SS Waimarama

[Andy C]

Yesterday the 13th, marked the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Waimarama which was attached to a Malta convey known as Operation Pedestal. My late Uncle George Meaghan was one of the 80 crew members who perished,that day, he lived in Custom House and was a Merchant Seaman prior to the outbreak of war.
The ship belonged to the Shaw Savill and Albion Line. As well as paying respect for him, I wonder if any one knows if any other residents of West Ham were on board this vessel, and did the ship operate, before the War, out of the Royal Docks.

Andy

[MickG]

Andy,

I tried searching for a crew list, (so far without success), to see if that might assist with local names. I did however come across a number of accounts of this incident and it does appear that HMS Ledbury managed to pick up some survivors. There are no photographs of this incident but there is a painting of it made by an eye witness. The link to the painting is below.

http://tinyurl.com/d9wdgmw

[EX CUSTOM HOUSE]

MickG & AndyC  -  Just read your interestings Posts re SS Waimarama.

When I first arrived on the Forum quite a few posts were about the Merchant Navy and coming from a family who seemed
to have no other profession was very keen to get involved.

As posted before my Father went down on the SS Pacific in 1941 with all hands except one.


At that time so I would have facts and details for posting  my Son compiled me a list of Ships Dad had been on from:- 1926

In May 1930 he sailed on SS WAIMANA (Vessel 131795 Registered in Southampton ) could she be a relative to your SS WAIMARAMA.?

Sorry! for your loss Andy

Louise

[Andy C]

MickG and louise,

Louise thank you for condolances, unfortunately I never met George, but knew both his wife, my fathers sister, and his son very well, she like many other widowed by war never remarried.

Mick thank you for looking. The painting is staggering and the sea of fire depicted is amazing. A report I read in the past stated that the ship exploded and sank in a mater of seconds and I believe that the painting clearly shows this.

Andy

[MickG]

Andy,

You may already have this information. I have found that your uncle is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial. Details of the memorial panel number, relatives, etc can be found on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, link below.

I do not know the format of the memorial panel in whether it shows individual names in alphabetical order or grouped together under the incident where they perished. Bearing in mind your original question, if it is the latter then presumably the remainder of the crew will also be mentioned here.

http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/2800754/MEAGHAN,%20GEORGE%20THOMAS

[Andy C]

MickG,

Thank you for the link, its been a while since I looked at the CWGC site and I notice that the format has changed.
I have been to the Tower Hill Memorial, but that was plus 50 years ago with my father, and if memory serves me right the listings are plates for each ship. I will have to visit again and take a couple of photo's, and if possible post them on site for others to look for family relatives.

Andy

[Beckton Road Boy]

It was this posting that lead me to this wonderful site. I had two uncles who were career merchant seaman and served during WW2. Uncle Steve was said to have served on the Ohio, the major target of Operation Pedestal, the relief of Malta. However, his name didn't appear on the crew manifest during my research. My Father clearly remembers Uncle Steve telling him about the horrendous voyage, (only after several drinks), and what they had to face. It was when we contacted the other Uncle in New Zealand, Pat, that we found out how Steve came to be aboard, but not recorded. Pat's daughter sent us a video of Pat explaining, and while he was talking he mentioned that he himself was on the SS Waimarama, both Brother's unaware of each others births.
For those interested about Steve's story, the Ohio was fully laden with oil and petrol and waiting at Rotherhithe Dock for sailing when an air raid occurred. It was customary for two spare seamen to standby in case of shortfalls in the allocated crew. Steve was one of these. Because of the bombing, two seamen failed to show and the captain was eager to get underway. He took Steve and the other chap. They were in 'Schooner Rig', which meant they were only in the clothes they stood in, not seriously expecting to go. Usually an Agent is present at sailing to ensure that all the records are accurate, but the Captain wouldn't wait and set sail. After Pat was picked up by the Ledbury, he was taken on to Malta for treatment. When he was released he was on crutches, and as he left the Hospital, the first person he met was his Brother Steve, who explained his presence. Both uncles were still living at home in Claremont Road at the time.

So that's at least two from Newham on the Waimarama.

Regards