CAMPBELL H.

Able Seaman C/JX 266516 Harry CAMPBELL.

Royal Navy DEMS Gunner on S.S. Petrel.

26 Sep 1941.

Chatham Naval Memorial, 42, 2.

Harry Campbell served as a Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship (DEMS) gunner on the British steam merchant Petrel.

At 02:34 hours on 26 Sep 1941 the Petrel (Master John William Klemp) part of convoy HG-73 enroute Oporto to Bristol was hit amidships by a torpedo from Type IXB U-124 (Korvettenkapitän Johann Mohr) and sank by the bow north-northeast of the Azores.

17 men were picked up by S.S. Lapwing which was torpedoed at 06:34 by Type VIIC U-203 only one man from Petrel survived but later died of wounds in a lifeboat. Only the master, seven crew  and one passenger who had been picked up from a raft by the lifeboat of Lapwing survived, landing at Slyne Bay, Co. Galway on 9 Oct.

S.S. Petrel (photo from wrecksite)

RIGBY W.

Able Seaman D/JX257050 William RIGBY

Royal Navy H.M.L.C.T. 125, H.M.S. Dinosaur

25 Sep 1942 aged 34

Stockport Borough Cemetery, Sec. J.A. Grave 439.

Son of Paul and Sarah Rigby, of Stockport

Husband of Mary Rigby (nee Bates), married at St.Pauls, Portwood 1939.

Died of injuries received during a training accident whilst based at H.M.S.Dinosaur in Troon, Ayrshire.

Grave of William RIGBY (photo by Chris Gleave) 

WILSON A.

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) 

COLLINGE W.

Stoker 1st Class D/K 55357 Walter COLLINGE.

Royal Navy H.M.S. Courageous (S50).

17 Sep 1939 aged 38.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 34, Column 2.

Walter was born in 1901 the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Collinge. He married Nellie Maggs at St.Thomas's, Stockport and they had two children a boy and girl.

On the 17 Sep 1939, H.M.S. Courageous (Captain W.T. Makeig-Jones) was on anti-submarine patrol about 350 miles west of Lands End, escorted by H.M.S. Inglefield, H.M.S. Ivanhoe, H.M.S. Impulsive and H.M.S. Intrepid. At 14:45 hours, the group picked up a distress call from S.S. Kafiristan being attacked about 350 miles west of Cape Clear.

The destroyers H.M.S. Inglefield and H.M.S. Intrepid were detached and the carrier launched four aircraft, one of the Swordfish forced the U-boat to dive without damaging it at 17:00 hours. About 18:00 hours, Type VIIA U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) spotted the carrier group and began chasing it, but couldn't get into an attack position until the carrier turned into the wind to recover the four returning Swordfish. H.M.S. Courageous was now on a straight course at 18 knots towards the U-boat. At 19:50 hours, U-29 fired a spread of three G7e torpedoes at Courageous and hit her with two of them on the port side rear of the the bridge. She immediately took a heavy list to port and sank after 17 minutes about 190 miles southwest of Dursey Head, Ireland.

The commander, 17 officers and 501 ratings were lost, including 36 R.A.F. service crewmen and there were 741 survivors. All Swordfish aircraft of 811 and 822 Sqdn. F.A.A. were lost with the ship. 

H.M.S.Courageous (photo from Uboataces)

DODGSON F.

Ordinary Signalman C/JX 207604 Frank DODGSON.

Royal Navy H.M.S. Coventry (D43)

14 Sep 1942 aged 22.

Chatham Naval Memorial, 59, 1.

Son of Harry and Ellinor Dodgson, of Portwood, Stockport, Cheshire.

On 14 Sep 1942 H.M.S. Coventry (Captain Ronald John Robert Dendy) was taking part in Operation Agreement, a Commando raid against Tobruk harbour.

At 11:40 hrs, H.M.S.Coventry was north of Marsa Matruh, Egypt with her escort group, consisting of destroyers H.M.S. Belvoir, H.M.S. Dulverton, H.M.S. Hursley and H.M.S. Croome. H.M.S. Coventry was the main target for a German group of 16 Ju-88s of I/LG.1, under Captain Joachim Helbig from Iraklion, Crete. Each plane carried 1 x 500- and 3 x 250 kg bombs. During the attack, H.M.S. Coventry received 4 direct hits, 3 detonating in the engineering spaces, while the 4th wrecked the bows, causing her to go dead in the water and badly on fire with 63 killed. At 15:15 H.M.S. Coventry was scuttled by H.M.S. Zulu, who was sunk less than 1 hour later by 19 Ju-87s.

H.M.S. Coventry (photo from Roll of Honour)

MACHIN E.

Marine PLY/X 105939 Ernest MACHIN

Royal Marines H.M.L.C.F.(L) 4.

8 Sep 1943

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 83, Column 3.

Lost on 30 Oct 1943 on H.M.L.C.F.(L) 4

LAND T. S.

Ordinary Seaman P/JX 176052 Thomas Sydney LAND

Royal Navy H.M.S.Express (H61)

1 Sep 1940 aged 23

Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 40, Column 1.

Arthur Land married Harriet Allcock in 1905, Thomas being one of six children they had.

H.M.S Express (Commander J.G. Bickford, DSC) sailed with Destroyers H.M.S. Ivanhoe, H.M.S. Intrepid, H.M.S. Icarus and H.M.S. Esk for minelaying at Texel, off the Belgian coast. H.M.S. Express entered a German minefield and exploded a mine with her forward structure being completely destroyed. H.M.S. Ivanhoe went alongside and was disabled after detonating another mine.

H.M.S. Express was able to make sternway under own power until taken in tow by H.M.S. Kelvin. The tow fouled and re-established by H.M.S. Jupiter until tugs arrived to complete towing operation to Hull. 58 of ships company were lost, with a further 9 picked up by a German ship and became P.O.W.

H.M.S. Express (photo from Pinterest)

H.M.S. Express following the explosion (photo from IWM)