|
Letters
Basil David O'Donoghue who lost his life on the SS Ceramic in Dec 1942 Dear Mac, I am seeking information regarding my uncle Basil David O'Donoghue who lost his life on the Ceramic in Dec 1942. I have not been able to find his name on any casualty lists. He was coming home to Melbourne apparently to take up employment of some type in Port Melbourne. Rgards
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, URL: http://www.cwgc.org/ keeps a Register of Civilian War Dead, but I am unable to find your Uncle there. Was he Australian or English? See this note of a register in Westminister Abbey:"From the start of the Second World War in 1939, the Commission had a graves registration unit. With the increased number of civilian casualties compared to the First World War, Sir Winston Churchill agreed to Ware's proposal that the Commission also maintain a record of the Commonwealth civilian war deaths. This book, containing the names of nearly 67,000 men, women and children, has been kept in Westminster Abbey since 1956. During the Second World War, the Commission was given the task of compiling as complete a list as possible of Commonwealth civilians whose deaths were due to enemy action. The complete roll of some 66,400 names is bound in seven volumes and kept near St George’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey, where a different page is displayed each day. Copies of individual pages are available free of charge, subject to availability. A charge may be made for multiple page requests. Attached is the cover of a book about SS Ceramic you may not be aware of. I have E-Mailed the CWGC to see if they have a record for Basil. Best wishes,
John,
Re the letter on Ahoy from John Callanan, I wasn't able to find any passenger lists for the Ceramic in The Times but did find one article about the sinking (it appeared a year later). See attached. The Times incorrectly reported that the Ceramic "was sunk last November", perhaps confusing it with when the ship left Liverpool (23 Nov 1942).
There is a Basil David O'Donoghue, a Lieutenant in the RANVR, on CWGC's website here: The date of death, 07/12/1942, ties in with the loss of the Ceramic, although the ship is not mentioned. Best regards, Martin Elliget
Many, many thanks for the prompt reply! My information to you was obviously not enough. Uncle Basil served in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve ranked as a Lieutanant. I have since found his name recorded at the Royal Navy Memorial at Plymouth in the UK and in the Roll of Honour of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I hope to continue my research further and am extremely grateful for the time you have spent on my behalf. John
Here is the response just received from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to my enquiry about David O'Donoghue. Hope it is of some use to you. Regards,
|
