Sidney Arnold Morse's Service on H.M.H.S. Oxfordshire

Subject: Sidney Arnold Morse

Description

My father, Sidney Arnold Morse, when called up did not want to go off killing other human beings and decided to join the hospital service. It is unclear when he actually joined up but he was sent to Chatham initially for basic training but didn't enjoy all the "Bull" that the Petty Officers carried out on them but eventually, he was sent to Greenock, in Scotland, to join HMS Ranpura, an armed Merchant Cruiser, which had been until the 6 September 1939 the passenger ship SS Rampura of the P. & O. Steam Navigation Co Ltd, London. It was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted into an armed merchant cruiser. The conversion was completed on 30 November 1939.

Timeline

? date estimated

28 July 1942: Greenock, Scotland, UK

31 July 1942: Greenock, Scotland, UK

10 August 1942: Freetown, Sierra Leone

11 September 1942: Freetown, Sierra Leone

28 September 1942: Liverpool, UK

6 November 1942: Liverpool, UK

12 November 1942: Gibraltar

10 December 1942: Gibraltar

11 December 1942: Algiers, Algeria

12 December 1942: Algiers, Algeria

13 December 1942: Oran, Algeria

17 January 1943: Oran, Algeria

18 January 1943: Nemours, Algeria

22 January 1943: Nemours, Algeria

24 January 1943: Algiers, Algeria

24 January 1943: Algiers, Algeria

25 January 1943: Oran, Algeria

26 January 1943: Oran, Algeria

27 January 1943: Gibraltar

27 January 1943: Gibraltar

4 February 1943: Avonmouth, UK

20 February 1943: Avonmouth, UK

27 February 1943: Gibraltar

11 March 1943: Gibraltar

12 March 1943: Algiers, Algeria

13 March 1943: Algiers, Algeria

14 March 1943: Oran, Algeria

16 March 1943: Oran, Algeria

23 March 1943: Avonmouth, UK

14 April 1943: Avonmouth, UK

7 April 1943: Gibraltar

7 April 1943: Gibraltar

9 April 1943: Algiers, Algeria

10 April 1943: Algiers, Algeria

11 April 1943: Oran, Algeria

21 April 1943: Oran, Algeria

23 April 1943: Bone, Algeria

23 April 1943: Bone, Algeria

24 April 1943: Algiers, Algeria

27 April 1943: Algiers, Algeria

28 April 1943: Bone, Algeria

28 April 1943: Bone, Algeria

30 April 1943: Oran, Algeria

1 May 1943: Oran, Algeria

3 May 1943: Bone, Algeria

3 May 1943: Bone, Algeria

5 May 1943: Oran, Algeria

8 May 1943: Oran, Algeria

10 May 1943: Bone, Algeria

10 May 1943: Bone, Algeria

11 May 1943: Algiers, Algeria

12 May 1943: Algiers, Algeria

20 May 1943: Avonmouth, UK

7 June 1943: Avonmouth, UK

13 June 1943: Gibraltar

13 June 1943: Gibraltar

14 June 1943: Oran, Algeria

16 June 1943: Oran, Algeria

18 June 1943: Gibraltar

18 June 1943: Gibraltar

23 June 1943: Avonmouth, UK

28 June 1943: Avonmouth, UK

5 July 1943: Gibraltar

7 July 1943: Gibraltar

8 July 1943: Philippeville, Algeria

15 July 1943: Philippeville, Algeria

17 July 1943: Gela, Sicily, Italy

22 July 1943: Licata, Sicily, Italy

23 July 1943: Bizerte, Tunisia

9 August 1943: Bizerte, Tunisia

10 August 1943: Palermo, Sicily, Italy

11 August 1943: Palermo, Sicily, Italy

12 August 1943: Bizerte, Tunisia

2 September 1943: Bizerte, Tunisia

4 September 1943: Tripoli, Libya

4 September 1943: Tripoli, Libya

7 September 1943: Alexandria, Egypt

8 September 1943: Alexandria, Egypt

12 September 1943: Bizerte, Tunisia

12 September 1943: Bizerte, Tunisia