Peter Patrick Johnson (KX 730118)

Peter Patrick Johnson

Peter Patrick Johnson

Peter Johnson's medal receipt stub

Peter Johnson's medal receipt stub

Here are Peter's medals:

Peter Johnson's medals

Peter Johnson's medals

Peter was awarded the 1939-1945 War Medal (top left), Defence Medal (top right), Pacific Star (bottom left), and the 1939-1945 Star (bottom right).

Like many sailors, Peter served on several ships while in the Royal Navy, from HMS Duke starting from March 8, 1944 to HMS Drake (a shore establishment ending on June 26, 1946. Here is a list of ships Peter served in:

Name Type Rank From To
HMS Duke Shore establishment Stoker 2nd Class March 8, 1944 March 8, 1944
HMS Royal Arthur Shore establishment Stoker 2nd Class March 9, 1944 March 21, 1944
Passage   Stoker 2nd Class March 22, 1944 March 22, 1944
HMS Duke Shore establishment Stoker 2nd Class March 23, 1944 May 23, 1944
HMS Shrapnel II Floating training establishment Stoker 2nd Class May 24, 1944 June 30, 1944
HMS Imperieuse Floating training establishment Stoker 2nd Class July 1, 1944 July 18, 1944
HMS Drake Shore establishment Stoker 2nd Class July 19, 1944 August 15, 1944
HMS Pangbourne (J37) Minesweeper Stoker 2nd Class August 16, 1944 January 31, 1945
HMS Lucifer Shore establishment Stoker 2nd Class February 1, 1945 February 7, 1945
Passage   Stoker 2nd Class February 8, 1945 February 8, 1945
HMS Drake Shore establishment Stoker 2nd Class February 9, 1945 March 7, 1945
HMS Drake Shore establishment Stoker 1st Class March 8, 1945 March 8, 1945
HMS Golden Hind Shore establishment Stoker 1st Class March 9, 1945 April 14, 1945
HMS Lewes (G68) Destroyer Stoker 1st Class April 15, 1945 April 24, 1945
HMS Golden Hind Shore establishment Stoker 1st Class April 25, 1945 April 25, 1945
HMS Montclare (F85) Destroyer Depot Ship Stoker 1st Class April 26, 1945 June 10, 1945
HMS Furneaux Shore establishment Stoker 1st Class June 11, 1945 June 14, 1945
HMS Montclare (F85) Destroyer Depot Ship Stoker 1st Class June 15, 1945 December 31, 1945
HMS Aorangi Troopship Stoker 1st Class January 1, 1946 January 2, 1946
HMS Chaser (D32) Escort Carrier Stoker 1st Class January 3, 1946 January 20, 1946
HMS Golden Hind Shore establishment Stoker 1st Class January 21, 1946 * No date
HMS Drake Shore establishment Stoker 1st Class * No date June 26, 1946

* Sometime between January 21, 1946 and June 26, 1946, Peter served on HMNZS Gambia which at the time was still in the hands of the New Zealand Navy.

HMS Duke was a shore training establishment at Great Malvern, Worcestershire and was intended for new intake stokers.

HMS Royal Arthur was a converted Butlin's holiday camp.

HMS Shrapnel II was a pair of old ships, HMS Resolution and HMS Revenge, used to train stokers at Southampton.

HMS Imperieuse retained the old ships HMS Resolution and HMS Revenge as HMS Shrapnel II but was joined by several other older ships.

HMS Drake is the shore training estalishment at Devonport, Plymouth

HMS Lucifer was the name given to the naval base in Swansea on the River Tawe, which was home to a minesweeping fleet, their main function was to safeguard crucial British shipping lanes by keeping the Bristol Channel clear of mines.

HMS Golden Hind was a manning establishment on the Warwick Farm Racecourse, Liverpool, Sydney, Australia.

The Destroyer Depot Ship, HMS Montclare (F85) was a converted Canadian Pacific Steamship Company liner.

HMS Furneaux was a Royal Navy depot at Brisbane, Australia.

The troop transport ship HMS Aorangi was a converted Union Steam Ship Company liner.

The Escort Carrier HMS Chaser (D32) started life as USS Mormacgulf before being transferred to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease program in 1943.

HMS Royal Arthur, Skegness during WWII. Photo: Public Domain HMS Resolution with HMS Formidable during WWII. Resolution was used as part of HMS Shrapnel training establishment. Photo: Imperial War Museums A11792 HMS Resolution during WWII. Resolution was used as part of HMS Shrapnel training establishment. Photo: Imperial War Museums FL18214 HMS Revenge during WWII. This ship was used as part of HMS Shrapnel training establishment. Photo: Imperial War Museums CH823 HMS Drake at Devonport, Plymouth in 2015. Photo: MOD 45158438 The minesweeper HMS Pangbourne during WWII. Photo: Imperial War Museums FL17237 HMS Golden Hind; on the right is the grandstand, used as a canteen, the guard room and main gate are at lower left. The Commodore’s office is the uppermost building on the left. Photo: Imperial War Museums A29253 The Destroyer Depot Ship, HMS Montclare (F85) was a converted Canadian Pacific Steamship Company liner. Photo: Imperial War Museums FL8738 The troop transport ship HMS Aorangi was a converted Union Steam Ship Company liner. Photo: Public Domain The Escort Carrier HMS Chaser (D32) started life as USS Mormacgulf before being transferred to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease program in 1943. Photo: Imperial War Museums A17858 The Escort Carrier HMS Chaser (D32) started life as USS Mormacgulf before being transferred to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease program in 1943. Photo: Imperial War Museums A17860

My thanks to Peter's grandson, Stephen Moss,for supplying the information about his grandfather. Stephen obtained his grandfather's records from whatever the Royal Navy had. He also received a letter which among other things said, "Please find enclosed copies of the documents requested as follows: Central record card of Service, Medal Entitlement card and Pay & Victual trace." The "Pay & Victual trace" part is interesting. For the purposes of accounting and supply many Royal Navy ships used a shore establishment and sailors such as Peter Johnson may well have spent more time at sea in various ships than these service records indicate.

For example, the records say that Peter was at HMS Drake, the shore training estalishment at Devonport, Plymouth on March 8, 1945, but the next day he was at HMS Golden Hind, a manning establishment on the Warwick Farm Racecourse, Liverpool, Sydney, Australia!