MV Amerika lost at sea 22nd April 1943

My main focus on joining the website is undertaking some family research on a member of my family who was lost at sea during WW2. Sadly I never knew him and the family never talked about the tragic loss . I have since found out he was called Alfred William Griffiths (29) a 3rd Radio Officer on the M.V Amerika which was sunk by German submarine U-306 on Convoy HX234 22nd April 1943.

Apart from trying to find out about his family background as many of my family members are now deceased , I would like to find out about his Merchant Naval career in how he became a radio office, the training , and the ships he served on. Personally I had a career spent in telecommunications and would be interested in the type of radio equipment used onboard the M.V Amerika and any anecdotal stories other members can re-call. or useful links.

There are old radio officers on site ,I say old not discrimatory but in the years you mention. They will be aware of the various wave bands used in that period and the radios themselves which were all valve sets. Today on ships you have user friendly radios which bridge watchkeepers can use , so the old type radio Officer is redundant to most extremes . I think the ship you mention will soon be unearthed not by me , but by others on site who have more finesse in that subject , good hunting JS.

GRIFFITHS, Third Radio Officer, ALFRED JAMES, M.V. Amerika (London). Merchant Navy. 22nd April 1943. Age 29. Son of James and Annie Griffiths, of Ashley, Staffordshire.

Passenger cargo ship Amerika, 10,219grt, (MOWT, United Baltic Corporation) loaded a general cargo including flour, meat and bags of mail as well as fifty-three passengers at Halifax, Nova Scotia bound for Liverpool, joined up with the 46 ship Convoy HX-234, which departed New York on the 12th April 1943. On the 22nd April 1943 South of Cape Farewell in position 57’ 30N 42’ 50W the Amerika found herself almost straggling behind the main convoy in atrocious weather and heavy seas and in the early hours of the same morning the ship was struck almost simultaneously by two torpedoes in number two and four holds fired from U-306. The ship was immediately ordered abandoned and with great difficulty a number of lifeboats were launched. As the ship began her final descent a number of rafts and boats struck the ships funnel and engine room ventilators, capsizing one of the boats and within thirty minutes of the attack the Amerika sank in position 57’ 30N 42’ 50W. The fifty-four survivors were rescued two hours later by the Corvette HMS Asphodel and landed at Greenock on the 28th April. Forty-two crewmembers, seven DEMS gunners and thirty-seven passengers belonging to the Royal Canadian Air force perished, many from the effects of exposure before rescue arrived.

His CRS-10 service file if it has survived should be held at the National Archives at Kew, but this would incur costs if you cannot visit in person or get someone to access his file. The records you require are held in the 1941 to 1972 Fifth Register of Merchant Seaman's Service. Alfred’s records should be held in BT 382/695 covering the surnames “Griffin A to Griffith D A” These files are held in block by surname of up to 60 individuals and the reason why you would to check in person or pay for a private researcher.

These details from his CRS-10 include the following information: Name of seaman, Date and place of birth, Discharge (Seaman’s) book number, Rank, Details of the ships on which he served. These include: Name of ship and official number, date of engagement (Joining ship), Date of discharge (Leaving ship), whether ship was a foreign going of home trade vessel, and records in some cases National Insurance contributions. Details shown in these records are similar to those contained in an individual seaman's discharge book.

Thank you all for this information....this is amazing !

The date of birth is correct and all the information is really good. I will try and obtain a copy of his service file(CR10). Would that contain a picture of him on enlistment as none of my family have any pictures of him they can recall.I only remember at a very young age of 7 seen a framed black and white photo on my grandmother's piano when we used to visit at Christmas but sadly the family could not talk about him
even though Alfred was my late father's elder cousin.

Attached is a copy of the actual Medal Card. They hold information on maybe a dozen or more individuals. I have circled his name. Below is information on how to interpret the card.

At the conclusion of World War 2 an initial medal assessment was carried out and medal papers were raised including details of a seaman’s service. These were sent to ports to await the signature of the veteran, as to the accuracy of the information, and then returned to the RGSS. Medals were not automatically issued but had to be claimed by the veteran. These papers are still retained by the MCA but, due to the ravages of time and the process, are not now totally complete. This series contains Database of World War II Medals issued to Merchant Seamen 1946-2002 which is a record of medals claimed and issued. This gives details of the ribbons and medals issued to individual seamen for their service in World War 2. It records each seaman’s name plus, usually, his discharge book number and date and place of birth as well as the medals, ribbons and clasps issued together with a reference to the medal papers file.

The medals awarded are indicated by:

1939: 1939-1945 Star
AT: Atlantic Star
AF: Africa Star
PA: Pacific Star
BU: Burma Star
FR: France and Germany Star
WM: War Medal
IT: Italy Star
CL: Clasp
OLE: Oak Leaf

A cross (×) drawn through a symbol indicates the issue of that medal; a circle (O) drawn through a symbol indicates that only the ribbon for that medal has been issued. If a cross and a circle have been used then both a medal and a ribbon have been issued. An R sometimes appears and signifies that an application for that medal was reviewed and refused. The number on the far right is the actual file number for Alfred held by the MCA

Medal Officer
MCA
PO Box 420
Cardiff
CF24 5XR

Attachment 34238

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James Griffiths

I will try and obtain a copy of his service file(CR10). Would that contain a picture of him on enlistment as none of my family have any pictures of him they can recall.

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CRS-10 files only have his sea service. What you need to apply for is a copy of his Seaman's Pouch held at Kew in BT 372/315/6. If you get lucky a lot of these pouches hold a photograph from the individuals ID Card. Click on link below to request a copy and cost.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...ils/r/C8180001

Thank You....

Yes I tried to PM Bob Corn through this website a a few days ago but the account does not appear to be active since November 2008.

Through some work with the Ancestry. co.uk with a family tree segment which is not fully complete yet, I have not used Find My Past .

Also attached is the burial plot of Alfred 's parents which I visited recently. As parents they saw fit to provide their own recognition of their awful loss .....I was not aware of the death of a baby daughtet but thank you for this information.

Thank you for this ...

for the sake of clarity which 3 medals would Alfred have been entitled to....the columns on the attachment are not very clear t me , sorry :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James Griffiths

Thank you for this ...

for the sake of clarity which 3 medals would Alfred have been entitled to....the columns on the attachment are not very clear t me , sorry :(

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The 1939-1945 War Medal, Atlantic Star and 1939-1945 Star.