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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
I wonder if anyone can give me some assistance here.
My neighbour, whilst helping his elderly parents move house came upon an item his father was ready to throw out.
It's a first world war brass artillery shell case with the following professionally engraved upon it.....
New London

Bermuda

Azores

Brest

Plymouth
To

D.L.Waterfield

From The Crew Of

U.S.S.C. 36

Plymouth, England

1918-19
I have managed to work out the vessel was a 'submarine chaser' and seen a few b/w images of the vessel online.
My puzzle is who was D. L. Waterfield? Was it a Deputy Lieutenant Waterfield or a possible David Lawrence Waterfield (that being a mere guess)?
I've trawled the interweb but found nothing concrete. My neighbour and his parents hail from the town of Liskeard here in Cornwall which is about twenty miles from Plymouth, Devon where obviously the presentation took place.
Any pointers would be most welcome from any US naval historians to solve this mystery.
Regards,
Jay.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
The US Navy did not use the term "Deputy" in the Lieutenant line, afaik, which is not that far. It was LJG, for Lieutenant Junior Grade which I think would be equivalent to DL in the British Navy. Hope that helps a bit. David Lawrence sounds like a good set of New England given names.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
There are various archives available, some for a cost, that have information. US Navy archives will have crew manifests for the ship.
However, were I you, I'd look closer to home. My immediate guess, considering where the artifact was found and the inscription, is that D. L. Waterfield was an Englishman and performed some deed which resulted in the gift from the ship. Perhaps he took in crewmen or performed some other boon or duty. But, I do think you are looking for someone living in the Plymouth area during the time the ship was berthed there.
Perhaps an ad in a local paper will reveal descendants.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Thanks for the replies chaps, much appreciated.
I do have an annual subscription to Ancestry.Com and have been digging around on there. Clearly I need to dig deeper.
Regards,
Jay.

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,273
4,268
Interesting. All U.S. Navy vessels are USS. (I say Navy, because U.S. Coast Guard vessels are designated USCGC - United States Coast Guard Cutter). However, digging through this wikipedia page- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_I_naval_ships -, I did find the U.S. had some submarines designated as USS C-class but there were only five built and 36 was not one of the numbers.
There were a class of Submarine Chasers in WWI and WWII. They were all 110-foot wooden hulled vessels with a designation of SC before the number. There was a SC-36 in service during WWI. https://www.subchaser.org/sc36
My guess would be that whomever did the engraving on the shell casing made a mistake and should have included a space between the U.S. and the S.C.

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 27, 2018
270
24
However, were I you, I'd look closer to home. My immediate guess, considering where the artifact was found and the inscription, is that D. L. Waterfield was an Englishman and performed some deed which resulted in the gift from the ship. Perhaps he took in crewmen or performed some other boon or duty. But, I do think you are looking for someone living in the Plymouth area during the time the ship was berthed there.
This theory seems the most likely to me. Expanding on warren's strategy, I would perhaps try to peruse the local newspaper archives between 1918-19 for any mention of the American ship and a Mr. D.L. Waterfield.
I've used the National Archives to find information on relatives who served in the First World War, and also the Fleet Air Arm Museum has a great many records from the First World War, I believe. Sometimes online databases can be quite incomplete, so If you are up for some detective work I would start at the local library, and being in the southwest you are only a few hours from the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Could be a fun and informative adventure, for sure!

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Pappymac, your observation is quite correct regards USSC versus USSSC and that initially threw me. I can only presume the engraver in Plymouth wasn't too familiar with naming protocol when it came to American vessels.
The search continues......
Regards,
Jay.

 

chilipalmer

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 24, 2017
219
342
Jay -
I did a little digging and found a few tidbits for you. The place list: New London, Bermuda, Azores, Brest, Plymouth is the history of the cruise the ship took to their operational station in England. According to the Navy Directory, published 1 November 1918, the commander of the vessel was Lt(jg) E.R. Dick and the ship was stationed at Base 27 in Nova Scotia, Canada. So, it would seem that the ship didn't move to England until the war was over and was then on station for some months, carrying over into 1919. The ship was armed with one 76mm gun, located in the bow. You can measure the brass case and determine if it is the appropriate dimension to have come from the ship.
Concerning Mr. Waterfield, I would agree with Warren that he was someone who performed some service for the ship and was not a member of the crew. The only thought I have concerning the mystery man is that he was tied to the Plymouth navy yard in some way and you might be able to find him by searching through the archives for that site.
Good luck in your sleuthing!
Cheers,
Chili

 

chilipalmer

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 24, 2017
219
342
Jay -
Apparently, the sailors used USSC as the designation for their vessels, despite the Navy Department specified USS SC. The link below will take you to a site dedicated to the sub chasers of the First War and there is a link to a postcard from a sailor on sub chaser 38. He lists the ship as USSC.
https://www.subchaser.org/sc38
Cheers,
Chili

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I think Waterfield is a civilian who did the ship's crew a favor or courtesy. Another military naval man would have been named with his rank and possibly his unit or command. The ports of call listed refer to a specific cruise operation this ship has been on. The engraving on an artillery shell suggests this is a personal award crafted by the ship crew, not something official. Those are my guesses based on the good input from previous posts and experience during one of the ancient conflicts, but not this ancient. If the current owners don't want it, I think it might find a welcoming home at the World War One museum in Kansas City Missouri or some similar institution. The exact occasion of the award may never be known, but it is possible that much more might surface if the item were put on exhibit or in a collection.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Let me repeat the suggestion that any World War One uniforms, medals, or other gear of interest, not likely to be otherwise preserved, should be offered to the national World War One museum in Kansas City, the largest single collection in the U.S. of its kind. My wife gave her dad's cook's uniform to a local county museum but wishes she had gotten it to the national museum. They have a staff of curators and detailed records of service and are the professionals in this era. The Smithsonian does wonderful work but has the whole range of history and artifacts to deal with. I wonder if Vietnam vets should be agitating for a similar museum dedicated only to that era and located outside D.C. in a more central part of the country accessible to more of the veterans and their families and eventually their ancestors. My wife's dad, Charles, or Charlie as he was called, and Happy as he was called as a child, left high school as a volunteer and had health problems for his adult life from mustard gas attacks. He lived into his late sixties, but without his full health.

 

fordm60

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 19, 2014
598
5
I believe D.L. Waterfield is a civilian. If he was military he would be listed with a rank, and branch. He did something for the ship, extra cases of booze, fixed something unusal quickly, had a connection for something they wanted, or was just a civilian they could depend upon at the dock. Definitely civilian, as the last WWI Vet died a few years ago there is no one to ask. Interesting little mystery!!

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I would almost bet a paycheck, if I was still earning one, that somewhere ... within a hundred mile radius of the home in which is was found, is a Waterford who sometimes wonders, "What ever happened to that shell casing grandpa was so proud of."

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Here's a link to the WWI museum in Kansas City:
https://www.theworldwar.org/

 
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