Itma dominic michael stringer - a comprehensive update

[Hazel Stringer]

I originally joined this site many, many years ago. Since I started the search for my father in law on here a huge amount of fascinating and, at times, almost impossible to believe information has surfaced. Further, it has been suggested that too much of the information I have suppled is conjecture, not verifiable and spread over too many threads. I do not have the knowhow to upload so many documents,. However, i can try to upload some snapshots if absolutely necessary.This thread is an effort to bring all the known information into the one thread as complete as I can make it at this time.

When my father in law (Dominic Michael Stringer) died in 1986 we had a few half remembered family tales, a strong Glaswegian accent and very little else, except he successfully escaped from Singapore on the night the Island fell to the Japanese. His claimed date of birth was impossible to find. Nor was it possible to find any details of his father's birth, death or marriage certificates. It was a tough shot! So many ups, downs, blind alleys and the rare nuggets of information from the most unexpected directions have produced the following. FOR 99.99% OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION i HAVE VERIFIABLE EVIDNCE.

Research and DNA has shown Dominic Michael Stringer was born Dominic Cunningham Casey in 1922 to a dysfunctional family and his mother died when he was barely seven years old. At 17 and 4 days he joined the territorial army in Glasgow. After training a change in regiment found him as a gunner/driver in 6HAA Royal Artillery on a convoy bound for the war in Africa. However, Pearl Harbour intervened and the ship he was on was diverted to Singapore, It arrived barely a month before the city fell.

From contemporaneous reports, it would appear he left Singapore as an OR Royal Navy. A chaotic journey to Padang/Emmerhaven ensued. There I lose sight of him for about a month. Having been reported missing at Singapore he was then reported as safe at Colombo GHQ - but not for long! Another note in his army records showed he went AWOL almost immediately but was sighted by a fellow soldier in Durban in June 1942! Again, he vanished. HOW DID HE GET TO COLOMBO TO SINGAPORE AND THEN TO DURBAN??

Approximately late November or early December, I regain his track. This time he was in Trinidad. He claimed he never wanted to go on deep sea ship again as he had "been torpedoed" three times (oral report repeated in writing). Instead an Englishman who had lived in Trinidad for some years got him into the USED (army) Coast Guard Service. He served it was on board a tiny ship called Delamar. This ship was essentially run by the Alcoa Steamship Company but on loan to the US War department shipping Bauxite out of South America to the West Indies and the USA. I have only a few details of Delamar. In January1943, after a whirlwind courtship he met and married my husband's mother in Barbados using the name Dominic Michael Stringer. ANY DETAILS OF CREW LISTS OR SURVIVING SHIPS LOGS FOR DELAMAR WILL BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

Sometime mid 1943, he transferred onto a Paterson steamship line vessel called Wellandoc. I have records showing port arrivals and departures for this ship from this time until mid 1944. AGAIN, ANY DETAILS OF CREW LISTS OR SURVIVING SHIPS LOGS FOR WELLANDOC WILL BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

May 1944 saw Dominic Stringer (as he is now known) in Montreal, Canada where he signed onto a British Merchant Navy vessel bound for the Mediterranean. For the remaining months of the war, he serves around the Med on various vessels and getting into trouble. I have his CRS10. He was the centre of at least one and possibly two naval courts. In July 1945, he was repatriated to Liverpool on "conveyance orders", apparently to serve a six week prison sentence.

If anyone can supply information or ideas on how to fill the gaps in his war service would be very much appreciated!

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Hazel.
A lot of gaps to fill, good luck with that, appears to be a bit of a will o the wisp,
Good luck
Des

[Doc Vernon]

Helo Hazel
Well all in all this has been a really masive search, and i can only hope that you will one day complete it all.
As regards to his Service with the US Coast Gaurd, have you as yet looked at their Archives for any Service Records?
If not then possibly you can try here.

Records Request

Read all the requirements first please!
Hope this may help a wee bit.
Good Luck as usual.
Its a long long road!
Cheers

PS: Do you know what type of Ship the Delamar was??

[Hazel Stringer]

Helo Hazel
Well all in all this has been a really masive search, and i can only hope that you will one day complete it all.
As regards to his Service with the US Coast Gaurd, have you as yet looked at their Archives for any Service Records?
If not then possibly you can try here.

Records Request

Read all the requirements first please!
Hope this may help a wee bit.
Good Luck as usual.
Its a long long road!
Cheers

PS: Do you know what type of Ship the Delamar was??

Yes!! As I promised I have been doing a hug amount of digging - will email. In the meantime: Harbor Tug "Delamar" built by Johnson Iron Works, New Orleans, LA, 1920, later designated LT 797, seconded to USED and based at Chaguaramas. Possibly Panamanian Registry but cannot recall which company technically owned her.


