Blencowe John Pritchard 1913 – Blencowe Family in World War Two

John Pritchard Blencowe

1913-1987

Father Nm: Frederick ‘Fred” Charles Blencowe, b. 17 Dec 1875, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England d. 14 Aug 1963, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Mother Nm: Lily May Pritchard, b. 9 Mar 1878, Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales d. 7 Feb 1963, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Descendants of John Blencowe Engine Fitter from England who with his family emigrated to New York in 1887

Marriage Dt: about 1945

K comments:
Spouse comments: Margaret W Bryce, b. 13 Nov 1925, New Jersey d. 24 May 2013, Redding, Shasta County, Ca

Children.

	1. John Wallace Blencowe, b. 12 May 1946, Los Angeles d. 9 Sep 1963, Los Angeles (Age 17 years)
	2. James Frederick Blencowe, b. 1948, San Pedron, California (Age 76 years)
	3. Janet Isabel Blencowe, b. Jan 1950, San Pedro, California

Born 1913

21 March 1913, Los Angeles

1920 CENSUS

Los Angeles, California

Frederic C	Blencowe	Self	Married	Male	44	1876	England, Pattern Maker in a Shipyard
Lily	Blencowe	Wife	Married	Female	40	1880	Wales
Dorothy	Blencowe	Daughter	Single	Female	8	1912	California
John	Blencowe	Son	Single	Male	6	1914	California, Roustabout helper Gasoline Plant
Gwenllian	Blencowe	Daughter	Single	Female	3	1917	California

1940 census

Los Angeles, California,

Fred C	Blencowe	Head	Married	Male	65	1875	England
Lily M	Blencowe	Wife	Married	Female	62	1878	Wales
John P	Blencowe	Son	Single	Male	28	1912	California
Gwenllien M	Blencowe	Daughter	Single	Female	23	1917	California

WW2

John Pritichard Blencowe, 3807981, Chief Motor Machinist’s Mate, USS Neal A Scott, US Navy.

Synopsis

John whose brother in law Cecil Pruett had served 4 years in the Navy 1937-1941 and may have been an influence on Johns choice of service. That influence might even been to a similar role that Cecil had in the Engine room. As a Navy Mechanic in the engine room he could have been deployed on many ships but his wartime was spent on just two submarine hunter ships in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1944 he was transferred to a brand new ship of this class and iy was there that his ship was involved in combat and later capture of German Submarines.

1942

7 July. Enlisted into US Navy
16 August. Sailing Mayport Florida to Key West Florida, rank Machinist’s Mate First Class.MM1c Ship SC-653. Note the SC-653 was wooden hulled ship and hence had a smaller magnetic signature making it harder for submarines to detect them.
SC- 653 was a Submarine Chaser

1943

30 June. Ship SC 653 , rank now Chief Motor Machinist’s Mate CMoMM.

1944

Sometime in mid 1944 John was probably transferred to a brand new ship for oits commissioning. His Muster records records him aboard the ship in September

25 September. ship Neal A. Scott (DE-749) Bermuda. Note this ship operated in the Atlantic fleet the entire war

11 October 1944: Boston, Mass. – USS Neal A. Scott (DE 769) got underway from Pier 4 at the Boston Navy Yard for a transit to the Norfolk Naval Operating Base. She had been in the Boston Yard for post-shakedown availability since 27 September. Scott is wearing camouflage

Initial Shakedown and Testing (Late 1944)
After shakedown off Bermuda and a post-shakedown availability in Boston, the ship conducted acoustic test runs at Solomons Island, Maryland in mid-November 1944, before serving as a training ship in the lower Chesapeake Bay area through 10 December 1944 history.navy.milMilitary Wiki.
Convoy Escort to North Africa (Dec 1944 – Jan 1945)
On 11 December, she departed Lynnhaven Roads with Task Force 63, escorting convoy UGS‑63 to Oran, Algeria. The convoy passed Gibraltar on 27 December, arriving in Oran on 28 December.
She then escorted convoy GUS‑63 back to the U.S., where on 3 January 1945, she conducted aggressive anti-submarine action—dropping 26 depth charges and multiple hedgehog attacks—before ultimately returning to Norfolk on 19 January 1945 history.navy.milMilitary Wiki.

1945

- Operation Teardrop – North Atlantic Anti‑Submarine Patrols (Feb–Apr 1945)
  In February 1945, she joined the Southern Forces Barrier Patrol, conducting submarine hunts off Maine, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland as part of Operation Teardrop history.navy.milMilitary Wiki.
- Sinking of U‑518 (22 April 1945)
  On 22 April, while in a scouting line near Argentia, Newfoundland, the destroyer escort detected a submarine contact. USS Neal A. Scott launched a hedgehog attack at 00:56, followed by coordinated attack from USS Carter (DE‑112)—culminating in multiple explosions and destruction of German U‑boat U‑518 history.navy.miluboat.netMilitary Wiki.
  
  The German submarine U518 at sea. Source Deuches-Uboot-Museum
- Interception of U‑1228 and U‑858 (May 1945)
  After VE Day (7 May 1945), she was tasked to intercept surrendering German subs U‑1228 and U‑858. On 11 May, she intercepted U‑1228, boarded it, took aboard 28 crew members (including the captain), and escorted the U‑boat to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, arriving 17 May 1945 history.navy.milMilitary Wiki.
  
  German UBoat crew surrendering to allied forces in 1945 source Pinterest
- Station or Activity Naval Air Facility, Navy 804 Dunkeswell, Devon, England