Some time ago a relative applied for the Arctic Star for his late father, what was required was documented proof the his father was entitled to the award, this proof could not be supplied so the application was turned down. My relative recalls his father telling that he was on the Arctic convoys sailing from Glasgow to Murmansk during WW2, but has no proof of this. All I have is the following...... Henry Charles Gateshill Date of Birth - 13 February 1922 - Passed away early 1980s? Home town - South Shields Home address - 13 Albermarl Street? Pre war served with Ben Line Post war served with Associated Humber Lines - Hull to Hamburg 1946 - 1948? Then became a Humber Pilot. Any help would be very much appreciated. Regards Peter
Peter, did he have a copy of his seaman's pouch and CRS10 form? His pouch is here R157254 GATESHILL H C 13/02/1917 SOUTH SHIELDS | The National Archives The CRS10 will detail his voyages. Lee
Hi Peter Hopefully Hugh or Billy will be able to help you out with expert advice about medal applications. Your relatives probably already have these, but just in case... and the YOB stated below is different. £3.45 for download Medal listing of Gateshill, Henry Charles Discharge number: R157254 Date of... | The National Archives Reference: BT 395/1/34540 Description: Medal listing of Gateshill, Henry Charles Discharge number: R157254 Date of Birth: 13 February 1917 also Seaman's Pouch ( Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Central Register of Seamen: Seamen's Records ('Pouches') | The National Archives ) : R157254 GATESHILL H C 13/02/1917 SOUTH SHIELDS | The National Archives Reference: BT 372/107/140 Description: R157254 GATESHILL H C 13/02/1917 SOUTH SHIELDS Date: 1913-1972 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Former reference in its original department R157254 From Ancestry: Birth: Name: Henry C Gateshill Mother's Maiden Surname: Hunter Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1917 Registration district: South Shields Inferred County: Durham Volume Number: 10a Page Number: 1347 Death: Name: Henry Charles Gateshill Birth Date: 13 Feb 1917 Date of Registration: Dec 1973 Age at Death: 56 Registration district: Hull Inferred County: Yorkshire East Riding Volume: 2a Page: 840
Many thank to both of you for your replies, the year of birth I have is 1922 so I have asked for clarification on this, I'll re-post again when I get a response. Regards Peter.
Hi Peter, The Registrar of Shipping and Seamen in Cardiff require proof of Time and Area qualification to support the application of MN medals. I have dealt with many such cases and my advice to you would be to obtain his CRS 10 which should be held at Kew in piece BT 382/632 also the Pouch as already mentioned in BT 372/107/140. As Lee has said the CRS 10 will hopefully provide voyage details listing all ships from Jan, 1941, this would satisfy the Time qualification. Once you have this we can study whether any of the ships listed served in the Arctic. Assuming we can then the next step would be to obtain the Movement Card for the ship(s) which would satisfy the Area qualification requirement.When you have this detail then we go back to Cardiff. Just shout if you need any further advice or help. Regards Hugh
Many thanks Hugh, I'll see what can be done, at the moment I'm just dipping my toes into this one as I'm not sure if my relative or myself will be taking this forward. I will of course pass on the info gained so far and see what happens. Regards Peter
Just to confirm that we do have the correct seaman. I have emailed my relative with the intermediate costs and asked if we should proceed with the research. I await his reply. Peter
The N/A have advised that I should receive the above seaman's records (two A3 pages) by 28 October. Fingers crossed
I have received the relavent documents from the N/A but to be honest I'm very disappointed with them. So much is blanked out, especially the page re the ships served on, they recon this is personel info. They are now asking for a death certificate as proof of death before revealing the full document. I have contacted the son of the deceased re the certificate and hopefully will receive a positive result.....it goes on and on
Hi Peter, The only thing that should be redacted on the MN records are personal information such as national insurance number etc. There is no way a list of ships recorded on a CRS 10 should be redacted. Can I confirm we are talking about BT 382 and BT 372, if so this is very much news to me - I have never had ships redacted from a CRS10 and I get these records frequently. Regards Hugh
Whilst researching the records to prove my own father's entitlement to the Arctic Star I found that only a little more effort was required to support an application for all his campaign medals which he had never bothered to claim himself.
Thank you for that, shows there is light at then end of the tunnel. It's looking very good at the moment due to a couple of forum members.
Good Grief Peter ! They make deciphering army records seem like reading a Janet & John book. Good Luck !
Hi Peter, I expected nothing less All the qualifying ships are on the first page of the CRS 10 - I don't see any that would qualify him for the award but if you can send them to my email and I will study it in more depth from a better copy. Regards Hugh
I'm pleased to say that this request for help has been resolved due to the power of this forum and two individuals (you know who you are) who went out of their way to help. Thank you
