Fantastically useful thread. Thank you internet and thank you fellow posters!
I have married into a family scarred by the loss of the Van Dyck. My mother in law (only recently deceased) was born Mary Conolly, daughter of Leiutenant Thomas Conolly of the Van Dyke. He survived the bombing and sinking of the ship, but during a POW transfer (perhaps during passage to Oslo dep 21/6) he jumped ship, in an effort to escape. He is thought to have drowned on the 22nd June. But for the Telegram from the King the family no longer have any first hand sources relating to his loss. So I would be particularly interested if any of the notes left by survivors mentioned Tom (and especially the circumstances that surrounded his loss)
Tom was survived by his wife Gwen who raised her four children without ever speaking of him or his diappearance, strictly adhering to the War Ministry's request to refrain from talking about bad news. His youngest daughter Elizabeth was subsequently born in October of 1940. Was it a desire to be with his young family that drove him to try to escape?
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Conolly-304
