WW2: Commonwealth & Colonial

MEMORIAL REGISTER
COMMONWEALTH & COLONIAL RADIO OFFICERS LOST AT SEA – 1939 TO 1945

1260 ALEXANDER, 1ST R.O. THOMAS FRAME (28)     SS SAN FLORENTINO
2nd Oct. 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
In mid-Atlantic, the tanker San Florentino, 12843 tons (Eagle Oil and Shipping Co. Ltd.), bound for Curacao on Admiralty service was sunk by the U-94. Twenty-two of her crew were lost after a two-hour fight with U-94, on whom she inflicted some damage before sinking.

1261 BACH, 1ST R.O. EARL (23)                 SS LEIKANGER                 27th July 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Norwegian registered ship of 4003 tons. Torpedoed and sunk by U-752 in the south Atlantic with the loss of eighteen crew.

1262 BEWLEY, 3RD R.O. GEORGE BARRY NEVILLE (18) M.V. EULIMA
23rd Feb. 1943

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Northwest of the Azores the tanker Eulima, 6207 tons (Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co.), the U.K. to New York was sunk by U-186. She was a straggler, in heavy weather, from convoy ON166. Twelve of her crew were killed.

1263 BROWN, 1ST R.O. ARTHUR JOSEPH (20)         SS EMPIRE MAHSEER
3rd March 1943

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Off East London the U-160 attacked a convoy from Durban to India sinking the cargo ship Empire Mahseer, 5087 tons (MOWT) with the loss of sixteen of her crew.

1264. CHAPMAN, 2ND R.O. NORMAN EDGAR (21)     SS COIMBRA,
14th January 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Near Long Island the tanker Coimbra, 6768 tons (Socony – Vacuum Transportation Co.) New York to the U. K. was sunk by the U-123. Thirty-six of her crew perished. Six survived but suffered serious burns.

1265 CLARKE, 1ST R.O. DAVID STEWART (25)     SS CASTLEMOOR
25th February, 1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The Castlemoor left Halifax on the 16th Feb. 1940 for the Tees and was last seen by the Merchant Royal on the 25th Feb. 1940 800 miles west of Ushant. Assumed lost by marine causes.

1266 COULL, 1ST R.O. WILLIAM D (30)             SS EMPIRE HAIL             23rd February 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
East of Newfoundland the cargo ship Empire Hail, 7005 tons (MOWT), Leith to Baltimore was sunk by U-94. Forty of the crew perished.

1267 DAVIES, 2ND R.O. EMERSON CLARKE (25)     SS EMPIRE CROSSBILL
11th September 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
East of Cape Farewell the U-82 sank the cargo ship Empire Crossbill, 5463 tons (MOWT, J. Morrison & Sons, Managers), Philadelphia to Hull. All forty-eight people on board lost their lives.

1268 FURBANK, 1ST R.O. RICHARD JOSEPH (no age given) MV MANUTU
7th August 1942

Australian Officer, Commemorated on the Port Morseby Memorial.
West of Port Morseby the cargo ship Manutu, 300 tons (Burns Philip), was sunk by the Japanese submarine RO 33.

1269 GOODWIN, 1ST R.O. CHARLES ERNEST (49)         SS AMARYLIS
2nd Dec. 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The cargo ship Amarylis, 4328 tons (Panamanian Register) was torpedoed by U-181 southeast of the Cape of Good Hope.

1270    HEATHER, 1ST R.O. ROBERT WALTER (27)         MV SILVERPINE
5th Dec. 1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
In the North West Approaches, the cargo liner Silverpine, 5066 tons (S. and S. Thompson) Liverpool to New York, was sunk by the Italian submarine Argo. Nine crewmembers were lost.

1271    KAN CHAN, R.O. (no age given)                 SS ASIAN                26th December 1942

Colonial subject from Hong Kong.
Commemorated on the Hong Kong Memorial. This ship was registered in Hong Kong. There is no record of this ship being lost or severely damaged by enemy action.

