Convoy cargo manifests

Discussion in 'The War at Sea' started by Phaethon, Jun 10, 2010.

  1. Phaethon

    Phaethon Historian

    Does anyone know if these still exist? I've had a look at the TNA but can't find anything; i'm currently really interested in finding out what exactly was shipped to europe (obviously i'm interested in the CMF) and was wondering how exact the records kept were; if they're still around and if so if its possible to access them.

    I haven't researched this sort of thing before, so I'm a complete begginner in this area.
     
  2. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    If you do find out, I'd be interested to know exactly what was aboard the 'Thistlegorm' It would solve a few old discussions !
     
  3. Andy H

    Andy H Member

    Hi

    I'm sure you wont mind the help of a former Guardsmen (Queens Coy 1st Btn Grenadier Guards) :D though to ease your pain I transferred to Intel after a year B)

    I found this

    <H3>Cargo

    The Shipping Movement Cards, mentioned above, record the movements of both British registered and Allied vessels engaged in the war effort. Each set of cards records the name of the ship, any former name it had, its size (tonnage), to whom it was registered, the ship’s destination, date of arrival and sometimes ports of call. They also record any cargo carried on board. Importantly the cards also show if the ship was torpedoed, mined, damaged or sunk. These are now to be found at The National Archives in series BT 389 and are available online at DocumentsOnline.
    Records of the Government War Risks Insurance Scheme, now found at The National Archives in series BT 228, are particularly useful for researching a ship’s cargo.
    Lloyd's War Losses has brief information on cargo. Some extra details may be found in Lloyd's List: Confidential Movements if salvage work was carried out or wreckage was washed ashore.
    Cargo manifests sometimes survive in Custom House records at the vessel's last port of departure. The location of archives for specific British Custom Houses can be obtained from the Customs & Excise Departmental Records Unit. The central file of Bills of Entry, now held by Merseyside Maritime Museum, may be more comprehensive. The British Library Newspaper Library has a file for London Bills of entry only.

    </H3>I can visit the Merseyside Maritime Museum for you I you wish with any specifics, as its not to far away

    Regards

    Andy H
     
  4. Hugh MacLean

    Hugh MacLean Senior Member

    You can download THISTLEGORM's movement card for £3.50 from this link: BT 389/29. However, you wont find the level of detail about the cargo that you are expecting.

    Regards
    Hugh
     
  5. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Thanks Hugh for the information and for your advice. If possible, I'd like to see vehicle types and census numbers ! That's presumably too much to expect ?
     
  6. Austin k2y

    Austin k2y Member

    Hi
    If you go to the Australian War memorial web sit and look up "whats my ARN?" many for the census nos.(ARN)
    the books list the names of ships used , and census nos. of vehicles carried, .
    not ideal for Europe , but these ships did the rounds.
    regs
    Rupert
     

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