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[ProjectKarl]

Hi There,
Can anyone help me with my grandfathers records?
There are several times where it looks like he's at shore establishments, but it says "duty".  What is duty?

And where it says "Lent"...does that mean he left the ship he was on to go to the ship listed beside the word lent?

[PhiloNauticus]

PEMBROKE – naval shore base/barracks at Chatham

GROVE    - escort destroyer – torpedoed in the Med in 1942 – see:
https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DE-HMS_Grove.htm

SPHINX – camp at Alexandria, Egypt

AFRIKANDER  -  naval shore base at Sinonstown, South Africa

ASSEGAI  - naval training base at Durban, South Arica

EXPRESS       destroyer; serving at that time in the Indian Ocean –
    https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-21E-HMS_Express.htm

AMEER  - escort carrier
https://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/ESCORT/AMEER.htm

ASBURY  - accommodation at Asbury Park, New Jersey USA

AVALON  -  naval shore base at St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

AVALON III  - naval shore base at Argentia, Newfoundland

COCHRANE  - naval base at Rosyth

MAYINA  -  transit camp at Colombo, Sri Lanka

DIYATALAWA – site of rest camp in Sri Lanka

Re: LENT - you are correct, it means that he was briefly loaned' to another ship or establishment for short period
Re: DUTY – This has been raised before, and not satisfactorily answered – I think the general opinion is that it meant ‘detached duty’, perhaps with a working party, basically somewhere that was not a 'regular' establishment

[ProjectKarl]

Thank you.
Any chance you might have some insight on why the payroll sheet would have so many entries and movement during the same time frame that his navy record just shows HMS Grove to HMS Assegai to HMS Express?  I'm really struggling to make sense of these six months.  He was a POW and said he was saved by American soldiers.  This six month period is the only period that I can see that happening.  No mention of being a POW on any of his paperwork.

[PhiloNauticus]

A Service record shows who  administered his pay and paperwork – he would not necessarily have actually physically been at the shore establishments shown …
The service record extract you posted shows -
PEMBROKE IV [ Grove]  Jan 42 to Apr 42
NILE [ Grove]     Apr to Dec 42
ASSEGAI    June to December 42
TANA [Express]   from December 42
EAGLET [ Express]   from Feb 43

Note: TANA was at Kilindini, Kenya, and was an accounting and admin base

So Pembroke – Nile – Tana – Eaglet, he was probably never there,  they were just the admin bases.   As for Assegai, although they looked after his pay etc between June and December 42,  the P & V shows that he was only there in October and November.


The P & V shows where he actually was –
 GROVE     January to June 42
SPHINX   June – July 42
Detached?   3 days in July 42
AFRIKANDER IV   July – September 42  [ one day on detached duty]
ASSEGAI    October – November 42
EXPRESS    from December 42

I can’t see any slot for being a prisoner