Roll of honour - the Merchant Navy | NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online

The following roll lists the names of seafarers who died while serving on New Zealand merchant ships and New Zealanders known to have been lost while sailing under the flags of other countries (mainly Britain). It currently contains 135 names (or 131 if the four Australian nationals are excluded – see note below).

The exact number of New Zealand Merchant Navy war deaths will probably never be known with certainty; the recording of personal information, next-of-kin and service in the Merchant Navy was not as comprehensive as it was for the armed forces, and it is likely that some New Zealanders were counted among general British and Allied losses. The roll does not include DEMS gunners (who were naval or army personnel serving aboard merchant ships) or former merchant seamen in naval service. If readers have additional names, corrections or comments please email: neill.atkinson@mch.govt.nz

*NB: four of those listed below – Aherne, Creese, T.F.D. Lewis and Willmott – were Australians, but they are included here because they were serving on New Zealand vessels (the Hauraki, Kalingo and Limerick) at the time of their death or capture.

Abbreviations: AB = able seaman; asst = assistant; jnr = junior; OS = ordinary seaman; ref = refrigerating; RO = radio officer; USAT = United States Army Transport Service

Name	Age	Rank/Rating	Date of Death/ Loss of Ship	Ship (UK-flagged unless stated)	Place of Death/ Loss of Ship	Cause of Loss (German forces unless stated)
Aherne, William Robert Michael (Beau)*	38	asst steward	12/09/1944	ex-Hauraki (NZ)	Singapore	died in Japanese captivity
Allen, Walter Baden	40	chief steward	02/12/1940	Kavak	North Atlantic	U-101
Annetts, Gilbert Charles	40	5th engineer	13/08/1942	Waimarama	Mediterranean	air attack
Baines, William Peter	44	steward	13/08/1942	Waimarama	Mediterranean	air attack
Balfour, Eric	17	trimmer	20/03/1943	Fort Mumford	Indian Ocean	I-27 (Japanese submarine)
Beattie, Andrew Bernard	19	OS	20/03/1943	Fort Mumford	Indian Ocean	I-27 (Japanese submarine)
Beckett, Albert John	37	5th engineer	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Bernard, Paul E.	59	fireman/trimmer	19/10/1940	Sulaco	North Atlantic	U-124
Bick, C.	40	fireman	29/03/1942	Hertford	North Atlantic	U-571
Blithe, Jack Vernon	23	greaser	15/02/1942	Empire Spring	North Atlantic	U-576
Boraman, Edward Albert	29	fireman	07/12/1942	Ceramic	North Atlantic	U-515
Bradley, William Dixon	17	mess boy	09/12/1940	Ashcrest	North Atlantic	U-140
Bradnee, Philip Rowland	31	2nd mate	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Bradshaw, Ronald	18	asst cook	16/04/1942	Empire Howard	Arctic Sea	U-403
Brew, John	35	AB	16/02/1942	Somme	North Atlantic	U-108
Brodie, William Henry	30	5th engineer	10/08/1945	ex-Hauraki (NZ)	Japan	died in Japanese captivity
Brown, John Lilian	31	seaman	04/03/1943	Marietta E	Indian Ocean	U-160
Budge, Lionel Gerald	30	4th engineer	06/02/1942	Opawa	North Atlantic	U-106
Burke, Thomas Dennis	15	deck boy	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Butler, Alexander Braid	29	steward	17/05/1942	Fort Qu'Appelle	Central Atlantic	U-135
Byrne, Norman	49	AB	20/02/1945	USAT	buried in New Guinea
Caine, Frank	40	3rd engineer	15/10/1941	Vancouver Island (Canada)	North Atlantic	U-558
Caird, Leslie	46	3rd engineer	06/04/1942	Sinkiang	Indian Ocean	Japanese air attack
Campbell, John Robert	26	donkeyman	12/02/1941	Derrynane	Central Atlantic	Admiral Hipper (cruiser)
Carlyle, Evan Cameron	21	greaser	15/07/1942	Gloucester Castle	South Atlantic	Michel (raider)
Chadwick, Thurston	66	chief engineer	24/12/1944	USAT Small Ships Section	buried in New Guinea
Chitham, Lawrence Alfred	25	AB	17/03/1943	King Gruffydd	North Atlantic	U-338
Clare, William Thomas	23	fireman	28/10/1942	Lt Col Lawrence O. Matthews (USAT tug)	North Atlantic	marine casualty
Clayton, Kenneth Rowland	24	seaman	16/01/1941	Oropesa	North Atlantic	U-96
Clegg, Douglas H.	37	1st mate	11/12/1940	Rotorua	North Atlantic	U-96
Collins, John Armstrong	29	carpenter	04/03/1943	California Star	North Atlantic	U-515
Cooke, Kenneth	20	trimmer	20/03/1943	Fort Mumford	Indian Ocean	I-27 (Japanese submarine)
Corcoran, James Joseph	30	fireman	18/01/1943	Kalingo (NZ)	Tasman Sea	I-21 (Japanese submarine)
