Ordinary Seaman D/JX 349948 Arthur WILSON.
Royal Navy H.M.S. Itchen (K227).
23 Sep 1943 aged 27.
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 80, Column 3.
Son of Arthur and Alice Wilson, of Stockport, Cheshire.
At 01:56 hours on 23 September, Type VIIC U-666 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Engel) fired a G7es “Gnat” torpedo which detonated in the wake of H.M.C.S. Morden. At 02:01 hours the U-boat fired another Gnat that struck H.M.S. Itchen (Cdr C.E. Bridgman, DSO). The frigate blew up after the hit. Debris from the vessel was later found on the conning tower of the U-boat and on H.M.C.S. Morden.
H.M.S. Itchen had picked up 81 survivors from H.M.C.S St.Croix, sunk by U-305 on 20 Sep and one from H.M.S. Polyanthus, which had been sunk by U-952 on 21 Sep. Only two men from Itchen and one from St. Croix were rescued by the Polish steam merchant Wisla.
H.M.S.Ballinderry the same type as H.M.S.Itchen (photo from Maritime Quest)
