Hi
I'm trying to find information on a Pte George Todd 1609838,
I have his service records, but it dosn't give the ship he was on.
Hello John,
Your man was what is known as a "DEMS" gunner. DEMS, "Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship". They are notoriously difficult to research. I note that you have his service record and that it doesn't mention any of the names of the ships he served on. The only other way to track a gunner on a Merchant Navy ship, is to know at least one ship, preferably at the end of his service, and then, by the aid of crew agreements which all personnel including military had to sign, we can work back through those as the previous ship is usually shown.
See,
http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Defensively_Equipped_Merchant_Ships_%28D.E.M.S%29As far as I can tell, He was not on-board any of the British vessels that were sunk on 16/12/1942. Namely, EAST WALES and OBSERVER. "DEMS", also served on Allied merchant ships, mainly Dutch or Norwegian, which makes the task all the more difficult.
Personal from the Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy, were automatically given War grave status whatever the cause of their demise, unlike their Merchant Navy comrades who had to prove that the cause of death was as a direct result of enemy action.
Regarding the ships George Todd sailed on. I think you are looking for the proverbial "Needle in a Haystack"
