Seeking Harwich ferry shipping arrivals and departures in local newspapers for 1938–1939

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Fulbourne

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Hi, this is my first post here. I'm a historical researcher seeking information about any east coast newspapers that were published just before WWII which listed the arrivals and departures of cross-channel ferries operated by the LNER, from Harwich to Hook and back. The ferries were Amsterdam, Prague, and Vienna. I already subscribe to the British Newspaper Archives (BNA) and they have nothing online. I can't tell from the online list of the newspaper titles in the British Library whether the newspapers they list carried shipping information or not. The time period is 1938–1939. I would appreciate learning the names of any newspapers that carried this information. I know from my research at the BNA that regional newspapers in the north of England and Scotland carried this information. If anyone has any knowledge of such newspapers, feel free to write to me, Jeremy Frankel, at jfrankel (at) lmi (dot) net. Thank you in advance.
 
Oldgeezer said:
I was researching the SS Sauternes that was sunk in 1941.
My Uncle was lost as were all the ships company and crew.
I got details of all ports of call and problems with the ship etc.

I got the information from lloyds list of shipping which you may (or may not) have tried?

The info I got was--

SS Sauternes research items
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That's great. Can you tell me specifically how you obtained the Lloyd's List pages? I don't think the newspaper is online, and I've written to Lloyd's but was never able to reach the right person.
 
Try the Harwich Museum first for general information - lots of records and photos there - and there may be some people there that still remember the time

If it's the newspapers you are more interested in, start by contacting the 'Essex County Standard' - The 'Group' will include the local Harwich papers - and the East Anglian Daily Times - both still published.

Then the Essex Record Office and Suffolk Record office for newspapers and other records possibly.

Harwich - Hook was probably daily or twice daily each way, from Parkeston Quay, as it still is, and there was also the train ferry from the train ferry terminal which still exists next to the Trinity House Terminal. There would have also been other ships going other places.

Let us know what you find.









v
 
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RivalRedwing said:
Surprised the Harwich Haven Authority lack an archive of such material
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I wrote to them — one of over twenty organisations and over 100 emails, during a six-month period. With respect to the Harwich Haven Authority, their response was ". . .I was asked if I could help in your research for a particular ship that came into Harwich harbour and Parkeston port in 1939. . . Unfortunately I have not been able to pin down any specific vessel arrivals for the timeline that you are looking for. . ."
 
Egret said:
Try the Harwich Museum first for general information - lots of records and photos there - and there may be some people there that still remember the time

If it's the newspapers you are more interested in, start by contacting the 'Essex County Standard' - The 'Group' will include the local Harwich papers - and the East Anglian Daily Times - both still published.

Then the Essex Record Office and Suffolk Record office for newspapers and other records possibly.

Harwich - Hook was probably daily or twice daily each way, from Parkeston Quay, as it still is, and there was also the train ferry from the train ferry terminal which still exists next to the Trinity House Terminal. There would have also been other ships going other places.

Let us know what you find.









v
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I also wrote to the Harwich Museum — they don't have anything. Yes, I am trying to track down newspapers, per my original posting. I have written to Colchester Library Reference for any newspapers they might have. I've also looked at the catalogue of the Essex Record Office. They appear to have a lot of cutting scrap books, but I didn't see any runs of local newspapers. As a very general rule, record offices tend to hold local government-related documents, not commercial newspapers, for which, one is more likely to find as a microfilm in a reference collection in a major library. To answer the service question. With respect to the LNER and their three ferries, it was an outbound once a day, probably in the morning, arriving in the afternoon, then leaving in the evening, arriving back at Harwich in the early morning. I have found the outbound and arrival information for a very short period: 30 June 1939 to 31 August 1939. The service ceased a few days later as war was declared.
 
Just to add, If you want the whole story, click on the link bottom right on the page I suggest in my first reply that says 'return to faroes weekend'.
It's all archived now but hopefully still works! Click on the day at the bottom of each page.
 
