RNR and fishery reserve

[jp1885]

Hi,

In addition to researching my own relatives, I'm also looking into the WW1 service of my wife's ancestors, namely her grandad RGE Kennington and his father AE Kennington.

Thanks to Ancestry's current free viewing of naval medal rolls, I have found the following:-

RNR

Name: Robt G E Kennington

Medal or Award: Victory Medal, British War Medal

Service Year: 1914-1920

Service Location: Europe

Campaign or Service: World War I

Service Number: 1001/Sbd

Rank: Dk boy (I assume deck boy?)

Fishery Reserve

Name: Arthur E Kennington

Medal or Award: British War Medal

Service Year: 1914-1920

Service Location: Europe

Campaign or Service: World War I

Service Number: 9731

Rank: Ck (I assume cook?)

Purchasing a digital copy of Arthur's medal card off TNA also shows that he was awarded the Mercantile Marine Medal.

Both gentlemen worked on the trawlers out of Grimsby.

I'm curious to know what the difference was between the RNR (I assume actually RNR/T) and the fishery reserve. What duties were they called upon to perform? Would it mainly be minesweeping?

Thanks in advance!

[horatio2]

RNR (Trawler Section) (Robert) - Principally minesweeping and anti-submarine duties. He later served as a deckhand. Both his original RNR records are at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

Fishery Reserve (Arthur) - Fishing. There are no records for these men.

[jp1885]

Ah great - thanks very much for the info!

[jp1885]

Just on the offchance, would the Fleet Air Arm Museum records state what vessel(s) Robert served on?

[horatio2]

Yes.

[jp1885]

Thanks - next time I'm that neck of the woods I'll have to make an appointment.

[jp1885]

Well now I've got downloads of the naval service records for the two Kenningtons from the National Archives (thanks to the good folk at the ships nostalgia forum, on which i am also posting this)...

Arthur's record shows him as serving as cook on the trawler Fortuna. A quick search on the internet shows that this vessel was requisitioned for the Fishery Reserve in 1917 and Arthur joined the crew in 1918. Looking at other ship's logs on the internet, some encountered the Fortuna on her way to/from Iceland.

Alas, while she survived the first world war, she was sunk by German aircraft during the second one, with the loss of all hands.

Arthur's son Robert's record shows a number of vessels and shore stations between 1917-19 on the second page thus:- HMS Pekin (shore station at Grimsby?), HMS Victory (shore station at Portsmouth?), HMS Brilliant, HMS Idaho (shore station at Milford Haven?), HMS Egmont (Malta or Chatham?) HMS Caesar, back to HMS Egmont and lastly back to HMS Victory.

Could anyone give me a potted history of these stations/vessels or any photos that I can show my father in law (his son?)