Post by Administrator on Oct 26, 2022 0:52:54 GMT
VIA: Billy McGeeNeutral Shores, Ireland and the Battle of the Atlantic
Story behind the WWII Merchant Navy graves at Londonderry City Cemetery.
ARMISON, Linen Keeper, HARRY, S.S. Anchises (Liverpool). Merchant Navy. 20th March 1941. Age 39. Foster-son of Nellie Oates, of Sheffield. His foster-brother, Alec Webster Oates, also died on service. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 745D.
Passenger cargo ship Anchises, 10,000grt, (A. Holt & Co.) sailed independently from Hong Kong with a general cargo and thirty-nine passengers bound for Liverpool via Cape Town and Freetown. On the 27th February 1941 off Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal the ship was attacked by a lone German aircraft. After making three separate attacks dropping six bombs, although not having suffered any direct hits, some damage to the propeller and a number of plates, had sprung under the pressure causing flooding in the engine room and stoke hold. The aircraft returned again this time strafing the ship with shell and machine gun fire. The gun crew from Anchises had been returning fire all the time during the attack and as the aircraft made one more pass, tracer bullets were seen entering the fuselage and spluttering noises were heard coming from one of its engines before the aircraft finally disappeared over the horizon. As the ship began to take on a list the Master ordered the passengers and most of the crew to the boats, while retaining a skeleton crew on-board. One of the lifeboats became separated from the rest and was not found until six days later, but by then the Officer in charge and one Stewardess had died. The following day after the attack the Corvette HMS Kingcup was sighted and hove too and the Master and remaining crewmembers prepared to abandon ship, but with heavy seas running this was found to be most difficult, but eventually a boat was successfully launched, when tragedy struck. As the lifeboat tried to manoeuvre alongside the corvette it was smashed to pieces on contact and nine occupants were lost to the sea. After being picked up the remaining survivors were landed at Londonderry. One of the survivors died in Hospital in Londonderry from the effects of exposure just under a month later and was buried in the Londonderry City Cemetery. Three passengers were also recorded as lost.
BRUCE, Chief Officer, ALEXANDER, M.V. Oilfield (Newcastle). Merchant Navy. 28th April 1941. Age 45. Son of Alexander and Mary Jane Bruce, of South Shields, Co. Durham; husband of Florence Jane Bruce, of South Shields. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1217.
SOMERSET, Apprentice, ARTHUR, M.V. Oilfield (Newcastle). Merchant Navy. 28th April 1941. Age 18. Son of John and Henrietta Somerset, of East Hoathly, Sussex. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1216.
Tanker Oilfield, 8,516grt, (Hunting & Son) loaded with a cargo of benzene at Aruba for London joined the 47 ship Convoy HX-121, which departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 16th April 1941. On the 28th April 1941 about 200 nautical miles South of Iceland the convoy was attacked and one ship damaged. Three hours later U-96 fired three torpedoes at the convoy hitting three ships including the Oilfield and the tanker immediately burst into flames engulfing most of the ship. The order to abandon ship was given and the survivors struggled through the flames, where many men were engulfed by the flames unable to manoeuvre their rafts through the burning sea. Those still alive now had to swim to find a way through to clear water. A further forty-seven men were burned alive and the ship finally sank in position 60’ 05N 17’ 00W. After thirty five minutes the naval trawler, HMT St. Zeno arrived on scene and pulled ten men to safety and landed the survivors at Londonderry, but by then two men died from their burns and after being landed ashore were eventually buried in Londonderry City Cemetery.
CLEGG, Seaman, JAMES CRAIG, S.S. Csikos (of Panama). Merchant Navy. 18th April 1941. Age 23. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1215.