1272 KAVANAGH, 3RD R.O. JAMES AUGUSTINE (22)     SS SAN GERARDO
31st March 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Southeast of New York, U-71 sank the tanker San Gerardo, 12915 tons (Eagle Oil and Shipping Co.), Curacao to Halifax on Admiralty service. Forty-eight of her crew lost their lives.

1273 LAING, 2ND R.O. ANDREW GORDON (25)         MV CINGALESE PRINCE 20th Sept. 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
South of St. Paul Rock, the cargo liner Cingalese Prince, 8474 tons (Furness Withy and Co.), India to Liverpool was sunk by U-111. She was lost with all hands, fifty-eight people.

1274 LAIRD, 3RD R.O. ROBERT MOIR (20)             MV CENTAUR             14th May 1943

Australian Officer. Commemorated on the Sydney Memorial.
The hospital ship Centaur, 3222 tons (A. Holt and Co. passenger liner). Sydney to Cairns and New Guinea was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-177 east of Brisbane. Of the 333 crew and staff aboard only 64 survived.

1275 LAZARUS, 2ND R.0. JOHN S (28)                 SS CITY OF BENARES        17th Sept. 1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
About 480 miles north-west of Ireland the passenger/cargo liner City of Benares, 11081 tons (Ellerman Lines), Liverpool to Canada carrying 406 passenger and crew including 100 children was sunk by U-48. The following day, the destroyer Hurrican picked up 105 survivors and a week later, the destroyer Anthony picked up 45 survivors after they had been spotted by a R.A.F. Sunderland. Only seven children survived

1276 LE FEUVRE, 1ST R.O. LEO (26)             SS ST. LINDSAY
13th June 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
In the North Atlantic, the cargo ship St. Lindsay, 5370 tons (South American Saint Line), the Clyde to Trinidad was sunk by U-751 with the loss of all forty-three of her crew.

1277 LONG, 2ND R.O. LAWRENCE DAVID (32)         SS BIC ISLAND
20th Oct. 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The cargo ship Bic Island, 4000 tons (Canadian Government Merchant Marine) Canada to the U.K. was sunk by U-224 in convoy HX 212.

1278 LOWREY, 1ST R.O. CLARENCE H (28)             SS SUSAN MAERSK         13th June 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
In the North Atlantic, the cargo ship Susan Maersk, 2355 tons (MOWT, Thompson Steam Shipping Co. Managers,) was torpedoed by U-553. Twenty-two of her crew died.

1279 McALLISTER, R.O. DONALD (24)                 MV STUREHOLM
11th December 1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The Swedish ship Stureholm, 4575 tons, departed Halifax for the U.K. in convoy HX 92 and was sunk by U-96.

1280 MORRIS, 2ND R.O. THOMAS VENABLES (31)         MV CENTAUR
14th May 1943

Australian Officer. Commemorated on the Sydney Memorial.
The hospital ship Centaur, 3222 tons (A. Holt and Co. passenger liner). Sydney to Cairns and New Guinea was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-177 east of Brisbane. Of the 333 crew and staff aboard only 64 survived.

1281 MOSER, 2ND R.O. LEONARD JOSEPH (23)         SS FORTH BANX
1st March 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
There is no record of this ship being lost or severely damaged by enemy action, It is assumed that this officer lost his life whilst serving in this ship.

1282 MURPHY, R.O. GUY FARBER (30)                 SS CHR J KAMPMANN         3rd November 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The cargo ship Chr J Kampmann, 2281 tons (ex Danish flag) Demarara to the U.S. was sunk by the U-160 west of Granada.

1283 PIETZ, 1ST R.O. KENNETH (19)                 SS VILLE D’ARLON            2nd December 1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The cargo-ship VILLE D’ARLON 7555 tons (Belgian Registration), from the UK for Canada, was torpedoed and sunk by U-47 whilst a straggler from convoy HX 90. She lost with all hands, 52 officers and men.

1284 PITMAN, 1ST R.O. FRANK FRANCIS HORN (42)         SS BIC ISLAND
29th Oct. 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The cargo ship Bic Island, 4000 tons (Canadian Government Merchant Marine) Canada to the U.K. was sunk by U-224 in convoy HX 212.

