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I decided that I'd investigate the trip my mother took from her native Ireland to the States, where she married and raised her family of 5 children. All I had to go on was some childhood memories of someone named "Blackie"... (more on him later).
Mom left Liverpool in Oct, 1943 and sailed to Nova Scotia. From there, she took a train to New York and stayed with family members until she was able to establish her own life. Her voyage was during World War II, and she'd talked about her vessle being part of a convoy.
I looked around for information on WWII convoys, but found that little documentation is available if the convoy was not involved in some wartime action. Without a convoy number, I didn't know where to go.
But, there was "Blackie". Mom always refered to Blackie as the "Chief Sparks" on the ship she came here on. She even had a picture of him. Her recollections of the time are nill as far as details go. But I knew his full name and thought... "Why don't I write to anyone named Black and see if any of them are still alive?"
Well, in December of '98, I did just that. I searched for the last name Black on a U.K. Internet phone directory and found more than 20 names that looked promising. I wrote each of them the following letter and waited.
Hello, My name is Kieran Ames and I am doing some genealogical research regarding the emigration of my Mother to America.
From what I've been able to document thus far, she departed Liverpool on a Merchant vessel (part of a convoy) bound for Halifax somewhere around 30 Oct 1943. The only information I have on the ship is that the radioman on board ("the Chief Sparks") was named Jeffrey (Geoffrey?) Archer Black, nicknamed "Blackie". Hence, I am mailing to any person I can find in the UK named Jeffrey Black or Geoffrey Black.
I'm trying to find information on the ship, crew, passenger manifest, convoy name or number, etc... any documentation regarding this transit.
If there were any information you may be able to furnish regarding the information above, I would be appreciative.
My mother is still alive and is 82 years old. She has occasionally told me and my four brothers and sisters of this passage, of U-Boats, of wearing life preservers 24 hours per day and the like. I would like to be able to show her anything I can find, such as pictures of the boat she traveled on, historical records, et cetera.
If Mr. Black is still living, I would enjoy the opportunity to correspond with him, as well.
Thank you for your consideration in this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Kieran Ames
I got a few responses. Mostly, they said that they weren't of the family I was searching, but they DID offer some of their own, interesting stories. One of them, Jeff, offered more.
His amicable tone was a preamble to subsequent discussion, where he refered to himself as "Sherlock Holmes"
Dear Kieran, I am not related to Mr Jeffrey Archer Black. I will, however help you in your quest for more information. I have been in touch with various establishments and am currently in contact with the
General Register and Records Office of Shipping and Seaman, Anchor House Unit 12 Cheviot Close Llanishen Cardiff.This seems to be the best starting point it will give us the ships Jeffrey would have been on, the dates and hopefully convoy name and number. Is the ship called "Sparks"? From here we should be able to get a crew list and maybe passengers. This will take approximately two weeks and from there I will try various establishments such as th Imperial War Museum, Public Records Office and the World Ship Society.I think I could trace Jeffrey through the Scottish records office as Black is commonly a Scottish name, Archer is probably his mother's maiden name (this being a Scottish tradition), but I will wait and find out the fate of the ship first.
I will probably be able to get a picture of the ship from Lloyds Shipping Books. I will try to find out how, as I have never undertaken this sort of project before.
By the way, how many Jeffrey Blacks are there? Maybe I should start a Jeffrey Black club!I hope your mother, brothers and sisters are all well and hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year.
Yours sincerely
Jeffrey Black
I mailed Jeff the following information:
From the information I was able to initially provide, Jeff found some good, hard documentation. He called me and told me that Mom came to the States on a ship called the "Corrales". He also sent some ship's crew information and logs of the voyage. (The logs were rather brief. The most significant entry was the recording of a fine of ten shillings against the Quartermaster for being AWOL for a day.)I got hold of Mom's passport through my brother and got the following information: - Passport stamped American Consulate in Dublin: 09/08/1943 - Passport stamped Immigration Office in Liverpool 10/30/1943 Visa for travel to UK enroute to USA. - She landed in Halifax NS (no date stamp we could see) and was later stamped for admission into the US on 11/15/43. So, her passage took place between 10/30/43 and 11/14/43. (She took a train from Nova Scotia to New York.) All I have are these dates of when the voyage had to take place, its starting point and destination... nothing more.
