beyond the direct contribution of the ships themselves. The yards where they were built also served as models for a series of new American shipyards, designed to mass produce cargo vessels with such speed and in such volume as to completely reverse the mathematics of attrition, which had run so badly against the Allies into 1942. Even more important, the Oceans’ blueprints were used as the basis for the American Liberty ship, the 2,700-strong fleet which finally tilted the balance of the war at sea decisively in the Allies’ favor and went on to underpin the post-war renewal of the world merchant fleet. This comprehensive new history, based on extensive archival research and lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs, restores the Oceans to their rightful place in history. The ships’ design antecedents are explained, and their ordering, financing, and construction analyzed in full. Wartime operations are covered in depth, by theater, and with full details of war losses and other casualties. The book concludes with an assessment of their subsequent peacetime careers and a comparison to other war-built designs. This is a model history of a highly significant class of ship.
Download or read book The Myth of the Press Gang written by Jeremiah Ross Dancy and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2015 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overturns the generally held view that the press gang was the main means of recruiting seamen by the British navy in the late eighteenth century. SHORTLISTED for the Society for Nautical Research's prestigious Anderson Medal. The press gang is generally regarded as the means by which the British navy solved the problem of recruiting enough seamen in the late eighteenth century. This book, however, based on extensive original research conducted primarily in a large number of ships' muster books, demonstrates that this view is false. It argues that, in fact, the overwhelming majority of seamen in the navy were there of their own free will. Taking a long view across the late eighteenth century but concentrating on the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815, the book provides great detail on the sort of men that were recruited and the means by which they were recruited, and includes a number of individuals' stories. It shows how manpower was a major concern for the Admiralty; how the Admiralty put in place a range of recruitment methods including the quota system; how it worried about depleting merchant shipping of sufficient sailors; and how, although most seamen were volunteers, the press gang was resorted to, especially during the initial mobilisation at the beginning of wars and to find certain kinds of particularly skilled seamen. The book also makes comparisons with recruitment methods employed by the navies of other countries and by the British army. J. Ross Dancy is Assistant Professor of History at Sam Houston State University.
Download or read book Sailor Malan Freedom Fighter written by Dilip Sarkar MBE and published by Air World. This book was released on 2021-06-09 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adolph Gysbert Malan was born in Wellington, South Africa. A natural leader and driven individual with a totally positive outlook, aged fourteen Malan became an officer cadet in the South African Merchant Navy, before being commissioned into the Royal Navy Reserve. Well-travelled and worldly-wise, aged twenty-five the intrepid adventurer applied for a Short Service Commission in the RAF. Universally known as ‘Sailor’ in the RAF, Malan became a fighter pilot. Shortly after war was declared, Malan was involved in the infamous ‘Battle of Barking Creek’, in which 74 Squadron mistakenly destroyed friendly Hurricanes. Then, over Dunkirk in May 1940, Malan’s exceptional ability was immediately demonstrated in combat and a string of confirmed aerial victories rapidly accumulated. The following month, Malan scored the Spitfire’s first nocturnal kill. By August 1940 he was commanding 74 Squadron, which he led with great distinction during the Battle of Britain. In March 1941, Malan was promoted and became the first Wing Commander (Flying) at Biggin Hill, leading the three-squadron-strong Spitfire wing during operations over northern France. After a break from operations, Malan went on to command a succession of fighter training units, passing on his tactical genius and experience, and producing his famous ‘Ten Rules of Air Fighting’ which are still cited today. By the war’s end, Group Captain Malan was the RAF’s tenth top-scoring fighter pilot. Leaving the RAF in 1945 and returning to South Africa, he was disgusted by Apartheid and founded the ‘Torch Commando’ of ex-servicemen against this appalling racist policy. This part of Malan’s life is equally as inspirational, in fact, as his wartime service, and actually tells us more about the man than just his RAF record. Tragically, in 1963, he died, prematurely, aged just fifty-three, of Parkinson’s. Written with the support of the Malan family, this biography is the full story of a remarkable airman and politician.
Download or read book Tracing an Ancestor in the Merchant Navy written by Great Britain. Public Record Office and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 1 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Allied Convoy System 1939 1945 written by Arnold Hague and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawn from one of largest collections of convoy records in existence, this book describes the development and operations of Allied convoy systems.
Download or read book Tracing Your British and Irish Ancestors written by Jonathan Scott and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-10-31 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonathan Scott is a freelance writer specializing in family history. He is a former deputy editor of Family History Monthly and has penned the Best Websites column for Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine since 2007. He also writes the magazines monthly Around Britain feature and compiles the end-of-year look-ahead at developments online. In addition to his work in family history, he has compiled Collecting Childrens Books and Rare Book Price Guide
