Transcription help please - my great uncle Jack, RNR

[SaraF]

Good evening all,

This forum has already helped me immensely in understanding my grandfathers Army service in WW1 so now I'm hoping that you naval chaps and chapesses can help me unravel my great uncle Jack's service with the RNR.

I have downloaded his service records from TNA but the quality of the handwriting, the loss of definition in the download and my complete ignorance of naval matters is giving me some problems! 

I have made some progress but am currently struggling to decipher on which ship he served between 17/08/18 and being demobbed on 25/06/19. He is recorded as joining HMS Grafton on 17/08/18 with (addl) in brackets and then 'and on Coxxxx - serp'd.

I don't think he actually joined Grafton (in the same way as he never joined Alsation where he was also (addl) but went straight onto Ambrose) but what is Coxxxx ? Also what is serp'd? 

I also have his full service record (as well as the brief document attached here) which has masses of text which is illegible, is there any way of getting a better copy than the TNA downloads?

Thanks in anticipation, Sara

PS: he also joined Roxburgh when it was still being repaired after a torpedo strike - but was seconded onto HMS Warrior for a period of time - so there are a few layers of complexity that I'm grappling with!

Brief service record.pdf

[horatio2]

On 18/02/2024 at 21:04, SaraF said:

the quality of the handwriting, the loss of definition in the download

I too find his records almost unreadable - and that also applies to his other RNR record in ADM 340  - https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8291085 

The ADM 240 entry appears to read 17.8.18 GRAFTON (addl) and on re-commng - Supd.

(addl) means that his appointment to GRAFTON was additional to the normal ship's complement of officers.

on reocommng means his appointment was to coincide with GRAFTON's recommissioning in service. As can be seen from GRAFTON's log, she was undergoing two months of dockyard repairs at Malta from 2 August 1918   -   https://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-05-HMS_Grafton.htm.   However, the log does not mention a re-commissioning and there was no change of Commanding Officer between July 1917 and August 1919. Nor is a large change-over of ship's company recorded. GRAFTON remained at Malta until 10 October 1918.

Supd. from the ADM 340 record appears to mean superseded but no further detail is readable and it may refer to a pre-GRAFTON appointment. The Navy Lists from December 1918 to June 1918 show Lt HUDSON as one of GRAFTON's five Lieutenants RNR, some of whom had been serving in her since 1916.

That is the best I can make of difficult records.

[horatio2]

On 18/02/2024 at 21:04, SaraF said:

I don't think he actually joined Grafton (in the same way as he never joined Alsation where he was also (addl) but went straight onto Ambrose)

There is nothing to suggest that he never joined GRAFTON at Malta in August 1918, as you suggest. In fact all the evidence shows that he did join and served in her for about nine months.

His two appointments to ALSATIAN and AMBROSE are not unusual. He was first appointed to the flag ship of 10th Cruiser Squadron, ALSATIAN, on 20 March 1915 and four days later he was given a new appointment to AMBROSE. There is no way of telling if he actually joined ALSATIAN, who was at Liverpool on 20 March. However, the log of AMBROSE records on 23 March 1915 at Birkenhead "1.45am: Two Sub-Lieutenants joined the ship.", one them probably Sub Lt HUDSON.   -   https://oldweather.s3.amazonaws.com/ADM53-33488/ADM53-33488-015_1.jpg   He remained in AMBROSE until she was paid off at Greenock (James Watt dock) on 20 October 1915.

Such a short-notice change of appointment is not unusual - TO MEET THE REQUIRMENTS OF THE SERVICE.

In both appointments he would probably have been employed "for duty with prize crews." Both ships would have been rich in RNR junior officers for this work. References show that ALSATIAN had 48 RNR officers and the much smaller AMBROSE had 29.

The log of HMS ROXBURGH has several entries for Lt HUDSON   -   https://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-05-HMS_Roxburgh.htm

Edited 20 February by horatio2

[SaraF]

@horatio2 thank you so much for your replies. All information is so useful in helping me understand and fill the gaps. 

On the logs for Grafton there is an entry for 12th October 1918 which records 2 RNR Lieutenants joining the ship on the day she left Malta - possibly one of whom was Lt Hudson, but that still leaves his whereabouts between August and October a bit of a mystery! 

One further question, if I may. What does 'for duty with prize crews' mean? I believe that prize crews are those who could claim the sinking of an enemy vessel but don't understand the significance of the comment.

As an aside, Lt Hudson returned to the Merchant Navy after the war and continued at sea until 1939 when I have a feeling he may have returned to the RNR but I haven't uncovered anything to confirm this yet. 

Thanks again for your time, Sara

[horatio2]

1 hour ago, SaraF said:

there is an entry for 12th October 1918 which records 2 RNR Lieutenants joining the ship on the day she left Malta

Quite possibly but they joined GRAFTON at Taranto. Lt SCOTT RNR was appointed to GRAFTON two days after Lt HUDSON and both officers could have joined together. That is the problem with records: they tell us which ship a man was borne in (for command, pay and admin) on any date but they do not tell us where he was physically. Men could be, for example, be sent on leave between appointments, be absent on courses or be on passage from UK but still be on the books of a ship remote from these locations.

1 hour ago, SaraF said:

What does 'for duty with prize crews' mean?

The 10th Cruiser Squadron, which included HMS AMBROSE, was charged with enforcing the maritime blockade of Germany. Ships, including neutrals, could be intercepted and required to under go an inspection. RN crews, called prize crews, usually commanded by an RNR officer like HUDSON,  were often placed on board to ensure compliance and to direct merchant ships to the clearance port, usually Kirkwall, for inspection of their cargoes and passengers.

Edited 20 February by horatio2