Torpedo Badge

[Richard Joy]

Thanks for letting me join this Forum. This is my first post!

William Walter Frederick Joy (born 1880 in Shadwell, London), my grandfather, was awarded a torpedo badge during WW1.

William was in the Merchant Navy during WW1, and was awarded The British War Medal 1914-18 and the Mecantile Marine War Medal on 9th July 1921. He was also awarded the First World War Mercantile Marine Torpedo Badge; issued to sailors surviving a ship hit by a torpedo or mine.

His C.R.10 card showed him to be on the Archangel (formerly the St. Petersburg owned by the Great Eastern Railway Company) on 29 Apr 1919. His address was also given as 43 Austin Street, Ipswich.

I can confirm he was on the SS Copenhagen in 1915 .....

Ship: Copenhagen; Official number: 123935.
Reference: BT 99/3145/33
William Joy; rank/rating, Fireman; age, 55; place of birth, Middlesex; previous ship, Copenhagen of Harwich.
Date: 1915
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description
Access conditions: Open Immediately

SS Copenhagen (owned by Great Eastern Railway Company)
Launched 1907 IMO/Off. no.: 123935

The ship was built by John Brown of Clydebank for the Great Eastern Railway as one of a contract for three new steamers and launched on 22 October 1907. She was launched by Miss Ida Hamilton, daughter of the Chairman of the Great Eastern Railway Company.

She was placed on the Harwich to Hook of Holland route.

On 5 March 1917 she was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 8 nautical miles (15 km) east of the Noord Hinder Lightship by submarine SM UC-61 with the loss of six lives

HELP PLEASE
I cannot find a crew list for the SS Copenhagen for 1917 which would hopefully show William WF Joy was a crew member when the ship was sunk. I need to prove this in order to complete the story for why he was awarded the torpedo badge which I now have in my possession.

I welcome any help you can give me on this. Thanks.

Richard Joy
Sittingbourne

[Captain Kong]

Hospital ship



SS Copenhagen

SS Copenhagen, 2570 grt, was built in 1907 by John Brown and Company at Clydebank as a replacement for the lost "Berlin" and was so successful that she was quickly followed by her sisters "Munich" [1908] and "St. Petersburg"[1910] on the Harwich – Hook of Holland service.

The vessel was torpedoed and sunk by UC61 in the North Sea in 1917 en route to the Hook of Holland.

Copenhagen served as a Hospital Ship during WW1.


◦Hospital Ship or Ambulance Transport Service during WW1.
◦Medical Staff strength.
◦Officers:8
◦Nurses:6
◦Other:28
◦Accommodation capacity.
◦Officers:
◦Cots:122
◦Berths:132
◦Period of Service as Hospital Ship or Ambulance Transport.
◦Date From:1st January 1916
◦Date To:5th March 1917
◦Ships Crew details:

Wreck survey tour report.

Now well out to sea, the next wreck on our tour is the Copenhagen, a turbine steamer owned by the Great Eastern Railway Co when she was torpedoed and sunk by UC61 in 1917. Passenger accommodation was spread over three decks amidships, with sleeping berths for 320 in First Class, over 200 of which were in double cabins. Public rooms included a smoking room on the awning deck, and below this a ladies' room, while the full-width 62-seat dining saloon was situated on the lower deck.

I CANNOT FIND A CREW LIST YET, MAYBE OTHER MAY DO.
Cheers
Brian

[Bengy Roberts]

Keith,Doc,,get on this case good luck Richard BENGY

[Keith at Tregenna]

I will take a look later when at home.

Pos Marian may look check out Ancestry: https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bi...&uidh=000&cp=0

Also, I would check thread: http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/m...erick-joy.html

K.

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Richard J
Welcome to the site and thanks for the nice story its always nice to have such info on ones relatives!
There are Crew Lists at the University of Canada Archives Section showing the following Years so possibly he was on that ship O Number 123935 then 1916 only a bit before what you post!
Hope this may help,if you want to know how to get the records just holler.
Quite a few have got Crew Lists from there!
Cheers

ss Copenhagen.JPG

[Marian Gray]

Hello Richard, welcome to the site. Have had a good old look around Ancestry & FMP but have not located an actual crew list for the SS Copenhagen 1917. You are probably aware that not all MN records for 1914-1918 WW1 where retained!! Did you try National Archives just in case? Are you a member of Ancestry per chance as there are copious photographs and documentation pertaining to your grandfather from Theresa who as Keith rightly pointed out had being on here previously her tree is prolific regarding William.

Have you tried the site below for details? Open and follow the links: Will keep looking myself meantime
COPENHAGEN PASSENGER SHIP 1907-1917 - WRECK WRAK ...
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?70722


SS Copenhagen (prev. Elbe?) [+1917]DOWNLOAD
insert peopleSS Copenhagen (prev. Elbe?) [+1917]
123
CREW SS COPENHAGEN
ATKINS, ARTHUR J. , Fireman, Copenhagen, Mercantile Marine, †05/03/1917, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
BARNEY, HARRY (53), Donkeyman, Copenhagen, Mercantile Marine, †05/03/1917, Husband of Bessie Barney (nee Harvey), of 59, Muirkirk Rd., Catford, London, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
BRUNDLE, CHARLES (41), Fireman, Copenhagen, Mercantile Marine, †05/03/1917, Husband of Agnes Brundle (nee Gray), of 2, Myrtle Cottages, Bathside. Harwich, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
CHAPLIN, WILLIAM CHARLES (29), Fireman, Copenhagen, Mercantile Marine, †05/03/1917, Husband of Alice Rose Flory (formerly Chaplin, nee Bennett), of 89, Albion St., Ipswich, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
HAMMOND, ARTHUR R. (56), Fireman, Copenhagen, Mercantile Marine, †05/03/1917, Husband of Kate Amelia Hammond (nee Upson), of Glen Cottage, Albemarle St, Harwich, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
RANDALL, LEONARD J. , Fireman, S.S. Copenhagen, Mercantile Marine, †13/03/1917, Memorial: Harwich Cemetery
ref. used: Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Cwgc

Order a full report of the wreck Copenhagen SS (prev. Elbe?) [+1917] online.
The website will let you download all data of the wreck.
The data include:
1. PDF document, incl.:
- detailed ship data
- geographical position data [4]
- detailed map showing the position of the wreck
- UK hydrographic report no.10950
- history entries [4]
- People On Board [6]
- wreck observation entries [4]
2. Pictures in highest resolution available [9]

[Bengy Roberts]

Doc, EXCELLENT bengy.

[Richard Joy]

Thanks for your help Keith.

The Ancestry bits and the thread you mention is the work of Theresa Gaskell - the daughter of my cousin who lives in USA. We have been sharing info as I hold the medals and many of the official documents that have been handed down to me. I also have the original torpedo badge which I'm trying to research.

I have been to The National Archives and found a WW2 medal card, but at the time I did not know about him being crew on the SS Copenhagen during WW1. I arrived at this by knowing he worked out of Harwich and searching for Great Eastern Railway ships sunk during WW1 and luckily found one online record of crew of SS Copenhagen for 1915.

R.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Thanks for your reply, will take another look at all over the weekend, busy tomorrow.

Regards, Keith.

[Richard Joy]

Hello Doc, thanks for the heads-up on the University of Canada Archives. I did come across a reference to these earlier but had not got round to trying them.

Are they accessible online? Is there a 1917 crew list?

I'm hollering - how do you get these records?

R.