Hi, I'm David. I'm interested in the background of British Merchant Navy casualties of World War II. I have been using Wikipedia to find ships that were sunk with loss of life. In particular my interest is in ships that were lost along the English coast between 1941 and 1943. I'm using source material (National Archive Board of Trade Crew Agreements)to build a case for contesting, the summary of facts regarding, some of the personal who were reported to have been on board and Lost at Sea Presumed Drowned after a sinking.
I would like to contribute to Wikipedia since I've gotten so much value out of this service in my day to day life. Since I'm reviewing source material, in my research, I would like to add to the accumulated knowledge of the ships wrecked, the account of the sinking provided and most importantly (to me) any outstanding issues regarding the makeup of the crew. In regard to this last matter it may prove significant for families seeking a better understanding of the fate of their ancestors.
I'm from Christchurch, New Zealand. My interests include playing guitar, writing, photography and reading. I'm currently putting together a website displaying my World War II British Merchant Navy Research. My grandfather was said to be onboard the SS Knitsley which was sunk 12 December 1942. Anecdotal discrepancies concerning his fate led me to begin researching. I've found issues regarding the crew list of this vessel. There is a possibility that these problems may have been widespread among the British Merchant Navy ranks and previously overlooked. I expect my research to go on for sometime.