Rick W Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Just thought I'd share this story with you as me and Mrs W have been doing some delving into family histories. For the past century relatives on my fathers side have been in the merchant navy at some point or other and last night I came across a name that was on the family tree. With a bit of delving over an hour or 2 I came up with the following. We had the name of Arthur Whyte who is mentioned as having died in WW2. A quick search on the CWGC website produced this- In Memory of Second Engineer Officer ALFRED WILLIAM WHYTE S.S. Empire Bison (London), Merchant Navy who died age 60 on 01 November 1940 Son of George and Mary Anna Whyte. Remembered with honour TOWER HILL MEMORIAL Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission A quick google search, I found the mercantile marine forum www.mercantilemarine.org , well worth a visit if you have any questions or want to share any info. EMPIRE BISON, 5,972grt, built 1919 (South Western Ship Building Co.) as WEST CAWTHON. 1940 purchased by the MOS renamed and managed by Ropner Shipping Co. Ltd. Torpedoed and sunk by U-124 400 miles West of Rockall on the 1st November 1940 sailing independently from Baltimore to the Clyde via Halifax, Nova Scotia with a cargo of scrap steel and 1 passenger. Captain, 29 crew and 1 DEMS gunner killed. 3 crew and passenger were rescued after 8 and half days adrift on a liferaft by the Danish ship OLGA and landed at Gourock. Thats quite a lot of info to find and detail, but we delved a bit further and looked into U-Boat U-124 and found a site dedicated to all manner of info on U-Boats. It gives captains, crew lists, kill-lists, ports, ship insignia, everything. www.uboat.net U-124 Type IXB Ordered15 Dec, 1937 Laid down11 Aug, 1939AG Weser, Bremen (werk 956)Launched9 Mar, 1940 Commissioned11 Jun, 1940Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross)Commanders11 Jun, 1940 - 7 Sep, 1941 Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross)8 Sep, 1941 - 2 Apr, 1943 KrvKpt. Johann Mohr (Knights Cross)Career11 patrols11 Jun, 1940 - 1 Aug, 1940 2. Flottille (training) 1 Aug, 1940 - 2 Apr, 1943 2. Flottille (front boat) Successes46 ships sunk for a total of 219.178 GRT 2 warships sunk for a total of 5.775 tons 4 ships damaged for a total of 30.067 GRTFateSunk 2 April, 1943 west of Oporto, in position 41.02N, 15.39W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the British sloop HMS Black Swan. 53 dead (all hands lost). The Empire Bisonwas the last ship to be sunk on U-124's first patrol as a new sub. The successes of U-124 are quite remarkable, 46 ships sunk, 2 warships and 4 damaged. This made her captain, Georg-Willhelm Schulz one of Germanys leading U boat Aces. Ive just put a link for the short biography of Schulz here rather than post it up. It also lists every ship that was a victim of U-124. http://www.uboat.net/men/schulz.htm I just thought I would share that with you as i found it fascinating and I was looking for another relatives naval record, and just goes to show what you can find out about your ancestors when you start delving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Had seen U-Boat.net but did not know the mercantilemarine forum. Will look at it. I pass the Tower Hill monument every day to work. Do you want a snap of your named man from it, Rick? I have two special ships on the memorial - the Arandora Star and the Severn Leigh which I've yarned on about before. Nice pic BTW - is this the one off CWGC? The U-Boat site is full of good stuff. My dad got heavily into it in his final days and built up an archive of collected resources. It all went with him in 1992. MB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 That would be great if you could snap his name on that Mark.Yes the pic is from CWGC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 will make a note. But make sure you remind me....sieve-like brain is a standard part in my head. None of your optional rubbish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Dont forget the photo Mark! (Psst, gun clips for Iltis??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hi Rick, Nice bit of info indeed besides the Knights Cross i see he has also been awarded the Spanish Cross possibly in silver (with out swords ) by the looks of it-the troops were sent to support Franco against the communist, This war gave the Germans the ability to try out new military tactical practices which they perfected be for 1939. Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 It does appear from his c.v. that he had prewar training- well spotted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted October 27, 2008 Author Share Posted October 27, 2008 Im not quite sure why this was moved from the research page, but anyway the story continues.... I have been speaking to a chap in Newfoundland who also had a relative aboard the Empire Bison, he kindly emailed me a pic of the ship, though sadly not for inclusion on a website. What he did email me was the registration document for the ship not only that but a photo of the ship in flames a few minutes after it was torpedoed, taken by a crewmember aboard the u-Boat. Brings it all home when you see a photo like that, I will ask him if I can post that pic up. (Have you had any joy yet Snapper?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Not from where I am sitting, Rick. I'm eight hours ahead of you at the moment checking out a bit of the old Empire. Will get it done when I am back in The Smoke. MB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 I got sent this photo from a chap in Canada, its the kind of photo that makes you think a bit, especially at this time of year. Its a photo of the Empire Bison being sunk, the photo presumably being taken by the U Boat which toprpedoed her. Not often you get close to relatives like this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Very moving photo mate ! Thanks for posting ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Did the snaps today, Rick. Will post when I get home this evening. Only had my pocket snapper - but they should be OK> M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Here is the full list of the Empire Bison. The problem now, Rick, is you'll want to look up all the others. MB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 The good Mr Whyte in close up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) The panel for the Empire Bison faces the bench to the left of centre with the tree coming down behind it. The sun will be on it in the morning. To take this snap U pretty much had to stand with my back to the panel for the Severn Leigh, discussed separately. For those interested, the building in the background is the former headquarters of the Port of London Authority and is now used regularly as a film set. To it's right is Trinity House, the headquarters of the organisation in control of lighthouses etc. Just round the corner from this is the original London base of Toc H, Tubby Clayton's hostel. I was a boy scout in the building during 1972-4 with 1st City of London, Lord Mayor's Own troop. We were a bunch of animals. All the kids bar me and few others lived on the dockers estates round the London dock. They were hard times as the docks were closing and immigrants were moving in, causing upheaval. Time moves on. I used to enjoy larking around the MN war memorial in those days...ignorance is bliss. The Great WarMemorial (behind the camera) is a Lutyens design. It should have been built in a grander form up on the Embankment, but this would have entailed the removal of the Bazalgette gate, which offended many people. I've read that one reason was that the 'base sort' of people who would have used the memorial and the well-heeled would not agree with that. Edited January 18, 2009 by Snapper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Thanks very much Mark, really appreciate that.:tup:: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Sorry it took so long to organise. I had to use the train at the weekend for the first time in ages, while the crashed Toyota is repaired. The light was lovely and it was a fine morning. Unfortunately I did not have a lot of time. Hope these snaps are alright. They're in the archive, so are retrievable at some juncture. But I owe loads already! M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick W Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 In remembrance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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