HULME T. S.

Able Seaman P/JX 349484 Thomas Stanley HULME.

Royal Navy H.M.S. Egret (L75).

27 Aug 1943 aged 20.

Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 75, Column 1.

Son of Frank and Mary Hulme, of Stockport, Cheshire.

H.M.S. Egret (Acting Commander John Valentine Waterhouse, DSO) was the first Allied warship to be sunk by a guided missile. About 30 nautical miles west of Vigo, Spain H.M.S. Egret was attacked by a squadron of Dornier Do 217 aircraft, one of which carried and launched the Henschel Hs-293A guided bomb which hit and sank Egret, killing 194 of its crew, and 4 R.A.F. Electronics experts.

H.M.S. Egret (photo from uboat.net)

MILLER J.

Air Fitter FAA/FX. 79858 John MILLER.

Royal Navy H.M.S.Ark Royal (91) Passenger on Aguila.

19 Aug 1941 aged 20.

Lee-on-Solent Memorial, Bay 2, Panel 3.

Son of Margaret Miller, of Heaton Norris, Stockport.

The Aguila was part of convoy OG-71 sailing from Liverpool to Gibraltar carrying 1288 tons of general cargo and 99 passengers. At 04.06 hours on 19 Aug 1941, Type VIIC U-201 (Oberleutnant Adalbert Schnee) fired four torpedoes at the convoy.

The Aguila (Master Arthur Firth) sank within 90 seconds after being hit by two torpedoes. Out of 168 on-board 153 were lost. The master, five crew members, one naval staff member and two passengers were picked up by H.M.S. Wallflower and landed at Gibraltar. Five crew members and one passenger were rescued by the Empire Oak, but five of them were lost when this ship was sunk by U-564 on 22 Aug. Another crew member was picked up by H.M.S. Campanula and was  landed at Gibraltar. The Ciscar was also sunk with 13 dead and 35 survivors.

Among the passengers on board the Aguila were 21 women from the W.R.N.S. who had volunteered for cypher and wireless duties in Gibraltar. None of the Wrens survived the sinking. As a tribute to their memory, a lifeboat named Aguila Wren was built and launched on 28 Jun 1952 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

S.S. Aguila (photo from Alchetron) 

NUTTALL F.

Able Seaman D/JX 293607 Frank NUTTALL.

Royal Navy H.M.A.S. Albatross (I22).

11 Aug 1944 aged 44.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 87, Column 1.

Son of William and Sarah Nuttall

Husband of Ellen Nuttall, of South Reddish, Cheshire.

H.M.A.S. Albatross had been converted to a repair ship, and was involved in the Normandy landings.

On 11 Aug 1944 Albatros was hit by torpedo whilst stationed of Juno Beach and sustained major structural damage with 66 of the ships company losing their lives.

H.M.A.S. Albatross (photo fromWikipedia)