RivalRedwing said:
It might be me, but you seem to be undertaking this work remotely via e-mail. A request for an in person visit to view archives might be more productive ? Granted there is a cost implication for you.
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Alas, remote is the only way. Although I was born in London, for the past thirty years I've lived in America, and currently live in Tennessee. So yes, I am relying on the knowledge of others in my efforts to learn if there are any local Essex newspapers that carried shipping information during the late 1930s.
 
Oldgeezer said:
Having said that, I went in person for the detail I required. Not sure it's available on line but worth an email if you can't get the detail you are after
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One difference between your research and mine is that in your case it was about a ship that had been lost at sea. Generally speaking one can find quite a lot on line, newspapers etc, as well as official records. I went that route because a sister-in-law of one of my great grandfathers was a passenger on the SS Berlin that went down in 1907 off the Hook of Holland. In my case I'm simply searching for the arrival and departures of a ferry from Harwich in the 1930s. These were not officially recorded.
 
What you need is Lloyd's List, not the Register. Unfortunately whilst there are many of the old issues available in different archives on the Internet I don't believe anything as recent as 1938 is available.

This page on the BNA explains that they have up to 1914 digitised: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/titles/lloyds-list

This website has issues back to 1741 but that's not much help to you!
Lloyds List


If you have a BNA subscription this link should work. It gives details of LNER holiday cruises in 1938 on the 'Vienna' from Harwich but not the timetable that you're after though:

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0006040/19380218/156/0009
 
creeks said:
What you need is Lloyd's List, not the Register. Unfortunately whilst there are many of the old issues available in different archives on the Internet I don't believe anything as recent as 1938 is available.

This page on the BNA explains that they have up to 1914 digitised: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/titles/lloyds-list

This website has issues back to 1741 but that's not much help to you!
Lloyds List


If you have a BNA subscription this link should work. It gives details of LNER holiday cruises in 1938 on the 'Vienna' from Harwich but not the timetable that you're after though:

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0006040/19380218/156/0009
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creeks said:
What you need is Lloyd's List, not the Register. Unfortunately whilst there are many of the old issues available in different archives on the Internet I don't believe anything as recent as 1938 is available.

This page on the BNA explains that they have up to 1914 digitised: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/titles/lloyds-list

This website has issues back to 1741 but that's not much help to you!
Lloyds List


If you have a BNA subscription this link should work. It gives details of LNER holiday cruises in 1938 on the 'Vienna' from Harwich but not the timetable that you're after though:

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0006040/19380218/156/0009
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Yes, I have researched the BNA extensively, using various search terms for 1938 and 1939, but nothing is coming up. Yes, as a professional genealogist I have subscriptions to many genealogy websites. I have, by the way, also written to BNA suggesting that they take a look at east coast, Harwich area newspapers and see if any of them include shipping arrivals and departures, then scan the newspaper and make it available. Many thanks for your comments.
 
creeks said:
This BNA search reveals a bit more about the 'Vienna'. Looks like the 'Liverpool Journal of Commerce' is your best bet to get the info you want:

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1938-01-01/1938-12-31?basicsearch=harwich vienna&exactsearch=false&retrievecountrycounts=false&newspapertitle=liverpool+journal+of+commerce
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That's very interesting. Immingham is a ways up the coast, but, as you say, they are reporting the arrival of the Vienna. Which incidentally brought my three-year old Kindertransport cousin to England a few months later. Strange this was reported in a Liverpool newspaper. However, searching for 'Vienna' would produce a huge number of false positive hits. If the registered tonnage was always the same, then that might be a way of narrowing down the search. Thank you.
 
Fulbourne said:
That's very interesting. Immingham is a ways up the coast, but, as you say, they are reporting the arrival of the Vienna. Which incidentally brought my three-year old Kindertransport cousin to England a few months later. Strange this was reported in a Liverpool newspaper. However, searching for 'Vienna' would produce a huge number of false positive hits. If the registered tonnage was always the same, then that might be a way of narrowing down the search. Thank you.
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I've taken a closer look but not all voyages are to Hook of Holland. Some were to Amsterdam and back.
 
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