1285 ROBERTS, 1ST R.O. ERNEST HENRY (29)             SS LINARIA
24th Feb.1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Between the west coast of Ireland and south of Iceland U-boats attacked ships that had dispersed from an outward bound convoy; the submarine Blanchi (Italian) sank the cargo ship Linaria, 3385 tons (Joseph Robinson and Son) the Tyne to Halifax, with the loss of all thirty-one crew.

1286 SANDNESS, 1ST R.O. STANLEY ANDREW (24)     SS JUMNA
25th Dec.1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper (German) attacked the large and heavily escorted troop convoy WS5A at dawn on 25th Dec. 1940. The escorting cruisers counter-attacked and the Admiral Hipper retreated northwards at high speed. Three hours later the Admiral Hipper encountered the Jumna, 6078 tons, UK to Freetown, sailing independently and sank her with torpedoes and gunfire in position 44.51N 25.47W. The Jumna had been commodore ship of convoy OB 260 with Rear Admiral H B Maltby as Commodore. (He had been Commodore of HX 84, whose escort AMC HMS Jervis Bay was sunk by Admiral Scheer seven weeks earlier). There were no survivors from the 111 crew, passengers and the Commodore and his staff.

1287    SAUNDERSON, 3RD R.O. JOHN (18)            SS HARTINGTON
2nd November 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
East of Newfoundland, U-boats attacked a homeward-bound convoy; U-521 sank the cargo ship Hartington, 5496 tons (S. and C. Harrison), bound from U.S./Canada to the U.K. Twenty-four of her crew lost their lives.

1288 SHING TSUI WAI, R.O. (no age given)             SS TAI SANG             24th Jan. 1942

Colonial subject from Hong Kong.
Commemorated on the Hong Kong Memorial. The cargo ship Tai Sung, 3555 tons (Indo China S. N. Co.) bound f or Singapore was lost south of that Port.

1289 SOROKOSKI, 2ND R.O. S.I.M. (22)                 SS BLACK OSPREY         18th Feb. 1941

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Southeast of Iceland, the cargo ship Black Osprey, 5589 tons (ex U.S.), Baltimore to South Wales was sunk by U-96, with the loss of twenty-five of her crew.

1290 STRANG, 1ST R.O. ALEXANDER DOUGALL (23)     SS CARPERBY
1st March 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
Northwest of Bermuda, the cargo ship Carperby, 4890 tons (Ropner Shipping Co.), the U.K. to Buenos Aires was sunk by the U-588. Forty crewmembers lost their lives.

1291    SUMMERS, 1ST R.O. ERIC JAMES (32)             MV CENTAUR
14th May 1943

Australian Officer. Commemorated on the Sydney Memorial.
The hospital ship Centaur, 3222 tons (A. Holt and Co. passenger liner). Sydney to Cairns and New Guinea was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-177 east of Brisbane. Of the 333 crew and staff aboard only 64 survived.

1292    NEEDLE, R.O. WILLIAM (19)                 SS VILLE D’ARLON         2nd Dec 1940

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
The cargo-ship VILLE D’ARLON 7555 tons (Belgian Registration), from the UK for Canada, was torpedoed and sunk by U-47 whilst a straggler from convoy HX 90. She lost with all hands, 52 officers and men.

1293 WILLIAMS, 1ST R.O. GEOFFREY DEAN (26)         SS EMPIRE PROGRESS
13th April 1942

Canadian Officer. Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.
South of Cape Race the cargo ship Empire Progress, 5249 tons (MOWT, H. Hogarth and Sons, Managers), Glasgow to Tampa, was sunk by U-4O2 with the loss of eleven crew.

1294 YING LOA PING, WIRELESS OFFICER (no age given)     SS KWANGTUNG
5th January 1942

Colonial subject from Hong Kong.
Commemorated on the Hong Kong Memorial. The cargo ship Kwangtung, 2626 tons (China Navigation Co.) Hong Kong to Colombo, was sunk by the Japanese submarine
I -156 off the south Java coast.