Seeking Navy Info Canada/UK Can You Help?

[niknaknix]

Hello!

I wonder if you can help! It's been like finding a needle in a haystack the last few years!  I am trying to locate details of my estranged Grandfather.

He served in the Canadian Navy and was posted in Portsmouth, UK in 1946 on HMS Creole.  His name was William Stanley Lloyd (on letters to my grandmother he uses the name Stan) After his name is has P.O H.S D

I can't find any info about ship other than where it was built and that it was sold abroad after it was decommissioned.

Within the letters is a photo of 'my youngest brother 'John'.  The name is in quotes as though it is a 'known as name' or middle name and he also served in the Canadian Navy HMCS)

I know many records aren't publicly available and of course I have limited information but I would dearly like to learn about him.  He disappeared quite out of character after the war and we have always worried that something happened to him but we have no idea where to start.

We've tried for years so if anyone has any pointers they will be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance!

[Andy J2022]

Hi niknaknix and welcome to the forum,

I'm sorry that no-one has responded to your posting so far. With luck our resident naval expert HMac will spot this thread and will probably be able to help. In the meantime, are you aware that you can request the service records for Canadians who served during WW2 from the Library and Archives of Canada? However I'm not sure if that service also extends to servicemen who served after the war had ended. Worth giving it a try, as his service record will provide many more leads for you to follow up on. Link here.

As you know HMS Creole was launched in November 1945 and wasn't commissioned until 14 October 1946, so at the time your grandfather joined the ship she was probably still either undergoing seatrials or commencing work up training. The ship became part of the 3rd Training Squadron based in Londonderry, so your granfather possibly spent much of his time in British waters.

I'm sorry but I can't help with what P.O H.SD stands for. PO obviously might be Petty Officer, but if this was his rank in 1946 it would mean that he had been serving in the RCN for some time already. Petty Officer is roughly equivalent to the rank of Sergeant in the Army. 

[GrahamSimons]

HMS Creole's log books are in the National Archives, as well as some reports of sea trials with depth charges, noise and vibration trials, and vibration of lattice masts. Also one report of HMS Creole dealing with a crashed aircraft. It's highly unlikely your man will be named in any of these documents, but they will tell you what Creole was up to. However they aren't digitised and you'd need to go to Kew to see them, or get a researcher to do it for you.

[GrahamSimons]

One event you may not have found yet - court martial of Creole's commanding officer....
http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16487.0

[polarbear]

Hello and welcome to RootsChat, niknaknix.

Can you give us any more info at all about your grandfather?

Where was he born and when? Even just the year would be helpful.  If the UK did he then emigrate to Canada at some point? Was he in the UK when he disappeared?

PB

[mckha489]

What was the name of your grandmother?

[niknaknix]

Thank you so much for your replies this far, I really do appreciate you taking the time to do this! With regards to my grandfather I have no further information.  He was not married to my grandmother, rather it was a wonderful relationship during 1945/46/47 where he knew my grandmother was expecting my mum and was very excited about it.  My grandmother passed away when I was a baby and so I was unable to ask her personally about it all.  What she did tell my mum is that he was posted back to Canada in 1947 and suddenly the communication stopped and she never heard from him again (that we know of).  I know it was of course a unique time and there are many 'war babies' as a result and I also am not naive to whether my grandfather had good intentions or not for the future with my mum.  But my grandmother was always insistent that a long term future had been planned for them as a family and his sudden disappearance was very out of the character she knew and loved.  His letters to her (of which we only now have a couple) are very beautifully written and to me show a relationship that was blossoming not temporary.  Anyway, I very much would like to uncover more about my grandfather so I can piece together the timeline of what might have happened to him, but I have no idea where in Canada he was from.  I did hire a 'geneology detective' a few years ago who hit a brick wall and have spent many years myself trying to track him down or information.  In the UK a lot of the WW2 records are not yet public and it Canada knowing what province would help a great deal! I have since found out from a navy friend that HSD might mean Higher Submarine Detector?

[Andy J2022]

niknaknix,

Petty Officer, Higher Submarine Detector sounds highly likely as the explanation for the abbreviation you have in his letters. Here's a wartime reminiscence of someone in the rank:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/67/a2363267.shtml

What date was the letter written? As I mentioned the fact that he was a Petty Officer would indicate a sailor with some seniority.  So the date may throw some light on when he joined up, and thus a clue to his age, and that in turn may help track him down in Canada before 1946

[Lisa in California]

In addition to the other questions asked, if I may ask a few (possibly odd ones) as well, please?  I’m just trying to think of other ways of looking for him.

After reading some of the comments, it appears that “Stan” had been in the Navy “awhile”.  However, there’s no chance that he might still be living is there?  I have an ancestor who was 105 when she passed and I know of two people who were about 97 years old when they passed, so I’m overly concerned about unlikely possibilities.

Were any small details shared either verbally or in the letters that could offer clues?  Did he mention likes or dislikes such as: snow skiing, sailing, visiting historical and/or cultural North American places, certain foods (French Canadian, etc.), small or large town living, severe weather events, etc.   Was his accent ever mentioned? Of course his family could have moved around Canada but residents in some parts of Canada have distinct accents.  With luck, any little clues could point to different Canadian provinces.  It was most likely not brought up, but do you know if any names were discussed for naming your mum the baby?

Could he have been around the same age as your grandmother?  If she was rather young when she met him, possibly he was as well?  If she was in her mid- to late-20s, perhaps he was as well?

Odd questions I know, but with little to go on so far, I thought that I would ask.  I hope it isn’t too personal.  Thank you, Lisa