Frank Jones - SS Ceramic - December 6th 1942

Laid down in 1912 at the world famous shipyard of Harland & Wolff in Belfast, the ocean liner, SS Ceramic was to become the pride of the White Start Line on its Liverpool - Australia route.

She saw service during WW1 and was attacked by U-Boats on numerous occasion but was always able to return back to port, the torpedoes either missed their intended target or she was able to outrun surfaced U-Boats that gave chase to her.

SS Ceramic

On November 6th 1942, the Ceramic left Liverpool bound for Australia, she was carrying 377 passengers and a crew of 264.

Rochdale born Frank Jones was onboard, travelling to the Antipodes.

Ceramic sailed as part of Convoy ON149 until it dispersed as planned in the North Atlantic with SS Ceramic continuing her journey alone.

At midnight on 6th December, in and rough seas in the mid-Atlantic, U-515 hit the Ceramic with a single torpedo, three minutes later she was attacked again by two more that hit her engine room, stopping her engines and her electric lighting. The liner radioed a distress signal, which was picked up by a Royal Navy cruiser - HMS Enterprise.
The crippled liner stayed afloat and her passengers & crew began to abandon ship.

About three hours later U-515 fired two more torpedoes, which broke the ship's back and sank her immediately, the weather had by now taken a turn for the worse, it was very stormy and raining. The heavy sea capsized some of the lifeboats and left many people struggling in the water.

The following morning U-515 returned to the area of the sinking and picked up a lone survivor.

Frank Jones was 30 years of age at the time of his death, he lived at 3 Abbott Street, Castleton with his parents William and Nellie Jones.

Lest we forget.

Aircraftsman 1st Class Lewis Sutcliffe - RAFVR

Lewis Sutcliffe joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in mid 1941.

At the time of his death on December 5th 1942, he was just 22 years of age.

Born and raised in Bamford he had been an active member of St. Michaels choir, he had married a Yorkshire lass, Rose Bradley, in the January before he was killed, on the day he died she had received a letter from him stating that he was expecting to be home on leave for Christmas.

The couple lived at 839 Bury Road, Bamford.

On the day of her husbands funeral, his wife learnt that her father had passed away during an operation.

Rose gave birth to their daughter, June Lois, on June 1st 1943 - did Lewis know he was to be a father ?

Lewis was laid to rest in Rochdale Cemetery.

Lest we forget.

Private Alfred Davies - Army Ordnance Corps

Alfred Davies was the eldest son of Arnold and Agnes Davies, originally from Shropshire the family had by 1901 moved to Rochdale.

The 1911 census shows the following family members living at 23 Shawclough Road;

Thomas Arnold Davies, 55, Motor Car Trimmer, born in Shrewsbury.
Agnes Davies, 51, born in Woolton, Lancashire. 
Jesse Harriet Davies, 26, Cotton Drum Winder, born in Shrewsbury.
Alfred Davies, 21, Commercial Traveller (Stationary), born in Cleobury, Shrops.
Elsie Davies, 17, Sewing Machinist, born in Shropshire.

In 1912 Alfred married Elizabeth Gillespie in Rochdale.

At some point after that Alfred joined the Army, serving with the Army Ordnance Corps, sadly his service papers haven't survived.

Alfred died on December 5th 1918, his wife received notification of his death at their home, 84 Hamer Lane.

He is one of 8 identified casualties buried in Lessines Communal Cemetery, France, 5 of which served in the AOC and were all killed on the same day.

Welcome

Every village, town and city in every corner of the country has been affected in some way by war, Rochdale is not unique in that regard.

Every soldier, sailor and airman that has donned the Kings or Queens uniform deserves some form of respect and gratitude, I hope through this blog to be able to tell brief stories of these men and women and in some small way hope that their sacrifices were not and vain, but more importantly that they are not forgotten.