VIA: Billy McGee

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Poem written by my friend for inclusion in my new book, inspired by their sacrifice.




Billy McGee

[Administrator]

Billy McGee

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Introduction:

"The original inspiration for these pages came about by chance when an article appeared in a magazine about a young boy rating killed at sea in 1941, and so it began. Reginald Earnshaw (pictured front cover) is commemorated on Tower Hill Memorial on Panel 74, which records all those who have no grave but the sea. Back in 2005 my attention was drawn to the fate of young Reginald as one of the survivors from the attack named Alfred Tubb who was serving as a DEMS gunner at the time stated he remembered the body of Reginald being taken ashore at Immingham. So the first thing to do was to trace a copy of the ships Log Book & Survivors Report for 1941 held at Kew, which was obtained by a contact of mine. Next I made a simple application with the General Register Office for a death certificate and within a week I had an official copy of his death certificate recorded at Cleethorpes reference 7a 1170., which proved his body had been landed ashore and examined as to be given a death certificate. The next phase was to find out where he was buried. A check of all burials in Grimsby and Cleethorpes for this period drew a blank so contact was made in Reginald's last place of abode in Edinburgh, which revealed he was buried in Edinburgh's Comely Bank Cemetery, Section P Grave Space 440 and was unmarked. A temporary cross baring his details was added and all documents were forwarded to the CWGC. Finally in 2008 these findings were officially accepted by the CWGC. On Monday the 6rh July 2009, in a ceremony 68 years to the day of his death an official CWGC headstone was finally mounted on Reginald’s grave and I presented his sister with his war medals I had obtained. There was also some confusion of Reginald’s age. The ships Log Book had his date of birth as 5th February 1926 in Dewsbury and his death certificate has him aged “about 15”. Only problem being there was no birth registered at Dewsbury for a Reginald Earnshaw in 1926, but there was one registered in Dewsbury in the March quarter 1927 in Volume 9b page 864. Having obtained a copy of the birth certificate, I could verify he was born the 5th February 1927, so the Log Book shows an error of exactly one year to the day, which made him 14 years 152days old when he was killed. Another twist in the tale revealed that the bodies of two other seamen commemorated on Tower Hill from the North Devon were also landed ashore. One of the men Reginald Mitchell has been found to be buried in Piershill Cemetery in Edinburgh and he now has an official headstone to mark his grave. I was later invited to appear in the BBC documentary on “How We Won the War” (Scotland edition) centred around the Merchant Navy contribution during the war, using Reggie’s story as a back drop. Further research I undertook I also discovered many other cases of Merchant Seamen killed in WWII serving on foreign vessels, who had been overlooked by the British Registrar General of Shipping & Seamen of the day, whose details had never been forwarded to the CWGC for inclusion as war dead. After several years of research and compiling details these casualties were finally accepted by the CWGC and I was given the privilege to unveil their names at Tower Hill Memorial on Merchant Navy Day 2019. Amongst these casualties were a number of boys age 16 and under including one Michael Goulden from Hull, age just 14 years old when he was killed. Their stories here are not meant in any way to devalue the contribution of all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during wartime, but merely as educational purpose for those unaware of the facts, these boys could legally join up at just 14 years old and fight for their country and is my way of remembering a lost generation, who the likes of will never be seen again"