Messman QUEELEY, WILLIAM Died 23/11/1941 Aged 26 S.S. Proteus (Montreal). Canadian Merchant Navy Nephew of Emilie Cumes, of Basseterre, St. Kitts, British West Indies.
I couldn't find anything on William Queeley, alas; however, the loss of his ship was notable not just for his death and that of his crewmates it turns out. SS Proteus was a bulk carrier; she left St Thomas on 13 November 1941 en route for Portland, Maine, and nothing more was heard from her. She had 58 crew on board. There is apparently no indication from contemporary records that a U-boat or other enemy action was the cause of the loss. Her sister ship, USS Nereus, was similarly lost with all hands a month or so later carrying bauxite. In fact the third sister ship, USS Cyclops, had also been lost without trace in 1918 while transporting manganese ore. Given the approximate location of all three losses, the sister ships have often been cited in support of the existence of the Bermuda Triangle, but this is debunked by e.g. this Maritime Accident Casebook article which suggests a rapid capsizing as a result of a heavy cargo which was prone to liquefying, and therefore unstable, in bad weather conditions. Pat