Arctic Medal Entitlement

[quaggs]

I'm having a devil of a time getting the Arctic Medal on behalf of the family. Dad is deceased and one year later after application the MOD advises there are no records to support the application.

He was posted on Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships as a RN gunner but there appears to be no record of any ships he served on, I have his Service Record, which is also short on ships he served on.

Where does a bloke go from here?

[Lesley Robertson]

If you have come to British Genealogy from FWR, please read THIS message.

The MOD has not released WW2 records yet. The page at TNA about Navy medals leads to 3 sets of Navy records (see section 4.2).

When you say "short on ships" do you mean that there's time gaps, or that he didn't serve on many ships?

[LOVAT#]

A DEMS gunner can be quite difficult to trace for various reasons but mainly due to the fact that on his service record, as you have found out, there is only mention of his accounting bases - these are establishments that had the ratings on their books and handled their account while they were deployed at sea on board merchant ships.

Contact the email address below and ask if they can supply a list of ships from his Pay & Victualing ledger records. Give full details including his official number and mention he was a RN DEMS gunner. If they can't help you then you will have a difficult task. There are other ways to find out his seagoing ships by checking MN Crew Agreements but you will need the name of at least one ship to proceed on that basis and one preferably at the end of his service. If you need any further advice please feel free to ask.

navysearchpgrc AT tnt DOT co DOT uk

Regards
Hugh

[quaggs]

Thanks Lesley. My father served on scores of ships all over the place but only his ' Stone Frigates" or administrative pay offices show on his service record. HMS President 3 being the main office.

There is a mention on his record of DEMS service but no ships listed.

Thanks,

Ian

[quaggs]

Thanks Hugh, I will give it a try. I should have asked Dad more about it when alive but alas I didn't.

Cheers,

Ian

[annieann]

quagg I am looking for the same thing hoope you are successful and if you are maybe you could help me

[quaggs]

Dear Annie. Sorry for the delay in replying. I have been away overseas. I have had no luck re the Arctic medal. It's all a matter of how much I am willing to spend. Every enquiry I make carries with it a fee. It may be better if I get a researcher involved. Not sure what it will cost. I am still thinking about it. Good luck. Ian.