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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 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.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQ's
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
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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We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates.
If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page.
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
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
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 King George V.? There are:5 items tagged HMS King George V. 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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Ldg.Tel. David Ballard HMS Windsor  David Ballard served in the Royal Navy in both WW1 and WW2 and his story up to his discharge in 1939 has been related in the WW1 section.
David was recalled to the Navy in 1939 and, on 3rd November, found himself aboard HMS Windsor, a destroyer. During Operation Dynamo, HMS Windsor sailed many times to France, Belgium and Holland, bringing back to England over 4,000 troops and the Dutch Government before receiving a direct hit from a bomb and subsequently being sent to Liverpool for a refit.
In May 1941, David was aboard the battleship King George V, sister-ship of the Prince of Wales, when both participated in the search for, and sinking of the Bismarck. He then spent six months at Signal School before receiving a posting to a Dutch submarine escort vessel, the Jan Van Gelder.
In 1945, David was 46 years of age and finished his war aboard a submarine depot ship.
David completed his 31 years in the Royal Navy in September 1945, as a Leading Telegraphist with three Good Conduct Stripes, 1914-15 Star, War Medal 1914-18, Victory Medal, 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, War Medal 1939-45 and the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
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PO. Russell Simpson HMS Europa   Sadly My Dad Russell Simpson from Lynemouth, Northumberland passed away in October 2014 aged 95 years. We have just found his RN diary .... no-one knew it was there. He was in the Royal Naval he joined HMS Royal Arthur in Skegness. He then went onto HMS Europa and HMS Lady Shirley, and HMS Fairy Knowles at Tobermory (Note there was no HMS Fairy Knowles and this may have been a colloquial term for being absent at a hospital.) In 1941, he had a accident at the dock and went to hospital in Killearn and then onto The Cottage hospital in Oban. He was there for a long duration learning to walk again. Dad was the only seaman who was off on leave due to his injury when The Lady Shirley got torpedoed off Gibraltar on the 11th December 1941 and the men on board were captured and some lost at sea. He often said somethings were meant to be! He then joined HMT Helier2, an anti-submarine search vessel, at Milford Haven.
Dad describes his job in the diary as in The Atlantic escorting ships and destroyers in rough sea and missing mines.
He went to Australia and Tasmania and returned from Australia on The King George.
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PMR Mid. Ronald Walter Harris HMS Nigeria My father, Ron Harris, served on HMS Nelson(1940-1941), King George V(1941) and Nigeria(1941-1943). The only thing he really mentioned about the war was the sweetheart he left behind in Charleston, Carolina!
I guess a lot of what they saw wasn't that pleasant. He did say how guilty he felt as he was the only midshipman in his gun turret to have survived one bombardment. I have a photo of Ron in Murmansk on Ski's with 6 shipmates maybe his shipmates families might be able to identify them for me!
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Able.Sea. Reginald Victor Harrison HMS Manchester My father, Reginald Harrison, now deceased, served on HMS Manchester and was in a North African prisoner of war camp. He spoke very little of this time but we understand they were treated badly. He did not talk very much about his service. He also served on HMS King George V. but we have little information.
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Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
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