Archifdy Ceredigion Archives
MUSEUM COLLECTION

Acc. 2934

Ref: MUS/230

Reference: [GB 0212] MUS/230
Title: Captain Richard W. Roberts
Date(s):
Level: Fonds
Extent: 3 series

Scope and Content:
Collection reflecting the career and family connections of Captain Richard W. Roberts, originally of Borth and at one time a resident of Gordon Villa there. Roberts was the son of Captain J.H. Roberts (d. by 1942, when his widow resided in Liverpool). Roberts joined the Orient Steam Navigation Company in 1916 and at some time joined the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR). Between the wars he married Mary, daughter of the Rees family of Tynpark, Llandre. In 1942 he acted as convoy commander in the Oronsay for the invasion of French-ruled Madagascar, later surviving the ship’s sinking. He went on to command the Liberty Ship and military transport Samkansa, voyaging to the Mediterranean and Pacific (see MUS/230/1/9/7/44). After the war he served on a variety of liners, now increasingly operating as cruise ships, rising to command the Oronsay, the replacement for the vessel lost during the war.


SERIES 1

MUS/230/1: Documents relating to Capt. Roberts’ professional life, containing 10 files

MUS/230/1/1
Documents relating to Capt. Roberts’ professional life pre-WWII or prior to the Battle of Madagascar.

MUS/230/1/2-3
Typescript and invitation

MUS/230/1/4
Documents relating to the Battle of Madagascar (Operation Ironclad)

MUS/230/1/5
Material relating to Captain Roberts and the Oronsay’s employment in transporting French and Axis prisoners via the Cape to the Clyde.

MUS/230/1/6
Documents concerning the loss of the Oronsay, which was torpedoed 600 miles south-west of Freetown on 9 October 1942

MUS/230/1/7
Letters of congratulation to Captain R.W. Roberts.

MUS/230/1/8
Documents relating to Roberts service between the loss of the Oronsay and his appointment to the Samkansa in mid 1944.

MUS/230/1/9
Material relating to the Liberty Ship Samkansa in the period 1943-1947.

MUS/230/1/10
Capt. Roberts’ career after the sale of the Samkansa in 1947.


SERIES 2

MUS/230/2: Photographs relating to Capt. Roberts’ professional career, containing 21 files

MUS/230/2/1
Black and white photographs, probably pre-WWII

MUS/230/2/2
Black and white photographs, WWII period, mostly depicting the invasion of Madagascar and its aftermath.

MUS/230/2/3
Photographs and other images of ships.

MUS/230/2/4
Portrait of unidentified marine officer.

MUS/230/2/6
Photographs of a shipboard memorial service.

MUS/230/2/7
Photographs showing an operation in which a child transferred between a ship and a motorboat.

MUS/230/2/8
Photographs of officers in a cabin or wardroom.

MUS/230/2/9
Photographs of Prince Phillip.

MUS/230/2/10
Photographs of Japanese women visiting cruise liners.

MUS/230/2/11
Photographs of onboard visitors from Friendly Isles or South Seas Islands.

MUS/230/2/12
Photographs of a function onboard ship with Captain Roberts present.

MUS/230/2/13
Photographs showing a drinks function.

MUS/230/2/14
Photographs from South Seas cruises.

MUS/230/2/15
Photographs of shipboard social events.

MUS/230/2/16
Miscellaneous shipboard or similar, post war.

MUS/230/2/17
Photographs taken on board the Oronsay.

MUS/230/2/18
Photographs of Hawaii.

MUS/230/2/19
Large format publicity or commemorative photographs.

MUS/230/2/20
Photographs and other images of holiday locations and events.

MUS/230/2/21
Portraits and other pictures of Captain Roberts.


SERIES 3

MUS/230/3: Family documents and photographs, containing 3 files

MUS/230/3/1
Documents

MUS/230/3/2
Postcards, unsent.

MUS/230/3/3
Family and personal photographs.