HURLEY J. B.

Able Seaman P/JX 263581 John Bartle HURLEY.

Royal Navy H.M. Submarine H.31 (N31).

24 Dec 1941 aged 20.

Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 48, Column 2.

Son of Tom and Hilda Hurley, of Stockport, Cheshire.

H 31 (Lieutenant Frank Bridger Gibbs) sailed from Falmouth on the 19th Dec 1941 for a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, and was not seen or heard from after the release by her escort. She was reported overdue on 26 Dec 1941, the cause of her loss was possibly a German minefield, drifting British mines or accidental. She was lost with all 33 crew.

The date of her loss given is an approximate one. On 24 Dec 1941 she failed to show up at the rendez-vous position for onward passage under escort towards Falmouth. She was declared overdue from patrol on 26 Dec 1941.

H.M.Submarine H.31 (photo from wikipedia)

GREEN K. R.

Sailor Kenneth Richard GREEN

Canadian Merchant Navy S.S. Montreal City (Bristol, England)

21 Dec 1942

Halifax Memorial, Canada, Panel 21.

At 03:56 on 21 Dec 1942 the unescorted Montreal City (Master Edward Roylands Wolferstan Chanter), a straggler on convoy ON-152, was hit aft by a stern torpedo from Type VIIC U-591 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche) about 600 miles east-northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The U-boat had spotted the ship in bad weather about 15 minutes earlier and missed her with a spread of three torpedoes at 03:50.

The crew was observed to abandon ship in three lifeboats after an emergency message was sent and received by other ships of convoy. At 04:09 hours, a coup de grâce was fired because the vessel only settled slowly by the stern. The torpedo struck the Montreal City amidships and caused her to sink by the stern within two minutes. The Master, 32 crew members and seven gunners were lost.

Montreal City (photo from Uboat.net)

EASTWOOD A.

Stoker 1st Class D/KX 105360 Albert EASTWOOD.

Royal Navy H.M.S.Galatea (71)..

15 Dec 1941 aged 23.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 52, Column 3.

On 15 Dec 1941 H.M.S. Galatea (Captain E.W.B. Sim) was sunk by Type VIIC U-557 (Korvettenkapitän Ottokar Arnold Paulssen) with three torpedoes about 35 miles west of Alexandria, whilst returning to port with a force of cruisers.  The commander, 22 officers and 447 ratings were lost. 144 survivors were picked up by H.M.S. Griffin and H.M.S. Hotspur.

At 19:55 14 Dec 1941 the Italian submarine Dagabur (Captain Alberto Torri) had fired torpedoes at the same cruiser force and heard two detonations after 1 minute 45 seconds. It is not clear whether H.M.S. Galatea had been damaged by the Italian submarine before she was sunk by the U-boat.

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

HILL J.

Air Fitter S/FX458 James HILL.

Royal Navy H.M.S.Formidable (67).

12 Dec 1940 aged 18.

Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, Hoy, Orkney, Plot P. Row 3. Grave 22.

Son of Edward and Mary Ann Howard who were married in 1901 at Christchurch, Heaton Norris. He was killed whilst serving aboard H.M.S.Formidable.

Photo from lyness-cemetery.blogspot.com

ORME J. W.

Able Seaman D/SSX 32168 James William ORME.

Royal Navy H.M.S. Repulse (34).

10 Dec 1941.

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 48, Column 1.

Henry Orme was married to Florence Holland at All Saints in Heaton Norris in 1915, they had two children with James being their only son.

H.M.S. Repulse and H.M.S. Prince of Wales arrived at Singapore just before Japan began the Pacific War.

As soon as hostilities commenced, both steamed northwards to intercept a reported invasion force. While returning to Singapore on 10 Dec 1941, H.M.S. Repulse and H.M.S. Prince of Wales were attacked by Japanese high-level bombers and torpedo planes. Repulse (Captain Sir William George Tennant, CB) was moderately damaged by bombs early in the action and was later hit by several torpedoes. After receiving this heavy underwater damage, she sank rapidly, followed less than an hour later by the Prince of Wales.

H.M.S. Vampire and H.M.S. Electra rescued 42 officers and 754 ratings from Repulse.

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

ROYLE K.

Marine PLY/X 106431 Keith ROYLE

Royal Marines H.M.S.Tana II Passenger on S.S. Ceramic

7 Dec 1942 aged 18

Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 74, Column 3.

Son of John W. and Alice Royle, of South Reddish, Cheshire.

S.S. Ceramic (Master Herbert Charles Elford) sailed with Convoy ON 149 until it dispersed as scheduled in the North Atlantic. She then continued unescorted as planned.

At midnight on 6–7 Dec 1942, in cold weather and rough seas in mid-Atlantic, Type IXC U-515 (Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke) hit Ceramic with a single torpedo. These were followed two or three minutes later by two more that hit Ceramic's engine room, stopping her engines and her electric lighting. The liner radioed a distress signal, which was received by H.M.S. Enterprise. The crippled liner stayed afloat and her complement abandoned ship in good order, launching about eight lifeboats all full of survivors.

About three hours later U-515 fired two more torpedoes, which broke the ship's back and sank her immediately. By now it was very stormy and raining. The heavy sea capsized some of the lifeboats and left many people struggling in the water. Those boats that were not capsized stayed afloat only by constant baling. Eric Munday a soldier was the only survivor out of 655 crew and passengers, he was picked up by U-515.

S.S. Ceramic (photo from uboat.net)

SHAW W.

Stoker 1st Class C/KX 87397 William SHAW.

Royal Navy H.M. Submarine Regulus (N88).

6 Dec 1940 aged 23.

Chatham Naval Memorial, 38, 3.

William was the only son of James Shaw and Mary Ellen Gannon who were married in 1914.

H.M.Submarine Regulus (Lieutenant Commander Frederick Basil Currie) left Alexandria to patrol in the southern Adriatic Sea on 23 Nov 1940, she  was reported overdue when she failed to return to Alexandria on 6 Dec 1940. H.M.S. Regulus was lost with her entire crew probability after being mined.

H.M.S.Regulus (photo from Wikipedia)