Dear Sir,
I am trying to find out anything I can about my fathers' time in the service during the Second World War. At present all I have to go on is that he served on the Campbell and the Bicester between 1939 and 1945. Would you or any of the other visitors to your website have any other information that they could pass on to me.
My father passed away in 1990 and I have no other family members to whom I can turn for information. I have also posted a search on Forces Reunited.
My fathers name was Joseph Henry Warburton, I'm afraid I do not even know his rank in the service but from a photo in my possesion I can determine that he was not an officer.
Thanks in advance.
Gary Warburton.
Gary,
If you send me a copy of your Father's photo, I can probably get some info from that for you, eg, a Naval Rating, does it show any badges on the arms?
For Royal Navy personnel records see below:
The records of British RN personnel are held at 3 different locations, depending primarily on the time when a person entered or served in the Navy or an auxiliary service.
1. MoD. Ministry of Defence,
CS(RM)2A,
Bourne Avenue,
Hayes,
Middlesex UB3 1RF,
England
2. Centurion. Naval Pay & Pensions (Accounts),
Centurion Building,
Grange Road,
Gosport,
Hampshire PO13 9XA
England
In both of the above archives, only written enquiries from next-of-kin are accepted, and a search fee is charged. There is an ongoing process of moving selected records from these locations to:
3. PRO. The Public Record Office,
Kew,
Richmond,
Surrey TW9 4DU
England.
I believe you should start with the Ministry of Defence to ask about your father's records.
For his Medal awards go to:
For information on medals awarded to RN personnel in recent years (1939 to the present time) write to
RN Medal Office,
Room 3105,
Centurion Building,
Grange Road,
Gosport,
Hampshire PO13 9XA
England
Some detail for HMS Campbell from IN MEMORY OF JAMES (JIM) "DUTCHY" HOLLAND.
HMS CAMPBEL (D60)
photo taken about 1942 from Destroyer HMS Vivacious
CREST
Flotilla Leader of 21st Destroyer flotilla based at Harwich
Scott CLass Destroyer
Launched 21st Sept 1918. Scrapped at Rosyth 18th Feb 1947
BATTLE HONOURS
NORWAY 1940
ATLANTIC 1940-1943
NORTH SEA 1941-1945
DOVER STRAITS 1942
* ARCTIC 1942
NORMANDY 1944
ENGLISH CHANNEL 1942-1944
* HMS Campbell was an escort destroyer on Russian convoy PQ.18
Russian convoy routes 1941 - 1945
Map of Channel dash Feb.1942
Some detail for HMS Bicester. from Uboat.net
HMS Bicester (L 34)
Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type II) class
Navy: The Royal Navy
Type: Escort destroyer
Class: Hunt (Type II)
Pennant: L 34
Built by: Hawthorn Leslie & Co. (Hebburn-on-Tyne, U.K.)
Ordered:
Laid down: 29 May, 1940
Launched: 5 Sep, 1941
Commissioned: 9 May, 1942
End service:
Loss position: ,
History: Scrapped at Grays on 22 August 1956.
Noteable events involving Bicester include:
23 Feb, 1943
The German submarine U-443 was sunk in the Mediterranean near Algiers, in position 36º55'N, 02º25'E, by depth charges from the British escort destroyers HMS Bicester (Lt.Cdr. S.W.F. Bennetts, RN) and HMS Lamerton (Lt.Cdr. C.R. Purse, DSC, RN), HMS Wheatland (Lt.Cdr. R.deL. Brooke, DSC, RN).
I hope this helps your quest
Regards,
Mackenzie Gregory.
back to letters index
