# "Port Chalmers" - officers awarded medals in WW2



## Tinakarori (Jan 13, 2021)

My father Cecil Bridgen was a deck officer in the Port Line, from cadet in the mid-1930s to 1st Lieutenant by 1945, serving much of WW2 on the Port Chalmers. He died in 1960 after a long battle with cancer, when I was in my early teens and my sisters were younger. Our parent's or any older generation in the family had all died by our early adulthood, so we only have scattered memories of our father, and no-one to ask who knew him. We have few mementoes, but my younger sister has the incomplete set of his war medals, and his complete row of miniatures. These include the 1939-45 Star and the Atlantic Star, as one might expect, but also the Africa Star and the Burma Star. We are mystified about why these last two medals would have been awarded to our father, but assume that they must arise from his service aboard the Port Chalmers. Can anyone offer any useful information, or suggest relevant directions of enquiry? We would be very grateful if anyone can help.


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## Hugh MacLean (Nov 18, 2005)

Hi,
Cecil Bridgen, according to his medal entitlement was awarded the following:
1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Pacific Star with Clasp and the War Medal. Anyone who qualified for both the Pacific Star and the Burma Star would be awarded the first Star earned. A *Clasp* would be worn to signify service for the other Star. So he earned the Pacific Star first then would have seen service in the Burma theatre and for that service he would have received the clasp.

There are a few ways to verify his service the first being to contact the Registry of Shipping and Seamen in Cardiff, UK and quote his medal file reference 7,237 and ask them.
Medals were not issued without the recipient being fully entitled and proof of service would always be needed. Even today there are still outstanding medal claims for WW2 seamen whose medals were never issued or claimed and their next of kin apply for them but the criteria requires details of his service record as well as details of the ship movments before a claim will be upheld. That proof has to be provided by the enquirer.

So you would need a list of all his wartime ships which you would get from his discharge book if you have it. Failing that you could get his CRS 10 - service record beginning Jan, 1941 until leaving the service. This would list all his ships. Then you would check where the ships went in that period. There are official movement cards you can get online at Kew for free if you log in.
You can also use online sites such as Arnold Hague Ports database so you have a few options.
Any questions - please feel free.
I hope that helps
Regards
Hugh


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## Tinakarori (Jan 13, 2021)

Hi Hugh

Thank you very much for your prompt and helpful response. My sisters and I all live in New Zealand - I am in Wellington - so we mostly need to use online resources to search for information about our father. Unfortunately we do not have any of his service do***ents like his Discharge book or service record. How or where were you able to find his medal entitlement or medal file reference No. 7237 apparently so easily?

I have successfully googled the Registry of Shipping and Seamen, but so far as I can tell they do not have a website, nor a searchable online database - a bit behind the times!?. I have also attempted to open the Arnold Hague Ports database, but it simply returns a server error message and won't open.

Any further advice or information you can offer will be most welcome

Regards

Philip Bridgen


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## Hugh MacLean (Nov 18, 2005)

Hi Philip,
For any discussions about his medal file you would contact the Registry of Shipping and Seamen and give them the file reference number 7237.

Registry Of Shipping & Seaman
Anchor Court, Keen Rd, Cardiff CF24 5JW
Tel: 029 2044 8800

However, the actual record is available to download for free at the National Archives in Kew as long as you sign in. I have obtained the file for you and it is enclosed. His record is the fourteenth from the top. The file indicates he or his next of kin obtained the following medals:
1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Pacific Star with Clasp and the War Medal. Anyone who qualified for both the Pacific Star and the Burma Star would be awarded the first Star earned. A *Clasp* would be worn to signify service for the other Star. So he earned the Pacific Star first then would have seen service in the Burma theatre and for that service he would have received the clasp.

His service record or CRS10 can only be obtained by a visit to Kew or via a researcher when it reopens. The file reference you should ask for is BT 382/183

It looks like the convoyweb site is not working properly at the moment - you may wish to try emailing [email protected]
If there is anything else you need to know please feel free to ask.
Regards
Hugh


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## NessW (6 mo ago)

Tinakarori said:


> My father Cecil Bridgen was a deck officer in the Port Line, from cadet in the mid-1930s to 1st Lieutenant by 1945, serving much of WW2 on the Port Chalmers. He died in 1960 after a long battle with cancer, when I was in my early teens and my sisters were younger. Our parent's or any older generation in the family had all died by our early adulthood, so we only have scattered memories of our father, and no-one to ask who knew him. We have few mementoes, but my younger sister has the incomplete set of his war medals, and his complete row of miniatures. These include the 1939-45 Star and the Atlantic Star, as one might expect, but also the Africa Star and the Burma Star. We are mystified about why these last two medals would have been awarded to our father, but assume that they must arise from his service aboard the Port Chalmers. Can anyone offer any useful information, or suggest relevant directions of enquiry? We would be very grateful if anyone can help.


Loss of information between generations is an issue many of us are probably finding. I don't know if these images are of any interest to you, but here you are. These boards apparently have gone MIA from Cunard House, but Liverpool University still have what remains of the Port Line archives. Unfortunately this doesn't include the personnel files and some of the archive is not in the best condition. 

My own grandfather is R.O.N Wallace on the first board under London Staff. My father was 9mths old and my grand mother received a stipend from the pension fund for him until he finished school and went to sea as a Port Line cadet in 1958. 

Best of luck with it all.


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