'Died at Sea'

[GRANVILLE]

Am researching a Lance Corporal in the Royal Engineers who served at Gallipoli and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey. He is recorded as having 'died at sea'. Would this be a term used for soldiers who died in the hospital ships whilst being treated for injury sustained on the land?

David

[Steven Broomfield]

Possibly killed when the Royal Edward was torpedoed. What's the date of death?

[johnboy]

'Died at sea' may well mean buried at sea. There is another recent thread on this subject.

[johnboy]

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214219&hl=

[jwp2007]

Am researching a Lance Corporal in the Royal Engineers who served at Gallipoli and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey. He is recorded as having 'died at sea'. Would this be a term used for soldiers who died in the hospital ships whilst being treated for injury sustained on the land?

David

Hi,

I have also been researching a chap born in my village also on the helles memorial and listed as died at sea, he was lost with the sinking of the royal Edward, the casualty list has one RE man on.

2nd Hampshires 207 & 5 officers

1st Essex regiment 107

Royal Army Medical Corps 143 & 4 officers

RASC 119 & 2 officers,

1st Border Regiment 59

2nd South Wales Borderers 53

1st Kings Own Scottish Borderers 48

1st Lancashire. Fusiliers 27 & 1 officer (Temp. Major Cuthbert Bromley, V.C.),

Royal Engineers 1

[GRANVILLE]

My man is Corporal Charles Tomlinson, died at sea 6th Sept 1915

David

[clive_hughes]

I have one Anglesey casualty Died at Sea who is buried at Marseilles - his unit was serving in Egypt/Palestine at the time (May 1917). All I can think of is that he passed away on a hospital ship close enough to land for them to decide to bury him there.

Likewise you will find Died at Sea as a cause of death for military personnel aboard shipwrecks such as the SS Connemara off Ireland in November 1916.

EDIT: Thanks to the new CWGC documents I have just found that 4 other men were buried with the Marseilles casualty originally at a location nearer Toulon, before being concentrated into Mazargues (Marseilles) 1949. All same date of death: 4 May 1917 - the day the troopship SS Transylvania was sunk off Cape Noli, italy. Another death explained!

Clive

Edited 11 July , 2014 by LST_164