Records for civilians who traveled from USA to the UK between 1944 and 1946

[mlrsuperstar]

How can I find the records of Civilians who traveled between the US and the UK probably in Wartime ?

[Christine53]

The US did not keep records of passengers leaving the country at any time. UK Incoming Passenger Lists on ancestry are the only option I believe.

[mlrsuperstar]

Thanks CB . So far I have failed to find a record of an arrival in this case. I put this one down to the fact  the person may have traveled in wartime. Maybe the records were kept differently during the war.
Many thanks again for your help.

[johnnyboy]

I'm not writing with any particular knowledge on the subject, other than a fair amount of reading on WWII. But I would venture to say that very few civilians traveled from the US to the UK or vice versa between 1944 and 1946, particularly before WWII ended in Europe in May 1945.

The U.S. certainly requisitioned everything larger than a rowboat for the war effort. German submarines were close to the U.S. coastline throughout the war. After fighting ended in 1945, the U.S. began to prepare for an invasion of Japan. After Japan surrendered, the U.S. was still shipping soldiers back from Europe, probably into 1946.

The Board of Trade, which had jurisdiction over people entering the UK, was merged into what eventually became the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills. That department's main office has an e-mail address for inquiries: enquiries@bis.gsi.gov.uk.

The worst they can say is, We don't know.

Regards,
John