Cargo ship Csikos, 3,938grt, (Anglo-Hungarian Shipping Co. Ltd) loaded with a cargo of steel plate and scrap at New Orleans for Ardrossan had safely crossed the Atlantic and joined the 25 ship Convoy HG-58, which departed Gibraltar on the 3rd April 1941. By the 10th April, the Csikos had been struggling along with the convoy with a serious leak in her forepeak, threatening to flood number one hold and at one point was preparing to leave the convoy and make for the Azores. With her pumps working overtime, the main bulkhead into number one hold was shored up. On the 18th April, about 75 nautical miles West, North-West of Co. Mayo, Ireland a lone German Focke-Wulf Condor aircraft attacked the convoy, dropping four bombs, without causing any losses. As the aircraft flew by the Csikos, the ship was strafed by machine gun fire seriously injuring three crewmembers. The escort Destroyer HMS Chelsea took these three men onboard, where unfortunately the ships Third Officer died after the operation to remove the bullet and was buried at sea. The shock of the explosions close by the Csikos had caused a major leak, so the ship was ordered to leave the convoy and head for Londonderry, where the ship was taken in tow to Lough Foyle. One survivor died in Hospital in Londonderry and was buried locally. At the time of this incident, the Second Engineer was none other than Victoria Drummond, OBE, MBE, the first British marine engineer, who was also the Goddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1940, she had been serving on the SS Bonita when attacked by German bombers. Ordering the engine room crew out she single-handed kept the engines running at full power. She was later awarded an OBE and Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea for her actions. The CWGC records one other crewmember from the Csikos, who died in July 1944 and was probably one of the two men injured in the attack. There is also a memorial in Greenock, Scotland recording those lost from the Merchant Navy in WWII. There is reference to William Murdoch Campbell dying in 1942 and the ship is recorded as the Csikos, but there is no reference to this in the Deaths at Sea Register or any surviving records to indicate if he was onboard the ship at the time of the incident in 1941. As for the Csikos herself, she was eventually sunk in 1944 at Normandy as part of the breakwater for the D-Day landings.
KIRK, Second Officer, JOHN MCCONNACHIE, S.S. Swedru. Merchant Navy. 17th April 1941. Age 34. Son of William Rowley Kirk and Matilda Gillespie Kirk; husband of Emma Elizabeth Kirk, of Eldwick, Yorkshire. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1214.
Passenger cargo ship Swedru, 5,379grt, (Elder Dempster Lines) loaded with a general cargo including timber and twelve passengers at Duala for Liverpool joined the 42 ship Convoy SL-69, which departed Freetown on the 23rd March 1941. On the 16th April about 187 nautical miles West of Malin Head, County Donegal, Ireland the Swedru was attacked by a lone German aircraft. Strafing the ship with machine gun fire the plane dropped two bombs hitting the bridge and main deck fracturing the ships fuel line and the ship immediately caught fire. The ship was immediately ordered abandoned and four boats were successfully launched, where a head count revealed that sixteen crewmembers and seven passengers had been killed in the explosion and a further nine injured. The survivors were picked up a short while later by the escort Corvette HMS Gladiolus and landed at Londonderry the following day, but not before the ships Second Officer died from his injuries and his body was landed ashore and eventually buried at Londonderry City Cemetery. The Swedru continued to burn furiously from stem to stern and eventually had to be sunk by one of the escort ships to prevent a hazard to shipping.
Story behind the WWII Merchant Navy graves at Londonderry City Cemetery.
ARMISON, Linen Keeper, HARRY, S.S. Anchises (Liverpool). Merchant Navy. 20th March 1941. Age 39. Foster-son of Nellie Oates, of Sheffield. His foster-brother, Alec Webster Oates, also died on service. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 745D.
Passenger cargo ship Anchises, 10,000grt, (A. Holt & Co.) sailed independently from Hong Kong with a general cargo and thirty-nine passengers bound for Liverpool via Cape Town and Freetown. On the 27th February 1941 off Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal the ship was attacked by a lone German aircraft. After making three separate attacks dropping six bombs, although not having suffered any direct hits, some damage to the propeller and a number of plates, had sprung under the pressure causing flooding in the engine room and stoke hold. The aircraft returned again this time strafing the ship with shell and machine gun fire. The gun crew from Anchises had been returning fire all the time during the attack and as the aircraft made one more pass, tracer bullets were seen entering the fuselage and spluttering noises were heard coming from one of its engines before the aircraft finally disappeared over the horizon. As the ship began to take on a list the Master ordered the passengers and most of the crew to the boats, while retaining a skeleton crew on-board. One of the lifeboats became separated from the rest and was not found until six days later, but by then the Officer in charge and one Stewardess had died. The following day after the attack the Corvette HMS Kingcup was sighted and hove too and the Master and remaining crewmembers prepared to abandon ship, but with heavy seas running this was found to be most difficult, but eventually a boat was successfully launched, when tragedy struck. As the lifeboat tried to manoeuvre alongside the corvette it was smashed to pieces on contact and nine occupants were lost to the sea. After being picked up the remaining survivors were landed at Londonderry. One of the survivors died in Hospital in Londonderry from the effects of exposure just under a month later and was buried in the Londonderry City Cemetery. Three passengers were also recorded as lost.
BRUCE, Chief Officer, ALEXANDER, M.V. Oilfield (Newcastle). Merchant Navy. 28th April 1941. Age 45. Son of Alexander and Mary Jane Bruce, of South Shields, Co. Durham; husband of Florence Jane Bruce, of South Shields. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1217.
