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- SS. Fort Brandon during the Second World War -


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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

SS. Fort Brandon



   The SS Fort Brandon was built in 1943 by the Burrard Dry Dock Co., in North Vancouver for the Ministry of War Transport.

In 1948 she was sold to Counties Ship Management, London and renamed Laurentian Hill and had further changes of name and owners before being scrapped in 1985 and broken up in China.

 


If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.



Those known to have sailed in

SS. Fort Brandon

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of SS. Fort Brandon from other sources.



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Want to know more about SS. Fort Brandon?


There are:0 items tagged SS. Fort Brandon available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.


Able Sea. Sidney Andrew Watkins

Sidney Andrew Watkins, service number R164516 Fireman AB/Gunner, British Merchant Navy from 1940 to 1946. He served on vessels Vimiera, Lornaston, Calgary, Norman Star, Port Sydney, Ocean Volga, Ocean Fame, Empire Pibroch, Fort Brandon and SS Tudor Star. It was aboard the Tudor Star that dad and the crew received a letter of congratulations from the Admiralty of the Fleet dated 17th February 1941, about an encounter with an enemy aeroplane they shot down on 4th February 1941.

If anyone can shed light on the movements of any of these vessel it would be very much appreciated. I do have account of wage dockets to my father from all above vessels but not much else, and like others am attempting to piece together war memories that can be passed on to my children and grandchildren.

Barry Watkins



Firemn. Sidney Andrew Watkins SS. Fort Brandon

Looking for anyone who served with my father, Sidney A. Watkins,in the Merchant Navy.

I have his war payslips from nine vessels he served on whilst in merchant navy; SS Tudor Star,SS Fort Brandon, SS Vimeira, SS Lornaston, SS Calgary, SS Norman Star, SS Port Sydney, SS Ocean Volga, SS Oceanfame, SS Empire Pibroch While serving on SS Tudor Star he got a letter from the Admiralty thanking the crew for shooting down enemy planes on 4th February 1941.

I am trying to build a family tree and fill in missing links through war years, before he came to New Zealand in 1947/8 aboard the SS. Port Maquarie. I am trying to establish, for his children, grand and great grand childern, this part of his history. I would be grateful for any information anyone can provide

Barry Watkins



Mjr. Willliam Wynn-Werninck 19 MT Company Royal Army Service Corps

I sailed over to Arromanches from Tilbury with my unit, 19 Company RASC (MT) of some 250 vehicles, aboard the Canadian built Liberty ship Fort Brandon. We anchored about 2 miles off Arromanches on the east side of the Mulberry Harbour. That evening about 1000 pm a German bomber flew over us. There was some sp eculation about what th e plane was up to, the feeling being that she was dropping acoustic mines. That night, fro m a flat calm evening, it blew up Force 5-6, causing the Captain concern that Fort Brandons anchor chain could set off a nearby mine. Next morning I watched our vehicles being unloaded onto the big Rhino barges run by the Sappers and went back to my cabin for a wash and brush up before breakfast. I was just doing this when there was a heck of a bang. I shot out on deck where I was appalled to see, 2 cables away, a corvette type of ship with her bows blown off to the 4.7 gun mounting. She was blowing off clouds of steam but slowly got under way, having eased the surv ivors away, and started heading fo r the beach adjoining the Mulberry caissons. We were all saddened on deck as no lifeboat was lowered to help those in the water and, in particular, one sailor who was manfully swimming towards the beach a long way ah ead. Lifeboats were not lowered for fear of mines. I then hurried back to my cabin and did three small water-colour sketches of what I had seen.

In July 1994 I found these sketches and wrote to Navy News to ask if anyone could identify the ship. To my delight the next Navy News had several letters in it whic h gave her name as HMS Orchis (K76).

Bill Wynn-Werninck



Ord.Sea John Quine SS Fort Brandon

In 1944 I was serving aboard SS Fort Brandon in Antwerp. I got cheesed of after a night of bombing in the siberia dry dock. For some relief I decided to go to the Rex movie cinema the next day. At 3.15pm a v2 hit the cinema killing over 500 people. I should have stayed aboard.

John Quine







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    The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items.

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