Looking for information / crew/accounts of SS Beaconhill in the Forgotten Convoy to Russia 1943. My father W H (Bill) Twyford was an Armed Guard gunners mate. Also could someone advise as to how I would get the names of the ships he served on. Thank you.
I have lots of information for you. A Google search for "forgotten convoy" turns up numerous hits, some of which mention SS BEACONHILL in greater or lesser detail. See the following links:
Below is a list of the Armed Guard crew aboard BEACONHILL during the Forgotten Convoy, including your father. I have no idea whether any of these men are still living, nor would I have contact information for any that are.
Bailey, Paul Oliver Brackett, Thomas Earl Buss, Paul Raymond Clark, John Edward Clark, Orville Eugene Darland, William Howard Flick, Elvin Garner Goguen, Joseph Albert Glass, Albert Goodman, Solomon Holys, Frank John (or Holyn) Huff, Alvin Eldren Humphrey, Richard Howard Hutton, Howard Freeland Ingle, James Albert Johnson Jr., Everette T Johnson, Leslie Peter Jones, Earlin Lester Lashway, Harold Gilbert Morand, Peter Anthony Melanson, Edward Bernard Miller, Vernon Paul Mumblow, George Andy Merritt, Julian Thomas Piscatella, Anthony M Spaise, Angel Spaise, John Towns, Lunas Webster Twyford, William Henry Young, Gilbert S Ensign, Armed Guard Commanding Officer
The above information comes from a search of the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) for your father's name and found this record for his "Forgotten Convoy" voyage aboard BEACONHILL. (This website is more commonly used for genealogical research but I have found that it contains lists of crew members and passengers of merchant ships that arrived in certain U.S. ports of entry following a foreign voyage. Information for the port of New York is especially extensive. I have been successful in finding many merchant seamen and Armed Guard officers and sailors in this manner.)
The same search produced results for your father serving aboard other ships and/or other voyages. Below is a list of the ships and voyages including date of arrival in New York and the last foreign port before its return to New York:
SS BEACONHILL arrived New York 10/12/42 from Glasgow, Scotland SS BEACONHILL arrived New York 12/09/42 from Liverpool, England SS BEACONHILL arrived New York 12/04/43 from Archangel, Russia (the Forgotten Convoy)
SS TUSTAM arrived New York 02/01/44 from Aruba SS TUSTAM arrived New York 02/22/44 from Aruba SS TUSTAM arrived New York 03/17/44 from Curacao SS TUSTAM arrived New York 04/15/44 from Curacao SS TUSTAM arrived New York 06/05/44 from Aruba
SS SAN ANTONIO arrived New York 12/07/44 from Avonmouth, England
The above list may not be comprehensive; note that the last voyage I found for him was still well before the end of the war. For a complete list of all of the ships in which your father served, you may wish to try to obtain your father's military service records, which should provide that, along with possibly a great deal of other information. See this page within the Armed Guard website, http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html, in particular section II.A.1 - Records of Individuals, Military, for instructions on requesting a copy of his records. You will have to contact the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, and provide as much identifying information as you have (name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, Social Security Number, military ID number ["serial number"], etc.). The page has links to all of the information you will need to request his records, including a required form. There will likely be a charge for researching, photocopying and mailing the records but the Records Center staff will alert you to the cost before beginning work. Once you have his records and if you have any more questions, come back and ask them.
Of particular use to you in contacting the National Personnel Records Center, I noticed that one of the records I found for him at Ancestry.com included his serial number, or military identification number. His serial number was 656-21-69. Quoting that number when contacting the Records Center may be the single most useful bit of information you can provide, aside from his name.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com
Ron, Thank you so very much for all of the information / links/ suggestions. Your response brought a big smile to me and I appreciate you help and efforts so much.
Hello there. I am trying to research the wartime record of my late father, John A Trainer who was a young 21 year old crew member, Merchant navy, of the SS Beaconhill when she docked in NY in Dec 4 1943. Is it ossicle to learn more about this episode or where would the best place to start? Thank you in advance for your help. Cornelius
At the risk of being accused of posting too often here, I would like to say that every now and again I note that someone is trying to learn something of a father or grandfather and then is helped beyond any likelihood by Ron. This warms my old heart, and this is something that doesn't happen often. Blessings on you, every one. -- Fran