SOMERSET, Apprentice, ARTHUR, M.V. Oilfield (Newcastle). Merchant Navy. 28th April 1941. Age 18. Son of John and Henrietta Somerset, of East Hoathly, Sussex. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1216.
Tanker Oilfield, 8,516grt, (Hunting & Son) loaded with a cargo of benzene at Aruba for London joined the 47 ship Convoy HX-121, which departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 16th April 1941. On the 28th April 1941 about 200 nautical miles South of Iceland the convoy was attacked and one ship damaged. Three hours later U-96 fired three torpedoes at the convoy hitting three ships including the Oilfield and the tanker immediately burst into flames engulfing most of the ship. The order to abandon ship was given and the survivors struggled through the flames, where many men were engulfed by the flames unable to manoeuvre their rafts through the burning sea. Those still alive now had to swim to find a way through to clear water. A further forty-seven men were burned alive and the ship finally sank in position 60’ 05N 17’ 00W. After thirty five minutes the naval trawler, HMT St. Zeno arrived on scene and pulled ten men to safety and landed the survivors at Londonderry, but by then two men died from their burns and after being landed ashore were eventually buried in Londonderry City Cemetery.
CLEGG, Seaman, JAMES CRAIG, S.S. Csikos (of Panama). Merchant Navy. 18th April 1941. Age 23. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1215.
Cargo ship Csikos, 3,938grt, (Anglo-Hungarian Shipping Co. Ltd) loaded with a cargo of steel plate and scrap at New Orleans for Ardrossan had safely crossed the Atlantic and joined the 25 ship Convoy HG-58, which departed Gibraltar on the 3rd April 1941. By the 10th April, the Csikos had been struggling along with the convoy with a serious leak in her forepeak, threatening to flood number one hold and at one point was preparing to leave the convoy and make for the Azores. With her pumps working overtime, the main bulkhead into number one hold was shored up. On the 18th April, about 75 nautical miles West, North-West of Co. Mayo, Ireland a lone German Focke-Wulf Condor aircraft attacked the convoy, dropping four bombs, without causing any losses. As the aircraft flew by the Csikos, the ship was strafed by machine gun fire seriously injuring three crewmembers. The escort Destroyer HMS Chelsea took these three men onboard, where unfortunately the ships Third Officer died after the operation to remove the bullet and was buried at sea. The shock of the explosions close by the Csikos had caused a major leak, so the ship was ordered to leave the convoy and head for Londonderry, where the ship was taken in tow to Lough Foyle. One survivor died in Hospital in Londonderry and was buried locally. At the time of this incident, the Second Engineer was none other than Victoria Drummond, OBE, MBE, the first British marine engineer, who was also the Goddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1940, she had been serving on the SS Bonita when attacked by German bombers. Ordering the engine room crew out she single-handed kept the engines running at full power. She was later awarded an OBE and Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea for her actions. The CWGC records one other crewmember from the Csikos, who died in July 1944 and was probably one of the two men injured in the attack. There is also a memorial in Greenock, Scotland recording those lost from the Merchant Navy in WWII. There is reference to William Murdoch Campbell dying in 1942 and the ship is recorded as the Csikos, but there is no reference to this in the Deaths at Sea Register or any surviving records to indicate if he was onboard the ship at the time of the incident in 1941. As for the Csikos herself, she was eventually sunk in 1944 at Normandy as part of the breakwater for the D-Day landings.
KIRK, Second Officer, JOHN MCCONNACHIE, S.S. Swedru. Merchant Navy. 17th April 1941. Age 34. Son of William Rowley Kirk and Matilda Gillespie Kirk; husband of Emma Elizabeth Kirk, of Eldwick, Yorkshire. Sec. S. Class B. Grave 1214.
Passenger cargo ship Swedru, 5,379grt, (Elder Dempster Lines) loaded with a general cargo including timber and twelve passengers at Duala for Liverpool joined the 42 ship Convoy SL-69, which departed Freetown on the 23rd March 1941. On the 16th April about 187 nautical miles West of Malin Head, County Donegal, Ireland the Swedru was attacked by a lone German aircraft. Strafing the ship with machine gun fire the plane dropped two bombs hitting the bridge and main deck fracturing the ships fuel line and the ship immediately caught fire. The ship was immediately ordered abandoned and four boats were successfully launched, where a head count revealed that sixteen crewmembers and seven passengers had been killed in the explosion and a further nine injured. The survivors were picked up a short while later by the escort Corvette HMS Gladiolus and landed at Londonderry the following day, but not before the ships Second Officer died from his injuries and his body was landed ashore and eventually buried at Londonderry City Cemetery. The Swedru continued to burn furiously from stem to stern and eventually had to be sunk by one of the escort ships to prevent a hazard to shipping.
