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HMS Gosling
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Those known to have sailed in HMS Gosling 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 HMS Gosling from other sources.
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
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- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 24 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 22nd April 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 263973 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
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Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about HMS Gosling? There are:-1 items tagged HMS Gosling 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. |
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Biggs Walter Laurence MID.  The WW2 story of Laurence Walter Biggs has been recorded in a book titled; http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0992429307/virtonthevirtuat"target="new">'Above and Beyond'.
It was written for our family so his memory and story would not be lost to the passing of time. I can only encourage you to record your families war story.
The book concludes with the the story of Peter Bickmore BEM who served on MTB 243.
Royal Navy Research Archive book review:
Above and Beyond, is a story of one man’s journey to God; Laurence Walter Biggs’ story tells of his journeys in World War Two as a Seaman Gunner on the Russian convoys to Murmansk, to officer training school as a CW candidate and an unexpected turn of events when he has to leave the course. Laurence finds himself promoted to Leading Seaman and doing three jobs on his return to normal duty; by day a Gunnery instructor at HMS Gosling teaching new entrants, by night teaching weapons and commando skills to civilians gong behind enemy lines, and when called for, he operated as the Coxswain of a vessel in the top secret world of covert operations with one of the RNs Special Operations Groups.
After completing 10 missions with the Special Operations Group it really was back to 'normal’ duties, this time with Coastal Forces employed on minesweepers and patrol work. In December 1944, after several near brushes with death, Laurence finds himself floating in the freezing waters of the North Sea after MTB 243 has struck a mine and been abandoned, he makes a promise to serve God.
The book takes its title from the citation for the award of Mentioned in Dispatches ‘Above and Beyond the Call of Duty’ which Laurence received for his actions that night a aboard MTB 243, a night which would mark the start of his journey to God and a promise to keep.
Laurence Biggs lived to fulfill his promise and became an ordained a Priest in the Anglican Church of England on Sunday 21st May 1967 and later emigrated to Australia in 1970. He died in 2005 in Drouin, Victoria, his last Parish.
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AM2. Fred Smith HMS Gosling (d.4th October 1943) I am aware of Fred Smith as I have located and photographed his CWGC war grave in Rochdale Cemetery, he was the son of Joseph & Minnie Smith of Rochdale. He died aged 18 years.
I photograph war graves and memorials on a regular basis.
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AM. Reginald "Darkie" Hopkins HMS Daedalus I recently found, sitting at the bottom of a drawer in my mother's house, my father's service records. His name was Reg Hopkins, known as Darkie while he was in the Navy on account of being quite swarthy, although he's described as pale in his records.
He volunteered at the age of 17 in December 1943 slightly too early and signed up for the Navy as he was terrified he'd be made a Bevin Boy and get sent down the mines, which is what happened to a friend of his. The same friend who, on his first bit of official leave, walked straight into a police station and said "Hello. I'm a Bevin Boy and I'm not going back." and ended up in the Army in India.
Reg became an Air Mechanic, training, from what I can tell from his records, at HMS Gosling.
He was demobbed in December 1946.
Interesting to see that from the records that he was paid a total of £38 10 shillings and sixpence for three years of service, which equates to about £1,400 in today's money.
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AM2. Albert Edmund Maguire HMS Gosling Eddie Maguire is my grandfather by marriage. The absolute love of my life and missed terribly every day.
He served from 15th of February 1944 to 12th of February 1946.
He went on to continue working on the docks in Salford before meeting my grandmother in a bar one fateful night and vowing to his friends that he would marry her.
I have a very small amount of memories of my grandfather as I was very young when a family feud occurred and when I was finally able to get in touch with my grandparents, I found out my grandfather had passed away. His statement of naval service says he was very good throughout naval service. He was a wonderful man.
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William Basnett HMS Ameer My father, William Basnett, was in the Royal Navy from 30th of November 1942 to 15th of May 1946.
He had relatively short periods onHMS Gosling, HMS Daedalus, HMS Tern,HMS Raven, HMS Waxwing, HMS Malagas and HMS Bermuda but spent most of his service on HMS Ameer from 5th of December 1944 to 18th of November 1945.
They were carrying 845 squadron & later 804 squadron avengers & wildcats. On 26th of July 1945 they were attacked by a Japanese Kamikaze but managed to deflect it into the sea with the ships armaments. During his time on HMS Ameer they were involved in operations, Lightning, Matador, Sankey, Stacey, Collie, Carson, Jurist, Beecham, Tideraceand Zipper in the Battles in Burma and Malaya and to re-occupy Malaya and Singapore.
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AM. Lawrence Hogg Anderson HMS Nuthatch I'm sorry the only things I know is my father, Lawrence Anderson, passed 40 years ago and I have just found these documents its a certificate of service in the Royal Navy the writing is hard to read so the names of the ships may not be right. If anyone remembers him from photos or stories he would be about 97 years old now.
- Gosling, Air Mechanic 2, 5 Oct 1943 - 17 Dec 1943
- Unknown, 18 Dec 43- 15 Jan 44
- Vulture, 16 Jan 44 - 21 Sept 44
- Daedalus, 22 Sept 44 - 10 Oct 44
- Kestach, (?) 2 Oct 44 - 14 Oct 44
- Daedalus, 15 Oct 44 - 4 Nov 44
- Nuthatch 26 Sept 45 - 7 Mar 46
- Nuthatch 8 Mar 46 - 2 Oct 46
He was released after the 2nd Oct 1946. My dad was Scottish and was an apprentice air mechanic when he joined the Navy. He lived in Roslea, Newstead, Melrose prior to enlisting. Wish I knew more
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Mech. Robert John Woollard HMS Gosling My dad, Robert Woollard trained at HMS Gosling in, I think, 1944. He was in class 146e. I have a photo but nothing else. I have visited the site in Lady Lane Croft and I am going back to the church on Lady Lane, where I understand there is a plaque donated by HMS Gosling servicemen.
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SBPO. Norman Morris HMS Gosling My uncle Norman Morris erved as a sick bay attendant on-
- Victory 2/9/39 till 8/10/39
- Boscawen 9/10/39 till 29/9/41
- Victory 30/9/41 till 9/11/41
- Nile 10/11/41 till 13/8/42
- Good Hope 14/8/42 till 29/11/43
- Assetsi 30/11/43 till 16/12/43
- Victory 17/12/43 Till 14/3/44
- Victory 15/3/44 till 31/10/44
- Gosling 1/11/44 till 31/3/45
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Stkr 1st Cl. John Patrick Rutledge HMS Gosling My father John Rutledge was 18 when he joined the Royal Navy in 1943. He served on a number of ships including Gosling, Duke, Drake, Nile, Formidable, Golden Hind and Glenearn. He was a Stoker Class 1 and served from July 1943 to February 1947.
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Mech. John Achilles Daunt HMS Royal Arthur Fleet Air Arm My uncle, John Achilles Daunt, served at:
HMS Royal Arthur from 22nd June until 1st July 1943
HMS Gosling from 13th July until 18th September 1943
HMS Daedalus from 14th September until 17th October 1943
HMS Gannet from 24th February 1944 until 19th March 1944
HMS Daedalus from 17th October 1944 until 12th December 1944
HMS Merlin from 13th December 1944 until 17th January 1946
HMS Flycatcher March 1946 and HMS Dipper April 1946.
He left the Navy in August 1946 to join the Palestine police and was killed in March 1947. He is buried in Ramleh War Cemetery.
I have copies of the certificate of service S-459. What does UCH/77477 in the `Nature of Decoration' mean in the section medals, clasps?
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