| MV CALABRIA | |
At 20.58 hours on December 8, 1940, SS Calabria (formerly the German liner SS Werra) was straggling from convoy SL.56 when she was torpedoed by U-103. She was carrying a cargo of iron, tea and oil-cake together with hundreds of Indian seamen who were from other ships. At least 400 men were lost including the master (David Lonie) and one gunner. The Indian seamen are commemorated on the Bombay/Chittagong War Memorial. Twenty two crew members are commemorated on Tower Hill, Panel 22:
BENSON, Second Engineer Officer, JOHN ELTIS, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 38. Son of John Eltis Benson and Isabella Benson; husband of Marion Jerome Benson, of Gateshead, Co. Durham.
BERRY, Cadet, HENRY FRANCIS ADDERSON, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 18.
BIRKETT, Seaman, GEORGE, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 31
BUTLER, Surgeon, THOMAS LANGTON, Mentioned in Despatches, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 48. Son of Thomas Mapleson Butler and Sarah Soaper Butler; husband of Bessie Maude Butler, of Wood Green, Hampshire. Formerly Capt., R.A.M.C.
DUNCAN, Junior Engineer Officer, ROBERT ORR, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 21. Son of John and Ann Fletcher Duncan, of Gourock, Renfrewshire.
EKKENBERG, Supernumerary, OSCAR CHARLES MARINUS, Merchant Navy. Lost in S.S. Calabria. 8th December 1940. Age 36.
HEATLEY, Radio Officer, JOHN, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 44. Son of Peter and Annie Heatley.
JENKINS, Junior Engineer Officer, DOUGLAS CAMERON, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 24. Son of David and Marion Jane Jenkins.
LONIE, Master, DAVID, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 45. Son of James and Jane Lonie; husband of Charlotte Hepburn Lonie, of Leith, Edinburgh.
MACDONALD, Chief Officer, ROBERT WILLIAM, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 37. Son of Robert Macdonald and of Helen Macdonald (nee Riach); husband of Marjorie Macdonald, of Aberdeen.
MASSON, Chief Engineer Officer, ALEXANDER RIACH, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 50. Son of James and Elizabeth Riach Masson.
McMULLAN, Third Officer, WILLIAM IAN MUIR, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 33. Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. M. McMullan; husband of E. McMullan, of Donaghadee, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
NORRIS, Cadet, LESLIE CHARLES, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 18.
O'BRIEN, Boatswain, KENNETH S., S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 32.
PATERSON, Third Engineer Officer, CHARLES, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 29. Son of Richard Roxburgh Paterson and Isabella Fitzgerald Paterson; husband of Jeanie Paterson, of Dundee.
QUINN, Junior Engineer Officer, MICHAEL JOHN, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 25.
RAE, Fourth Engineer Officer, DAVID, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 27. Son of Frank and Edith Rae, of Forfar, Angus.
SHONE, Purser, GEORGE EDWARD, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 41. Son of Edward and Jessie Shone; husband of Norah Shone, of Passmonts, Lancashire.
STIRLING, Junior Engineer Officer, ALEXANDER RITCHIE, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 20. Son of Alexander Ritchie Stirling and Agnes Todd Stirling, of Greenock, Renfrewshire.
TURNER, Second Radio Officer, EDWARD BLAKEMAN, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 22. Son of Edward and Eleanor Mabel Turner, of Aston, Wellington, Shropshire.
WALLIS, Junior Engineer Officer, STANLEY ALEXANDER, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 25. Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Wallis, of Ealing, Middlesex.
WHITE, Second Officer, LAWRENCE HIGGINSON, S.S. Calabria. Merchant Navy. 8th December 1940. Age 31.
Commemorative data kindly provided by Billy McGee: http://www.british-merchant-navy.co.uk/.