Sorry, misread the Troilus entry - she was part of the Malta convoys but was actually sunk later, in 1944

She was however, clearly defensively armed, and would have been during Op Harpoon

Lent does indeed mean that he was loaned to another ship/unit/base, but his admin records etc would have been retained by his 'parent' establishment

Regret I cannot answer your query on 'M A' or 'M A C' but it was not unusual for RN personnel to be carried on merchant ships in WW2.  Many merchant ships were armed (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships - DEMS) with the weapons manned by either Royal Navy or Royal Artillery personnel.

As to Troilus, she was sunk when part of a Malta convoy - if you see this page on her sinking

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/3345.html

you will see the mention of '12 gunners'  in addition to the crew 

I have received from the MOD an excellent record of my father’s RN service during WW2 listing every ship and shore base in which he served. I knew he was involved in Combined Operations, HMS Quebec and HMS James Cook in Scotland. The records have thrown up two mysteries. Firstly they often show ‘Lent MA’ or ‘Mac’. I assume that this refers to being lent to another ship, but I can find no explanation of MA. Secondly he spoke about being in Malta in the summer of 1942 and early 1943, the ship mentioned being the Troilus. As I understand it Troilus was a merchant ship so what was my RN dad doing on it? Sorry for the long post from a newcomer to  the The Royal Navy Research Archive Forum. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Of course this leads to further questions that you may or may not be able to help with.

Do you know of any sources where I can track down on what ship this previous service might have been on?

And on a different tack, I know that he was on Dauntless when she ran aground off Halifax in 1928

There is a faint note at the bottom of his service record which I think refers to this event in someway, however I am struggling to read it. Do you have any thoughts?

M

The badge does match that of the Penelope - and this design was not approved until 1934, for the new ship, so it belongs to the 1935 cruiser

On the record,  look at his Occupation (top right hand corner) before he joined the Navy - it says Engineers Servant, Mercantile Marine

As he was 17 years old when he joined, it meant that he had gone to sea before, probably when he was 14 or 15 years old (quite normal for the time)

Can anyone help explain?

E Osborn's RN service record shows he signed up for twelve years on his 18th birthday - 3rd November 1919
His record also shows he was a Boy 2 from 6th October 1918

He was subsequently awarded the Mercantile Marine Medal issued 29th January 1923 which I understand was awarded to sailors of the British Mercantile Marine (Merchant Navy?)
Google tells me that qualification for this medal was for service of not less than six months in a danger zone during the war.

Am I missing something as I can't make sense of it.

Mark

Manual of Seamanship 1937 (Printed 1941). Fold up diagram attachments. All so Plate 9 (Alphabetical and Numeral flags used in Naval Signaling) and Page 42 (Semaphore).

Fold up attachments to the book shown were a bit torn up (The old book had some use). I have put them together the best I can just to give an idea what was in the book.

The Boatswain's call, How it is used, and some facts about it. This fold up attachment to the book is large (I have shown part of it) and it faces page 424.

Cruiser, Kent Class. Sketch of rig. To face page 352.

HMS. Resolution. Sketch of rig. To face page 352.

Philip L

I have now found that this is HMS Penelope but not sure if the fact that the badge is brass means it must be the one launched in 1918. Could it be the one launched in 1935 - were badges still being made in brass then?

I have inherited a heavy brass badge - see photo attached - which I have been unable to identify. It may be pre 1919 as both grandparents and a great uncle served in the navy but I cannot match the badge of their ships.  Any help appreciated