FAA crews and the Bismark
Thread Starter
FAA crews and the Bismark
Dear PPruners,
I am on a mission to help out an elderly relative to track down the whereabouts (or, more probably learn of the demise) of a FAA observer who crewed with Jock Moffat, who together are credited with launching the torpedo from a Swordfish that crippled the starboard steering gear of the Bismark. The officer is question is:
T/S Lt (A) J D Miller RNVR 818 NAS. He would have been born c 1920
I've done the usual searches (CWGC, FAA Assn etc) but have drawn a blank from about 1945 onwards. Any help would be appreciated - PM me.
Thanks,
NZWP
I am on a mission to help out an elderly relative to track down the whereabouts (or, more probably learn of the demise) of a FAA observer who crewed with Jock Moffat, who together are credited with launching the torpedo from a Swordfish that crippled the starboard steering gear of the Bismark. The officer is question is:
T/S Lt (A) J D Miller RNVR 818 NAS. He would have been born c 1920
I've done the usual searches (CWGC, FAA Assn etc) but have drawn a blank from about 1945 onwards. Any help would be appreciated - PM me.
Thanks,
NZWP
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Do you have his first names and any ideas on where he came from? He's bound to have been Dusty when in uniform.
Have you spoken to the curators at VL? They may have 818 NAS records. Did he even stay with 818 to the end of the war?
Is there any mention of him in the London Gazette?
Wiki says that Telegraphist/Air Gunner (TAG) LA A. J. Hayman was also in Moffat's crew. Have you tried the TAG Assoc records for info on Hayman?
Nice bit here about the three of them.
More mentions of Miller in Moffat's book. He seems to have been a very good observer.
Have you spoken to the curators at VL? They may have 818 NAS records. Did he even stay with 818 to the end of the war?
Is there any mention of him in the London Gazette?
Wiki says that Telegraphist/Air Gunner (TAG) LA A. J. Hayman was also in Moffat's crew. Have you tried the TAG Assoc records for info on Hayman?
Nice bit here about the three of them.
More mentions of Miller in Moffat's book. He seems to have been a very good observer.
Last edited by airborne_artist; 26th Apr 2014 at 08:50. Reason: Further info
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RAF but with FAA connections ?
Google might be your friend
With courtesy to RAFweb
Note the gap at 1940 did he return to FAA?
J D Miller
With courtesy to RAFweb
Note the gap at 1940 did he return to FAA?
J D Miller
Thread Starter
Thanks for the replies. He was known as Dusty Miller, of course. The JD Miller - although with a FAA background - is not the same chap, who was a wartime RNVR officer only. Previous enquiries with Yeovilton have drawn a blank, apparently, according to this relative who has been trying to track him down for some time.
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I'd try VL again though. They may have acquired more records or better ways of searching them.
Key to finding him is discovering his first names. The London Gazette may help as it should mention his commissioning date, but there are lots of Millers. Note that the LG refers to both Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and R.N.V.R. (and not RNVR).
Perhaps Moffat can remember Miller's first names? Wiki thinks he is still alive, and I'm sure FAAOA could confirm.
Key to finding him is discovering his first names. The London Gazette may help as it should mention his commissioning date, but there are lots of Millers. Note that the LG refers to both Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and R.N.V.R. (and not RNVR).
Perhaps Moffat can remember Miller's first names? Wiki thinks he is still alive, and I'm sure FAAOA could confirm.
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Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939-1945 -- M
1790 NAS was very short-lived. 1790 Naval Air Squadron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1790 NAS was very short-lived. 1790 Naval Air Squadron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1790 NAS was very short-lived.
"The squadron joined HMS Vindex on 24 June, bound for Australia, with the ship arriving at HMS Nabthorpe (the Mobile Naval Air Base at RAAF Station Schofields) 2 days before the war in the Far East ended." - Wiki
....which must have been quite a shock to all concerned, observing that Schofields (later HMAS NIRIMBA, and now the site of the University of Western Sydney) is some 20 miles from the upper reaches of Sydney Harbour!
Jack
"The squadron joined HMS Vindex on 24 June, bound for Australia, with the ship arriving at HMS Nabthorpe (the Mobile Naval Air Base at RAAF Station Schofields) 2 days before the war in the Far East ended." - Wiki
....which must have been quite a shock to all concerned, observing that Schofields (later HMAS NIRIMBA, and now the site of the University of Western Sydney) is some 20 miles from the upper reaches of Sydney Harbour!
Jack
Thread Starter
Yes, Jock Moffat is alive, hale and hearty. Thanks for the inputs; b I'll sit down later (once the lawn is cut and I've done my homework) and carry on with the search.
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PM'd you the name of a possible route to further info.
Moffat may not be able to help:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-70-years.html
"'My navigator was a chap called John "Dusty" Miller and I've spent the last 20 years trying to find out what happened to him or where he is.'
Moffat may not be able to help:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-70-years.html
"'My navigator was a chap called John "Dusty" Miller and I've spent the last 20 years trying to find out what happened to him or where he is.'
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Possibly, he just didnt want to be found.
In the gentlest possible way, he may not want to be found. After the war, and his service in it, he simply may have wanted to forget about it and never want to mention it again. Many did and still do. Could this explain his hard to find location? Let sleeping dogs be let to lie?
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A good search on Ancestry.co.uk has been somewhat useful.
By 1962 Lt Cdr Miller was an RNR Seaman Officer as shown in the Navy List of that year, with seniority 11 July 1952. That is the last list in which he appears. He would have been about 42 by then.
Earlier lists show him on the staff of the RNR Channel Air Division and on 1840 NAS at Ford.
He also seems to have gone on a month long trip to Cherbourg from Southampton from 10 August to 10 September 1935. He left with his sisters Helen and Susan (17 and 16) but did not return with them. The outgoing records show him as aged 14, the return as 16. I am pretty sure it's the same person as the address given is 23 or 28 Brompton Square SW3 for both entries. Another student is also on both passenger lists.
I can't find any obvious birth, death or marriage entries as John Dawson Miller.
By 1962 Lt Cdr Miller was an RNR Seaman Officer as shown in the Navy List of that year, with seniority 11 July 1952. That is the last list in which he appears. He would have been about 42 by then.
Earlier lists show him on the staff of the RNR Channel Air Division and on 1840 NAS at Ford.
He also seems to have gone on a month long trip to Cherbourg from Southampton from 10 August to 10 September 1935. He left with his sisters Helen and Susan (17 and 16) but did not return with them. The outgoing records show him as aged 14, the return as 16. I am pretty sure it's the same person as the address given is 23 or 28 Brompton Square SW3 for both entries. Another student is also on both passenger lists.
I can't find any obvious birth, death or marriage entries as John Dawson Miller.
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TAG (Albert) John Hayman was commissioned shortly after the Bismark attack, retiring as a Lt Cdr pilot/instructor...having read Moffats book and his description of my uncle (deceased) he had no broken nose nor a cauliflower ear...he was a scratch golfer ...unrecognisable from Moffats recollection!!
