Cheepie Posted 9 December , 2005 Share Posted 9 December , 2005 My great Grandfather was in the Lincolnshire Yeomanry it is family "rumour" that during WW1 he was on a ship awaiting deployment in the Dardenelles that was sunk with the loss of most of the passengers & crew. He was one of a handful of survivors Does this ring any bells or can anyone suggest where to research this ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Lowrey Posted 10 December , 2005 Share Posted 10 December , 2005 Cheepie, it's best to interpret these sort of "rumors" so as to allow for some degree of exageration or errors in some details. There certainly were a number of troopships torpedoed and sunk by U-boats in the Mediterranean with heavy loss of life. The Lincolnshire Yeomanry didn't sail until October 1915. The intended location was Salonika but that was changed while at sea to Egypt. (see http://www.1914-1918.net/CAVALRY/lincsyeo.htm) It doesn't appear that there was a notable British troopship disaster during the deployment. Best wishes, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheepie Posted 10 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 10 December , 2005 Thanks a lot, Personally I am not convinced as he was born in 1900 which would make him 15 in 1915, but my mother insists her Grandfather, Redvers Robert Peel did serve in WW1. I have found a medal record for Redvers Peel (unusual name so possibly it is him) The problem is that Peel is such a common name in the North East that I don't think that I can be sure Best wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_davies Posted 12 December , 2005 Share Posted 12 December , 2005 (edited) The Lincolnshire Yeomanry were onboard the Mercian which was attacked on 3 Nov 1915 by a surfaced German u-boat. The ship wasn't sunk and the majority of the crew and yeomanry survived (don't have the numbers but about 20-30 were killed). The ship put into port at Oran, Algeria before continuing on to Egypt. By the time they arrived there was little point in them continuing to Gallipoli (withdrawal pending) and hence used in Palestine. I would imagine that the Mercian is the ship your g-grandfather was on. Given his forename think the Peel, on the online MICs is your man. Jim Edited 12 December , 2005 by jim_davies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historydavid Posted 13 December , 2005 Share Posted 13 December , 2005 The defensively armed Mercian, 6.305 grt, was shelled on 4th November 1915 by the German submarine SMU U38 between Gibraltar and Alboran, Mediterranean Sea, and managed to escap by its own speed. There were 29 crew casualties who are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial. Sorry, but I don't have any info on passenger casualties. Best wishes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kath Posted 13 December , 2005 Share Posted 13 December , 2005 I've got the Cape Helles reg. part 12 Soldiers Lost at Sea. It has Lincolnshire Yeomanry casualties from the Mercian. The date in the Reg. is 3rd. Nov. 1915. Kath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historydavid Posted 13 December , 2005 Share Posted 13 December , 2005 Have you considered that that the regimental record might be wrong? British Vessels Lost at Sea gives the 4th, and the U-boat captain, Max Valentiner, stated the 4th. Best wishes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lörscher Posted 14 December , 2005 Share Posted 14 December , 2005 Hello, the 3rd is correct date, as also quoted in U 38's war diary. From an PRO file I have: About 500 trooops and 500 horses on board MERCIAN. Shell fragments killed 23 soldiers and 14 horses and wounded 6 officers, 48 soldiers and 1 crew. Later 1 officer, 6 soldiers and 11 horses died of their wounds. 23 soldiers and 8 crew left in boats, of thom 11 soldiers and 5 crew remaind missing, the rest being rescued bei S/S SAINT PHILIPPE. Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_davies Posted 16 December , 2005 Share Posted 16 December , 2005 From first hand accounts from letters sent by Stamford members of the yeomanry, the "3rd" Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheepie Posted 13 February , 2006 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2006 Thanks for all your helpful replies Strangely he joined the RAF in WW2 and avoided going anywhere near water, managed to survive that at well! Born lucky I think, just wish I'd asked him more about his life in the services before he died in 1985 in Surrey Best wishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now