WILLIAMS F.

Petty Officer Stoker D/K4263 Frederick WILLIAMS

Royal Navy H.M.S. Drake.

23 Apr 1941 aged 49

Plymouth (Efford) Cemetery, Spec. Mem. Coll. Grave.

Son of Robert Wainwright Williams and Elizabeth Williams, of Plymouth and husband of Elsie Williams, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, Cheshire. He was one of three killed during an air raid on 23 Apr 1941.

Grave of Frederick WILLIAMS (photo from thebignote.com)

SMITH T.

Stoker 2nd Class D/KX 120993 Thomas SMITH

Royal Navy H.M.S. Drake

21 Apr 1941 aged 24

Plymouth (Weston Mill) Cemetery, Sec. C. Cons. Grave 17902.

Son of Thomas and Rose Smith, of Stockport, Cheshire

Husband of Margaret Smith, of Reddish, Stockport.

On the night of 21st April 1941 Plymouth came under attack from enemy aircraft using high explosive and incendiary bombs. Boscawen Block in H.M.S. Drake was hit by one of the incendiaries which led to an uncontrollable fire. Just before midnight the walls of the building collapsed. A total of 113 sailors lost their lives in H.M.S.Drake on that night.

Grave of Thomas SMITH (Photo from findagrave by Cliff Barry)

HOLT H.

Second Radio Office Harry HOLT.

Merchant Navy S.S. Empire Gold (London).

18 Apr 1945 aged 21.

Tower Hill Memorial, Panel 41.

Son of Harry Holt, and of Mary Jane Holt, of Edgeley Park, Stockport, Cheshire.

At 10:15 hours on 18 Apr 1945, Type VIIC/41 U-1107 (Kapitänleutnant Fritz Parduhn) fired a spread of three torpedoes at two overlapping ships in convoy HX-348 heading for Antwerp about 70 miles west of Brest and reported two hits.

Empire Gold caught fire and broke in two, both parts sank.The master, 37 crew members and five DEMS gunners from the S.S. Empire Gold (Master Henry Cecil Cansdale) were lost. Four crew members were picked up by the British rescue ship Gothland and landed at Greenock on 21 Apr 1945. The other ship lost was the Cyrus H. McCormick with 6 dead and 47 survivors.

The Tower Hill Memorial

HARRIS J. D.

Able Seaman D/JX 176236 John Dale HARRIS.

Royal Navy H.M.S. Rajputana (F35).

13 Apr 1941 aged 22.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 47, Column 2.

Son of John and Beatrice Harris, of Stockport, Cheshire.

At 07:43 on 13 Apr 1941, Armed Merchant Cruiser H.M.S. Rajputana (Capt F.H. Taylor, DSC) an Armed Merchant Cruiser, was hit by a torpedo from Type IXB U-108 (Korvettenkapitän  Klaus Scholtz) west of Reykjavik. She had been the ship of convoy commodore Cdr C.T.O. Richardson, RNR in convoy HX-117 but was then dispatched to patrol the Strait of Denmark. Five officers and 37 ratings were lost. 283 survivors were picked up by H.M.S.Legion and landed at Reykjavik. 

H.M.S.Rajputana (photo from Uboat.net)

MADDOCKS F.

Sick Berth Attendant D/SBR/X 7523 Frank MADDOCKS.

Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve H.M.S. Hunter (H35).

10 Apr 1940 aged 30.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 44, Column 2.

Frank was the eldest son of Thomas Maddocks and Elizabeth Ann Burgon who were married at Heaton Norris, Christ Church, He married Annie Elliott at the Hanover Chapel in Heaton Norris in 1934 and had a daughter.

H.M.S. Hunter (Lieutenant Commander Lindsay De Villiers) was part of the 2nd. Destroyer Flotilla in the 1st Battle of Narvik, with H.M.S. Hardy, H.M.S. Havock, H.M.S. Hostile and H.M.S. Hotspur. They carried out a successful attack on German destroyers in the harbour at Narvik. Two of these German destroyers, Anton Schmitt and Wilhelm Heidkamp were sunk along with several merchant ships.

On withdrawing to sea the flotilla met further German destroyers and in a brief action H.M.S. Hardy was was badly hit from gunfire from the German destroyer Georg Thiele, her bridge, wheelhouse and forward guns being knocked out. Out of control, she drove ashore on the southern side of the fjord. H.M.S. Hunter was also badly damaged by gunfire from the German destroyers and a stern collision with the out of control H.M.S. Hotspur did the rest. H.M.S. Hunter sank in the centre of the fjord, with 107 crew killed and another five died of their wounds. The German destroyers rescued 46 men, who were released into Sweden on 13 April.

H.M.S.Hunter (photo from wikipedia)

SCHOFIELD H.

Greaser Harry SCHOFIELD

Merchant Navy M.V. Josefina Thorden (Newcastle-on-Tyne)

6 Apr 1943 aged 19

Tower Hill Memorial, Panel 59.

On April 6th, 1943, the Josefina Thorden (Capt. A. Clarkson), while on passage from Curacao to Shell Haven with 7.499 tons of oil distillate and 663 tons of gas oil, struck a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary. She broke in two parts, the aft part sank immediately, 15 crew were killed. Capt. Clarkson survived. The fore part was taken into tow, but ran aground near Sheerness in a gale. It was refloated and broken up at Tilbury dock, where she was discharged of her forward cargo.

M.V. Josefina Thorden (photo fromfaktaomfartyg.se)

CONNOLLY E.

Engine Room Artificer 4th Class D/MX 73030 Eli CONNOLLY.

Royal Navy H.M.S. Dorsetshire (40).

5 Apr 1942 aged 22.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 68, Column 3.

Son of Thomas and Mary Ellen Connolly.

Husband of Hilda Thursby Connolly, of Woodbank, Cheshire.

On 5 Apr 1942, a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft from the carrier Tone sighted two British heavy cruisers H.M.S. Dorsetshire and H.M.S. Cornwall. A total of 53 dive bombers from the carrier took off and sank the two ships.

H.M.S. Dorsetshire (Captain Augustus Willington Shelton Agar) was sunk in a position south of Ceylon in about 8 minutes by 10 hits from 250 - 550 pound bombs, and several near misses. The H.A. magazine exploded, which doubtless counted in part for her rapid sinking.

1122 men from a total of 1546 on board both heavy cruisers were later rescued by the cruiser H.M.S. Enterprise and the British destroyers H.M.S. Paladin and H.M.S. Panther. 234 of H.M.S. Dorsetshire's company lost their lives.

H.M.S. Dorsetshire (photo from Wrecksite)