Petty OfficerRIECKE, HARRY CARL Service Number V/1O435 Died 20/09/1943 Aged 27 H.M.C.S. St. Croix. Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve Son of Carl August Riecke and Mary Riecke, of Weyburn, Saskatchewan; husband of Patricia Riecke, of Montreal, Province of Quebec. Casualty
Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: PO Harry Carl Riecke Death Date: 20 Sep 1943 Cemetery: Halifax Memorial Burial or Cremation Place: Halifax, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada Has Bio?: N URL: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-... Canada, WWII Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947 Name: Harry Carl Riecke Birth Place: Weyburn, Sask. Residence Place: Weyburn, Sask. Service Number: V1o435 Force: Navy Regiment: Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve Rank: Petty Officer Next of Kin: Mrs. Patricia Riecke RIECKE, HARRY CARL - Halifax County, Nova Scotia TD
The fate of HMCS St Croix's crew of some 147 was tragic, though not perhaps uncommon in the Battle of the Atlantic. The ship, an elderly lend-lease Town-class destroyer, was part of Support Group S9 and had a good record of U-boat sinkings (one, and a half-share in a second). At the time of her loss she had joined a hectic running fight - 19 Allied warships protecting 65 merchantmen from a large wolf pack of 21 U-boats (patrol group LUETHEN). Once the scale of the threat had been realised, two convoys from Liverpool (ONS18 and ON20) had been combined along with their escort groups (B3 and C2) plus a merchant aircraft carrier MV Empire McAlpine. SG9 had been sent north to reinforce them. St Croix had followed a VLR Liberator which had signalled her that it had attacked a U-boat with depth charges; approaching the area she was hit aft in the screws by an acoustic torpedo from U-305, and then by a second near the mess-deck, incurring some casualties. She seems to have remained afloat for a further 45 minutes until the U-boat fired another torpedo into her. There was no panic and most men made it off the ship onto Carley floats and a damaged whaler, with the wounded in a motor launch; the sea was calm and dusk was falling. HMS Polyanthus (Flower-class corvette) and HMS Itchen (River-class frigate) attended to pick up survivors, but could not as they were then attacked themselves: Polyanthus was sunk by U-952 around midnight while screening Itchen; her single survivor was rescued by that vessel. 81 St Croix survivors were finally taken aboard the Itchen the next morning after 13 hours in the cold water, but many had died by that time. Worse was to come. In the morning of the 23rd September HMS Itchen was then sunk herself by U-666, sinking in a very short time. Only two of her crew survived, plus Stoker W. Fisher of the St Croix (his fascinating account well worth a look here). They were picked up after three hours in the water by a Polish merchant ship the Wisła (Fisher calls her the Waleha), and landed safely in the States a few days later. Pat.
