Hi all,
Last year I bought a copy of The Little Ships by Gordon Holman, printed in March 1944 (the first edition was published in October 1943). On the first page is an inscription, shown in the attached photo (apologies that it appears to be on its side, but if you click it, it appears the right way up).
I'm quite interested to find out who this was. Some research suggests that Robert Michael Marshall was in command of MGB 503 on 10 June 1944 and also happened to be married. I wonder if he may have been known as Bertie, although I realise that would be an unusual shortening of Robert, and he seems to have been more commonly known as Mike.
Alternatively, there was apparently an Able Seaman Albert Leonard George Turner (C/JX374936) on 503 in 1944. This name seems a more likely contender to be a Bertie, but I haven't been able to find out anything about him (such as his marital status).
I've come by this information from two principal sources; this website (http://www.unithistories.com/officers/R ... cersM.html) and one of the entries on this very forum (viewtopic.php?t=318). I have tried contacting Chewitt, but with no success. I was wondering if any other users, particularly Brian Holmes who posted the crew lists, would be able to point me in the direction of any further information about the crew that might give me some clues about their nicknames in the hope I can work out the identity of this book's former owner.
Many thanks,
Steve