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Tragic day for village of Staithes
THE village of Staithes, just like many towns and villages across the length and breadth of our nation, stands a memorial to our World War dead, writes author and historian Billy McGee.
Etched in stone and granite the names of our fallen are passed by each day, seen by many, remembered by a few.
The Staithes war memorial is located at the top of the High Street between the old Railway Station and the Captain Cook Inn.
Just as memorials throughout the United Kingdom, one sees the sacrifice made by many generations of the same family.
The memorial at Staithes as well as commemorating the lives lost from two world wars includes the lives sacrificed by 22 Merchant Seamen from WWII who once lived in the village.
One tragedy which befell seven of these men on one single day in May 1944 brought the war to the people of Staithes' doorstep and for a small village community the news must have been devastating.
Cargo ship Empire Heath had been built in Sunderland in 1941 for the Ministry of War Transport (MOWT) and placed under the management of Joseph Robinson and Sons, Stag Line based at North Shields.
The ship, as well as carrying a small stern mounted gun for some protection against surfaced U-boat attacks, was also fitted as a Catapult Aircraft Merchant ship (CAM).
Empire Heath was just one of 35 merchant ships built throughout the war which had been fitted with a rocket powered catapult, situated near the ship's bow section and could launch a single fighter aircraft on a one way journey.
During her brief career as a CAM ship, the Empire Heath recorded one kill before the North Atlantic convoys discontinued the use of such ships and concentrated their use on convoys destined for Gibraltar and Freetown.
By 1944, the Empire Heath was a veteran of many an Atlantic convoy and as the war began to go in the Allies favour it seemed Empire Heath's luck would hold out.
On 4 April 1944 the Empire Heath left Gibraltar and joined up with the southward bound 29 ship Convoy OS-72 bound for the West African port of Freetown.
Once off the coast of Freetown, the Empire Heath left the convoy and was then to proceed to Rio Janeiro and Victoria, Brazil, sailing independently and unescorted, arriving safely on 25 April.
By 9 May 1944, the Empire Heath now down to her marks and, fully laden with thousands of tonnes of iron, set off for the return journey to sail independently to Freetown where she would join up with a homeward bound convoy to Loch Ewe for orders.
She would never get there.
On 11 May in approximate position 19' 00S 31' 00W about 722 nautical miles north east of Rio, the Empire Heath was sighted by U-129 and sunk by torpedo.
Due to the density of the ship's cargo the ship sank like a stone, taking the Captain, 46 crew, her nine DEMS gunners and one DBS (Distressed British Seaman) returning home from a previous sinking with her.
The sole survivor, the ship's chief steward, Frederick Wakeham from North Shields, had been in his cabin when the torpedo struck.
Scrambling for his life jacket, he managed to reach the deck as the ship plunged beneath the waves, only to be dragged under with the ship.
After some considerable time he reached the surface and on hearing the submarine's motors swam towards it.
He was taken aboard as a prisoner and later interned in the Merchant Navy PoW camp Milag Nord in August 1944.
The majority of those lost came from the north east as well as the coastal towns of Whitby and Scarborough and included two 16-year-old crew members.
The seven men from Staithes are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London along with the rest of her crew.
* MR McGee carried out Merchant Navy related research for individuals lost from WWII, by tracing the ship and events leading to the death of a family member for those still searching for answers to questions on how their loved ones died.
In the past 10 years or so, he has helped find more than 1,000 individuals for families who knew little or nothing on how their relatives were lost.
In 2003, he wrote a Book of Remembrance (unpublished), dedicated to more than 350 Merchant Seamen killed in WWII who came from the Tees to Robin Hood's Bay area, whose details he traced from official records.
Mr McGee is also the author of the books Ropner's Navy (2008) and They Shall Grow Not Old ... which is due out shortly.
The latter is dedicated to over 500 boys aged 16 and under who gave their lives in service of the Merchant Navy during WWII.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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