Army Records

I was informed by email today that Army Records Hayes was hit by a bomb in 1940 and the fires and water used to extinguish them resulted in many pre WW2 records being destroyed. I have come across a similar story regarding US records and again with Irish birth records from the time of the uprising but never before for English records. Has anyone else heard this?

I have been trying to trace the wartime records of my father in law without success. I am wondering if he "deserted" as later in the war I have records of him being in the Merchant Navy. Suggestions where I might find records of deserters would be appreciated.

 

Daisy,
Could you give us a little more information on your father-in law?
Are you looking for U.S. military records? There was a fire at the National Archives in 1973 but not all records were destroyed.

 

Hi Buten42,

I can give some info but it may not be that helpful - Dad could be described s the original invisible man!! I have started many threads on similar sites trying to fill the holes in his past without success - you would only have to put his name into a google search.

Dominic Michael Stringer was born 14.4.1919 or 1922 - I have yet to get a birth certificate in spite of an exhaustive search. He was brought up in Glasgow in 1920's and 1930's. possibly by his grandmother. He got into some sort of trouble and had to "get out of Glasgow in a hurry" (his words). We believe he most likely joined the Army or the Navy. He may have attended St Aloysuis College, Glasgow but again this is not verified. This is virtually all we have on his early years.

He escaped from Singapore on the night of February 13/14 1942 on board a harbour water boat called Daisy. This is the first substantive record of his existance! Daisy, captained by W. H. Walmsley had six civilians on board - all middle management and all Scottish plus an NCO and five other ranks. Dad is most likely one of the other ranks and has been recognised from a photograph by someone who helped him escape across Sumatra. I do not know what he was doing in Singapore nor how he got there. Most of this group escaped to Australia but I cannot prove that DM Stringer went the same way, he may have gone via Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and then disappeared.

Late in 1942, he was torpedoed and sunk somewhere off Trinidad, rescued and landed in Trinidad. Here he met a recruiter for the USED Army Marine Division and joined the crew of one of their tugs called Delamar. Delamar was forced to Christmas in Barbados due to damage and here DM Stringer met and married in Bridgetown Cathedral 30.1.1943 their son (my husband) was born the following December. At some point during this year he changed ships from Delamar to Wellandoc - both I believed had been requisitioned by the US War Administration. Again he disappeared but it i know (from envelopes sent to his wife) that he visited British Guyana and later he appeared in New York where he introduced himself to his sister in law.

May 1944 saw DM Stringer signing off Wellandoc into CanPool in Montreal. From here until the end of the war we have a copy of a British Merchant Navy CRS10 showing various ships on which he served - mostly in the Med. This document gives his d.o.b. as 14.4.1919 Eire. During this time he had a number of "disputes" with senior officers getting into trouble on more than one occasion - twice his antics resulted in Naval Courts. During the course of the one which was held in Rome DM Stringer appealed to the Irish Consulate for help - citing his Irish birth. Help was given so somehow he managed to prove he was born in Eire.!

I have been researching DM Stringer for almost 30 years and my knowledge has expanded from just knowing about his Glasweigan accent, the Daisy and his marriage in Barbdos to what you see above! These are the bare bones of his history but the CRS10 entry stating his birth 14.4.1919 Eire is still the closest I have to a formal document about him with the exception of his death. DM Stringer died in London in November 1986.

Any questions please ask and I will try to answer them. Thanks to all for reading and any suggestions on how to proceed will be much appreciated

 

Daisy, I'm afraid this is way out of my league. Someone with more European expertise will have to help.
Sounds like he had one exciting and exotic life.

 

I don't know Buten42 - The records of the USED ought to be somewhere though I have no idea where. Currently I have "feelers" out in UK, Eire, Scotland, USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand. One time I was staggered to write to Trinidad trying to contact someone ho had known Dad only to get an answer from the Isle of Man. With Dad's antics I can never be sure where this search is going to lead......