HI All Been a while since i visited these shores... Life gets in the way of best intentions sometimes. So, i am researching possible new book and i have a question: Where are LST Flotilla/Squadron war diaries in TNA records? Have searched 'Discovery' without success. Most of US Flotilla war diaries are on Fold 3 which is helpful. Thanks in advance
Have you checked the D Day Museum in Portsmouth? I think they hold the files of the old LST and Landing Craft Association. Not sure I've got those titles correct but hopefully a lead for you. There is also a couple of D Day Embarkation type groups on Facebook who should be able to help.
Sadly you can't find them on 'Discovery', because they generally no longer exist as post war the RN was very poor in keeping these sort of documents. The ADM53 series contains some ships logs, but many are missing. For example during my research regarding the destroyers taking part on Operation Jubilee, the only one I could find was for HMS Fernie (ADM53/115918) and that only covered the period of July 1942 to 11th August 1942. I've yet to see a landing craft Flotilla logbook. The 'Green List' in ADM210 would have have weekly lists of the various flotilla organisations, but unfortunately you'd have to be very lucky to find anything more detailed beyond that. Good luck on the search. Regards Steve
You're correct, they do indeed hold the Associations records. I was in touch with them a few years ago regarding Op Jubilee. Much of their archive is from former veterans, so it hit and miss what they hold, but there are some useful and interesting bits in it. Regards Steve
There are some RN reports of proceedings which cover named operations some of those, I think, include Flotilla reports. Regards Tom
Just to confirm Steve's comment. This from the National Archives: "Whilst all ships logs are continued for 1939 and the early months of 1940, thereafter, the majority of logs for ships smaller than cruisers appear not to have survived for the remaining war years." Tim
Indeed you can find some information for specific raids in ADM199 and also in the DEFE2 series (Combined Operations). For the example of Operation Jubilee, for some Flotillas I found some quite detailed reports, but for others there was virtually nothing. Regards Steve
Thanks everyone for replies and advice. Thanks Michael for posting docs. I am really surprised at RN record keeping given the care taken by Army and RAF in WWII; after all, warships are expensive bits of kit. I just thought my searching skills in "Discovery' were not very good... Will contact D-Day museum at Portsmouth. Cheers
I am not sure who is to blame for the loss of Landing Ships and Craft records. It might be the combined results of the Admiralty disdain for what most regular RN officers had always considered an inferior, temporary branch of the Service, and the often inconsiderate destruction of masses of records during the various relocations of the National Archives. Army records also suffered, with most Appendices to the War Diaries disappearing over time, in spite of the fact they usually contained the most interesting details.
if you tell them what you're looking for, they should be able to send you a list of any items that they have which might relate to your subject. So you can then decide whether it is worth a visit to look at their collection of documents or not. Regards, Steve
Thanks again for help. Email sent to D-Day Museum. A lot of items have been digitised on their website but are mainly photos and letters. I am actually looking at LST deployment in whole of WWII. Good US records but lack of British ones may leave a hole in my research. Michael- good to be in contact again. Re army diaries, i found that appendices are often found attached to original but were left out of any subsequent copies which is frustrating sometimes because, as you say, the appendices often contain great detail. Depends which copy you get. Laziness, lack of time and cost are all factors.
