John "Jock" Roy

[Nathan Strachan]

Hello!

I'm looking to find anything out about my "Granda Jock" (John Roy) Who was a merchant navy man during world war 2. I Know that he served as a minesweeper, lied about his age (by one year) and Trained on the HMS Eskimo off the coast of Iceland. Hitting a lot of dead ends trying to find out more about him online. My family unfortunately don't have his original medals as he threw them in the fire once he returned home. We do however know that he had the Arctic Star.

If anyone has any info I'd be very grateful!

Thanks,
Nathan Strachan

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Nathan
Welcome to the site and thanks for asking the question.
We will need his DOB, and where he was Born to try and assist you with Records if still held.
Do you know the Year or Years he was on the HMS Eskimo ??
So please supply the above when you can.
Thanks
Cheers

Crew List Index Search Results

Search results for Crew Lists in the Maritime History Archive
Types of Agreements and Accounts page provides an explanation for the codes referring to
the crew agreements held at the Maritime History Archive.

Official_No:		129266
1910:		E2
1911:		E2
1912:		E2
1914:		E2
1916:		E1

[Hugh]

Hello and welcome,
As Vernon says, if you could give his date and place of birth that may help but it looks to me that he may have been a Royal Navy rating, rather than Merchant Navy. HMS ESKIMO was a Tribal-class class destroyer that first went to the Arctic in September 1942 on convoy PQ16 subsequently on PQ18 and QP14. The Arctic Star is a retrospective award, announced in late 2012, nearly seven decades after the end of the Second World War so if he was awarded it then it could only have been awarded to him or his family after 2012.

The crew lists for Eskimo mentioned by Vernon will be for a Merchant Navy ship not the RN ship HMS ESKIMO.

Regards
Hugh

[Doc Vernon]

Hi Hugh
Yes i did think of that , but just put it on in case . (ie The Eskimo Merchant Ship that is )
Alos was thinking about the RN aspect on reading the post, but thanks for the pointer anyway.
I hope that the poster will see all this and reply, we can then go forward i hope on his questions!
Cheers

[J Gowers]

Marion one of the John Strachans you mention could be my grandfather who died I think in the late 40s or early 50s before I was born. I believe he was an ex soldier who served in India before returning to Dundee and working in the jute mills.

[Nathan Strachan]

This is excellent thank you! He went by John Roy (he's my maternal grandfather) , but his nickname was Jock. He passed away 1997 in Fraserburgh,Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was also born there on 18th August 1927 (Although he told the navy it was 1926 because he wasn't old enough to join)

I have done some more digging and from family stories I have gathered he was on a converted trawler and went on convoy rescue. I have found photographs of the "Northern Gem" trawler on the IWM website and am almost certain he can be seen in two of these photographs. Whether he served on the boat or merely helped with the conversion I'm unsure.

Really hoping he can be narrowed down and I can get some concrete evidence of his whereabouts. I remember all of his old stories (even if i was only 7 when he passed way) and want some of them confirmed haha! I believe he had been to africa and had been stationed or moored at some point in Portugal! Again, no evidence just hearsay.

Thanks again everyone!

[j.sabourn]

Just a far distant possibility if he was born in 1927 he was 10 years older than me so in 1997 he would he would have been 70 go back 17 years to about 1980 which would make him 53 ? Maybe Hugh would know of the possibility / probability of him being still RNR if he was a serving RN matelot. At about the year 1980 We were working off Lisbon on fleet exercises which involved mostly RNR crew on small vessels mainly mine hunters and the flagship was a minelayer. We were used as a degaussing vessel anchored off at the end of a degaussing cable on the bottom and the mine hunters steamed over it to be checked out . I think that may of been a regular exercise the RN had at regular intervals off Lisbon. It may have been something like that your grandfather may have been referring to . If you ever find out the year he was referring to off Portugal you never know. Strange things happen at sea he may of even been on the same ship as me. Best of luck on your Sherlock Holmes work . JS…….

[Marian Gray]

Nathan & Hugh, Only British J Strachan I have found so far who isn't from the R.C.N.V.R. [Canadian] or American Navy as follows [from Ancestry]

31793_221355-00337.jpg

F.A.O. Hugh, I'm including the UK Navy list below as I don't know what ASL[E] means alongside the J.Strachan listed above the Canadian JR Strachan No 7, bottom left corner. Thanks

93193224_3.jpg

Hugh, There is also this chap page 1803 bottom right hand corner

40565_606246_0896-00437.jpg

Being RN is out of my comfort zone help needed

If you can spare the time please.

[Michael Black]

could the ASL/E be Acting Sub Luietenant/ Engineer.
Regards Michael

[Hugh]

Hugh, There is also this chap page 1803 bottom right hand corner Being RN is out of my comfort zone help needed
If you can spare the time please.

Nathan, Marian,

Re the Navy List, I don't think it is him as he was already in the RN in 1939 - Nathan's g/f would have been too young in 1939.

Some things to consider about what we know. If John 'Roy' Strachan was born in 1927 even given he took a year off his age to join up that would make him about 18/19 years of age in 1945.
Russian convoys continued up until the end of the war so it is possible he was on those convoys but my advice to you would be to be a little careful with family lore. You should obtain his RN service record if you think he served in the Royal Navy during WW2. If you think he served in the Merchant Navy then obtain his CRS 10. Then you can work from the facts and find out a little more.

Regards
Hugh