Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire, Jr., Papers
1942-1999
Manuscript Collection #1363- Creator(s)
- Cheshire, Godfrey, Jr., 1918-2016
- Physical description
- 1.10 Cubic Feet, 19.1 Gigabytes, 2 document cases and 1 shoe box, consisting of correspondence, ship's logs, ship's organization records, clippings, certificates, photocopies, DVDs, audiocassette, photographs, and military records
- Preferred Citation
- Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire, Jr., Papers (#1363), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
- Repository
- ECU Manuscript Collection
- Access
- This collection is open for research. Original audiovisual media and digital files are unavailable for use. Please contact Special Collections for access copies.
This collection (1942-1999) contains papers related to the World War II service of Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire, Jr., in the Pacific Theatre aboard the USS Harold C. Thomas (DE-21) for which he was the commander for a year. Included are photocopies of the ship's logs for the USS Harold C. Thomas, correspondence (1990-1992) with the Destroyer Escort Commanding Officers Association about reunions, Cheshire's military records (1942-1945, 1947), photocopies of clippings and articles about the Thomas and other DEs, photocopies of certificates, photographs, and DVDs containing oral history interviews of Cheshire by family members.
Biographical/historical information
Godfrey Cheshire, Jr., was born on July 17, 1918, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Godfrey Cheshire and Alice Calder Shiell Cheshire. He was raised in Raleigh, NC, and attended Sewanee Military Academy in Tennessee and North Carolina State College before graduating from University of North Carolina in 1940. Commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy in September 1941, he served in the Pacific theater during World War II on the USS Harold C. Thomas (which he commanded for a year) in Destroyer Escort 21. After the war's end he returned to his job with Superior Stone Company of Raleigh and retired in 1981 as vice president.
He married Elizabeth Sprague Silver of Raleigh in April 1949 and they had two sons Godfrey Cheshire III and Sprague Silver Cheshire and daughter Elizabeth Cheshire McOwen. Godfrey Cheshire, Jr., died on November 30, 2016, in Raleigh, NC.
Scope and arrangement
This collection contains documents and photographs related to Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire Jr.'s service onboard USS Harold C. Thomas (DE-21). The opening documents relate to his retirement from the Navy after the Second World War and continue on with his participation in the Destroyer Escort Commanding Officers Association of World War II. This large collection of correspondence is followed by documents related to the USS Harold C. Thomas specifically, including a biography of its namesake, images and a roster of the crew, and documentation of the ship's day to day operations from 1943 to 1945. Also included are clippings and articles about the Thomas and other DEs, photocopies of certificates, photographs, and DVDs containing oral history interviews of Cheshire by family members.
Administrative information
Custodial History
February 5, 2020, 1.0 cubic foot; This collection (1942-1999) contains papers related to the World War II service of Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire, Jr., in the Pacific Theatre aboard the USS Harold C. Thomas (DE-21) for which he was the commander for a year. Included are photocopies of the ship's logs for the USS Harold C. Thomas, correspondence (1990-1992) with the Destroyer Escort Commanding Officers Association about reunions, Cheshire's military records (1942-1945, 1947), photocopies of clippings and articles about the Thomas and other DEs, photocopies of certificates, and photographs. Gift of Elizabeth S. Cheshire.
June 28, 2024, (unprocessed addition) 0.10 cubic foot; Addition includes ship's organization rules and instructions for the USS Harold C. Thomas (DE 21), and instruction booklets (1944, 1945) for fueling escort vessels at sea. Gift of the Family of Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire, Jr. and Elizabeth Silver Cheshire via Elizabeth C. McOwen.
Source of acquisition
Gift of Elizabeth S. Cheshire
Gift of the Family of Lt. Commander Godfrey Cheshire, Jr. and Elizabeth Silver Cheshire via Elizabeth C. McOwen
Processing information
Processed by Joel Cook, February 2020.
Digital files processed by John Dunning, September 2024.
Copyright notice
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Metadata Rights Declaration
Key terms
Personal Names
Cheshire, Godfrey, Jr., 1918-2016Corporate Names
Harold C. Thomas (Destroyer escort)Topical
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific OceanWorld War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American
Container list
Contains article discussing the "Williamson turn" developed during the Second World War for man overboard procedures