"Sherlock Holmes" Indeed!
"QUITE!"
But, sure enough, there in the Crew listing was Blackie. He wasn't the Chief Sparks, but rather, the 3rd mate.
BINGO! Mom travelled on the Corrales!
But what of the Corrales? What kind of ship was she?
For that, I turned to a listsrv called MARHST: The Marine History Information Exchange. I subscribed to the list and, for a few days, just listened in. (You know what groups think of newbies, so I thought I'd passively observe.)
After a few days, I submitted a post to see if this group had a FAQ.
Edwin King responded...
"Ask away. We'll try to be gentle!".
(Obviously, newbies are not considered a lower form of life to this group!
Subsequent communication with its members confirmed that!)
So, ask I did. The first message I posted went like this...
Here's some of the information that was sent to me:I would appreciate any assistance on tracking information related to a wartime voyage of the Merchant Ship *SS Corrales*. The things I have at this point in time are based on information given me by my Mother (a passenger) and some documentation by a newly found friend in Britian. (Thanks, Jeff!) The Vessel SS Corrales Official No. 161902 Owned by Elders & Fyffes Ltd. Port of Registry Glascow Date of Register(?) 8/1930 Registered Tonnage(gross) 5362 71 Registered Tonnage(net) 3316 24 Engine H.P. 3700 Specifics on the trip: Part of a convoy. (Convoy number unknown). Ships Master Jones (First initial A.??) Departed Liverpool 20 Oct. 1943 Arrived St. Johns 14 Nov. 1943 (on or about) Returned to Liverpool 11 Dec. 1943 What I've gotten so far: Crew List Some logs of the voyage What I'd like to get: - A picture of the SS Corrales. - The convoy number. - Any additional historical info. eg: I found SS Corrales referenced at a site which talked about the Nicoya. - Passenger list - I'd also like to find out if any of the crew are still alive (one in particular would now be 80 yrs old). - Any other information related to this transit Thanks in advance for any information or references.
From Malcom McRonald in Merseyside:
The Corrales was the last of a large group of sister ships built for Elders & Fyffes between 1920 and 1930.Ted Finch also included the following:
The full group, in chronological order, wasChirripo (1920), Zent (1920), Reventazon (1921) Manistee (1921) Tortuguero (1921) Patia (1922) Aracataca (1924) Casanare (1924) Cristales (1926) Tetela (1926) Sulaco (1926) Tucurinca (1926) Chagres (1927) Tilapa (1928) Samala (1928) Nicoya (1929) Mopan (1929) Matina (1929) Corrales (1930).The first was built by Workman Clark at Belfast, but the rest were shared between Cammell Laird at Birkenhead and Alexander Stephen at Glasgow, with the largest number coming from Birkenhead.
Their appearances were all similar, so a photograph of any one would give a good impression of the Corrales, if you fail to find one of her. However, I wish you the best of luck in your search.
I can add that the "Corrales" was broken up in Spain in 1961.
I wrote Malcom back and he further replied:
BINGO Number 2!>Malcom, >Thank you for your detailed and informative reply. If, by chance, you are >aware of any pictures from this group, I would be most appreciative! >Again, thank you for your mail and your research. > >Kieran Ames > Kieran On checking my own collection, I found, much to my surprise, that I had photographed the Corrales in dock in Liverpool on 31st January 1960. The detail is all there, and she was broadside on, but the photograph rather lacks contrast.
Dear Kieran, I am sure at least one of the 125 men I interviewed for my PhD thesis: "An Ethnography of Marine Convoys during World War II" mentioned the CORRALES, but I'm not sure which or when. If it would be worth your while to search my tape tables of contents (especially if you were able to get to England) I would be delighted to give you written permission to obtain access to the Halley Maritime Collection. You might also search for the MOPAN. She was handled by the same company as the CORRALES, and figured in the action that made the JERVIS BAY famous. There's more of a link than just the same company, I seem to remember, but again, my memory is not perfect. Do keep in touch. Good hunting, Morgiana
Here's a larger, un-annotated view (888x496 - 333kb).
Also, Jeff sent me about 35 pages, some of which I've scanned. These are mainly for people (especially MARHST'rs) interested in Historical and Maritime content. In the interest of preserving electrons and bandwidth, here's an index for your perusal.
(These are links to images. Use your BACK Button to return)
On my search...
