Hello , Does anyone have any info on this ship please, I noticed a name on board this ship who died 19/4/42 who may be a relative of a friend. Regards Alan
Hello Alan, ss HARPAGON official number 164488 built in 1935 by Lithgows in Port Glasgow for Gowland S.S.Co Ltd (J.& C.Harrison), London. 20.4.42. Torpedoed and sunk by U-109 (Bleichrodt) in the Atlantic 150 miles NNW of Bermuda in position 34.35N 65.50W while sailing independently on a voyage from New York 17.4.42 to Bombay via Cape Town with 8017 tons of general cargo including explosives, aircraft and tanks. The Master, Capt Robert William Edward Laycock, 34 crew and 6 gunners were lost. 8 crew were rescued by Argentinian ship RIO DIAMANTE 5159/18 and landed at Buenos Aires. uboat.net - Allied Ships hit by U-boats - Harpagon (Steam merchant) If you wish to post the name of your relative, I may be able to point you to his records. Regards Hugh
Hello Hugh, Thank you very much for this info , very interesting .The man in question is William Crossan , Able Seaman , Royal Navy , C/JX 266703. He may or may not be a relation of my friend but his family were certainly from Greenock . Regards Alan
Hello Alan, William Crossan was a DEMS gunner attached to ss HARPAGON. DEMS gunners are quite difficult to trace as it depends how their military records were written up. It is usual to see just the accounting base mentioned instead of ships' names. In this case his accounting base was HMS PRESIDENT III. This is what I would advise his relatives to do if you wish to take this further. All military DEMS signed on ship's Articles as members of the crew under the authority of the ship's master; they were usually shown on the Crew Agreement as Deck Hands. On the Agreement, it should show when and where he joined the ship and his address and next of kin. It should also show the name of his previous ship and this is a good way of tracking back DEMS gunners on Merchant Navy ships if his military records do not show any ships' names. The last Crew Agreement for HARPAGON is held at the National Archives, Kew under the ship's official number 164488 at this link here: HARPAGON His military records would need to be requested by NoK at this link here: Get a copy of military records of service Like I said they may or may not show actual ships' names you wont know until you look. I hope that helps. Regards Hugh
Hello Hugh , Thank you very much , I will pass this on to my friend and he can decide how far he wants to go . Regards Alan
My Mother's Brother - John (Jack) Moralee, aged 28, a Merchant Seaman, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham was lost in the sinking of this ship.
His military records would need to be requested by NoK at this link here: Service records - Royal Navy Like I said they may or may not show actual ships' names you wont know until you look. Hugh Hugh, I have seen my veteran friends RN record and it lists evey ship including the Land establishments by ships name. Date of transfers on and off. Regards Tom
Hello Tom, The context of my message referred to merchant ship's names and not RN ships. It is unusual for a RN DEMS gunner's merchant navy ships to be mentioned on his service records. Usually only the accounting base is mentioned such as HMS PRESIDENT. Was your veteran friend a DEMS gunner? Regards Hugh
Hugh, Thanks for the clarification. Sydney my friend was a Torpedo and electronics expert, but also an excellent shot. He shot for the Welsh team and was an Olympic contender at one time. He mentioned to me that whilst on one of the landings in Italy he shot down a German plane. He was on the LST 162 for the Italian landings and Normandy landings. Before that he served on several Aircraft carriers and was injured on HMS Eagle when she was torpedoed and sunk. A super man and very modest, but with a chestful of medals. I posted his photo and medals if you search " A nice set of Medals" He will take part on the forum in the near future as he had problems with his computer and has also just changed his provider. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-sea/19405-nice-set-medals.html Regards Tom
Alan and Smudger after a lengthy search of my database I have managed to uncover a picture of SS Harpagon.
Hello and welcome. I agree with you the photo is of the later HARPAGON. The 1935 built Harrison cargo ship HARPAGON and the subject of this thread is here: http://www.wrecksite.eu/img/wrecks/harpagon_steam.jpg Regards Hugh
My great uncle, Andrew Joseph Howard, also died at the age of 20. I hope the link below helps. SS Harpagon sunk by U-109/Bleichrodt 150 miles from Bermuda, 8 survivors spent 34 days on a raft - Eric Wiberg
UK, Merchant Seamen Deaths, 1939 -1953 Name: Andrew Joseph Howard Age: 20 Birth Date: abt 1922 Birth Place: Liverpool, England Death Date: 19 Apr 1942 Death Place: At Sea TD
And their uncle Patrick Kavanagh on the SS Monmouth Coast just days before the end of the war. Andy and Jim are my father's brothers. Patrick, his mum's baby brother, only 38. Andy and Jim would have been my uncles (not great uncle but I don't know how to edit!).
For Carmel Name: James Howard Age: 23 Birth Date: abt 1920 Birth Place: Liverpool, England Death Date: 13 Mar 1943 Death Place: At Sea Mother: Galia Name: Catrick Kavanagh [Patrick Kavanagh ] Age: 38 Birth Date: abt 1907 Birth Place: Liverpool, England Death Date: 24 Apr 1945 Death Place: At Sea Spouse: Rose I note there was also a Daniel Kavanagh killed 24 Apr 1945 on the same ship as Patrick - is he a relation? TD
No relation. Jim's and Andy's mother was Julia, Dad was also James. He was a veteran of ww1 trenches.The war to end all wars. Jim, Andy and Albert Jr , all served as merchant seamen. My father, now 90 was too young to serve during the war, but he's probably the last person alive who knew them well.
Tricky Dicky I'm so grateful. I'm not sure if it's allowed on this site but would it be possible for you to email these directly so that my father in particular might have a printed copy?