- - - Updated - - -

Hi,

I have come along way! We started with 2 dates and places of birth, a strong Glaswgian accent and some wild stories about WW2. Now I can almost pin him to a specific place in the world with the exception of a few months

[wightspirit]

There are 2 newspaper reports - Edinburgh Evening News dated 2 November 1951 and Daily Express 3 November 1951 referring to 'not a deserter' Dominic Cunningham Casey and the declaration sought by his wife Elizabeth that he must have died in action, and thus the marriage was dissolved. Accordingly the judge declared him dead. She last saw him in September 1941, two days after the birth of his daughter. There is another report for Dominic Michael Stringer in the Fulham Chronicle darted 24 April 1964 concerning tampering with cars, though this may be a different man of the same name.

Dave W

[Hazel Stringer]

There are 2 newspaper reports - Edinburgh Evening News dated 2 November 1951 and Daily Express 3 November 1951 referring to 'not a deserter' Dominic Cunningham Casey and the declaration sought by his wife Elizabeth that he must have died in action, and thus the marriage was dissolved. Accordingly the judge declared him dead. She last saw him in September 1941, two days after the birth of his daughter. There is another report for Dominic Michael Stringer in the Fulham Chronicle darted 24 April 1964 concerning tampering with cars, though this may be a different man of the same name.

Dave W

Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for this post! It is very much appreciated! I wonder do you have access to the newspaper articles?

I read it to his son and it made him chuckle! H remembers the incident in Fulham. Dad was a driver for RA and was quite knowledgeable about cars. A neighbour asked him to do some work on a car. Dad was interviewed about "interfering" with a car and the neighbour was not pleased the work had not been finished on time.

The Edinburgh article is also very useful as it pinpoints another date in his war time movements just before he was shipped off to Singapore.

Would it be possible to send me copies? I should be happy to pay any expenses incurred.

Thanks again,
Hazel

[Doc Vernon]

Just trying to asssit here.
Dont know if these are the correct Pages that wightspirit refers to. but may be ?
Cheers

Results | From 2nd Nov 1951 | Edinburgh Evening News | Publication | Midlothian, Scotland | Location | British Newspaper Archive

Results | Between 1st Nov 1951 and 7th Nov 1951 | Daily Express | Publication | London, England | Location | British Newspaper Archive

Results | Between 24th Apr 1964 and 24th Apr 1964 | London, London, England | Location | British Newspaper Archive

[Doc Vernon]

Not the Tug in question, but wonder if the one you seek would have looked pretty much the same Hazel.
Cheers

Harbour Tug Built New Orleans.JPG

Well i be a Monkeys Uncle !
Seek and he shall find they say!
Here she is at last!
Cheers
Who knows, your Dad may even be in the Pic ????

• Type: Tugboat
• Built by: Johnson Iron Works, Bayou St. John, Louisiana
• Yard No: 136
• Keel laid:
• Launched:
• Completed: 1919
• Length over all: 100.2 ft
• Beam: 24.0 ft
• GT:
• DWT:

• 1919 Named Delamar; Flag: United States
  
  • Official number: 219554
  
  
• 1920 Owner: U.S. Corps of Engineers
  
  • ECF#: 1298
  • Port: New Orleans
  
  
• Renamed LT-797; Flag: United States

Tugboat Delamar 1920.JPG

Tugboat Delamar 1920 2.JPG

[Hazel Stringer]

Not the Tug in question, but wonder if the one you seek would have looked pretty much the same Hazel.
Cheers

Harbour Tug Built New Orleans.JPG

Well i be a Monkeys Uncle !
Seek and he shall find they say!
Here she is at last!
Cheers
Who knows, your Dad may even be in the Pic ????

• Type: Tugboat
• Built by: Johnson Iron Works, Bayou St. John, Louisiana
• Yard No: 136
• Keel laid:
• Launched:
• Completed: 1919
• Length over all: 100.2 ft
• Beam: 24.0 ft
• GT:
• DWT:

• 1919 Named Delamar; Flag: United States
  
  • Official number: 219554
  
  
• 1920 Owner: U.S. Corps of Engineers
  
  • ECF#: 1298
  • Port: New Orleans
  
  
• Renamed LT-797; Flag: United States

Tugboat Delamar 1920.JPG

Tugboat Delamar 1920 2.JPG

There is a law that covers that!!! I. have sent years looking and only ever found the one photo!!!! Getting it sharpened to see. It would be amazing if one of the men is Dad Thanks aagain Doc!

[Hazel Stringer]

OH MY GIDDY AUNT!!!!! I got that last photo sharpened and improved and Mike is about 80% sure that the
guy in the bow is his DAD. The hairline is the same and he is smoking a pipe which he remembers his Dad doing!



mike and his dad.jpg



Mike's Dad about 8 - 10 years later

FLABBEERGASTED Is NOT EXACTLY THE WORD!