Creese, Albert William*		master	31/08/1947	ex-Hauraki (NZ)	Melbourne, Australia	former POW; death attributed to Japanese captivity
Cresswell, Douglas F.	19	OS	28/08/1941	Otaio	North Atlantic	U-558
Cumming, Peter Halcrow	29	3rd engineer	23/11/1942	Tilawa	Indian Ocean	I-29 (Japanese submarine)
Cundy, Clive Lawrence (served as Benson)	18	asst steward	03/05/1941	Elstree Grange	Liverpool	air raid
Darroch, Ralph Harvey	23	1st RO	19/12/1940	Amicus	North Atlantic	Bagnolini (Italian submarine)
Dawson, Alexander Neil	17	apprentice	21/11/1940	Port Brisbane	Indian Ocean	Pinguin (raider)
Dromgoole, John			13/09/1943	Norlago (US)
Dunn, Elliston Charles Grainger	19	apprentice	23/11/1940	Tymeric	North Atlantic	U-123
Excell, Ivan	24	7th engineer	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Fitness, Norman (served as William Beaver)	25	asst steward	08/08/1940	Upwey Grange	North Atlantic	U-37
Forbes, John Alexander	31	2nd ref. engineer	18/03/1943	Canadian Star	North Atlantic	U-221
Glenie, William	31	fireman	20/03/1943	Fort Mumford	Indian Ocean	I-27 (Japanese submarine)
Godfrey, John Lee	45	chief engineer	23/07/1942	Garmula	Central Atlantic	U-752
Gorman, Edward Allan	19	seaman	06/10/1940	British General	North Atlantic	U-37
Hallett, Ernest Walter	60	wiper	05/12/1940	Nimbin (Australia)	Tasman Sea	mine laid by Pinguin (raider)
Hamerton, Claude Stanley	49	chief engineer	11/10/1940	Port Gisborne	North Atlantic	U-48
Hayward, Ian Cyril (served as Bell)	22	asst steward	20/03/1943	Fort Mumford	Indian Ocean	I-27 (Japanese submarine)
Henley, Morris William Bartlett	27	3rd engineer	18/11/1942	Tower Grange	Central Atlantic	U-154
Hicks, William John	25	fireman	02/12/1942	Wallsend	Central Atlantic	U-552
Holland, William	45	AB	12/07/1945	ex-Hauraki (NZ)	Japan	died in Japanese captivity
Holmes, Charles Edward	54	storekeeper	07/12/1942	Ceramic	North Atlantic	U-515
Hosford, Benjamin	22	3rd mate	28/12/1942	Empire Wagtail	North Atlantic	U-260
Hughes, John Lloyd	27	2nd mate	08/12/1940	Komata (NZ)	Nauru, Pacific	Komet (raider)
Hughes, Lewis	57	motorman	27/02/1943	ex-Hauraki (NZ)	Japan	died in Japanese captivity
Humphrey, Harold Edmond	37	steward	19/02/1942	Mununda (Australian hospital ship)	Darwin, Australia	Japanese air raid
James, Frederick John Martin	27	3rd mate	11/05/1944	Edward D. Baker (US)	buried in New Guinea
Jordan, Richard Henry	25	9th engineer	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Kennedy, Rankin	32	2nd engineer	08/06/1942	King Lud	Indian Ocean	I-10 (Japanese submarine)
Lane, Maurice Arthur	24	7th engineer	13/08/1942	Waimarama	Mediterranean	air attack
Larsen, Clifford Neil	23	jnr engineer	18/12/1940	Napier Star	North Atlantic	U-106
Lee, Henry	36	AB	16/10/1941	WC Teagle	North Atlantic	U-558
Lewer, Arthur Wilford		cook	30/01/1943	Samuel Gompers (US)	near New Caledonia, Pacific	I-10 (Japanese submarine)
Lewis, Roy	26	1st RO	16/10/1942	Newton Pine	North Atlantic	U-410
Lewis, Thomas Frederick David*	61	fireman	18/01/1943	Kalingo (NZ)	Tasman Sea	I-21 (Japanese submarine)
Limerick, James P.		seaman	21/11/1944	USAT Small Ships Section	buried in New Guinea
Lindsay, George Henry	24	6th engineer	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Lynch, James	26	4th engineer	01/03/1942	Essex	Malta	air raid on port
McAlinden, William Desmond	35	greaser	10/01/1943	British Dominion	Central Atlantic	U-620
McAllen, William R.	26	steward	01/01/1943	Empire Shackleton	North Atlantic	U-435
McClure, Ernest	40	pumpman	22/10/1941	Darkdale	South Atlantic	U-68
McCullough, Walter J.	31	2nd engineer	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Macdonald, Ian	29	3rd mate	13/08/1942	Waimarama	Mediterranean	air attack
McDonald, Roderick Neil Robert	17	deck boy	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Mack, Thomas Allan	38	1st mate	08/12/1940	Komata (NZ)	Nauru, Pacific	Komet (raider)
McKenna, James	65	ref. greaser	06/09/1942	Tuscan Star	Central Atlantic	U-109
McLean, Vere Alexander	30	jnr engineer	01/02/1942	Tacoma Star	North Atlantic	U-109
McNamara, Denys	16	deck boy	30/04/1943	Port Victor	North Atlantic	U-107
McPherson, Archibald	49	AB	03/08/1942	Dureenbee (Australia)	Tasman Sea	I-175 (Japanese submarine)
Macpherson, Donald	59	master	24/04/1943	Kowarra (Australia)	Tasman Sea	I-76 (Japanese submarine)
Marshall, Henry Hugh	21	fireman	21/12/1942	Oropos (Greece)	North Atlantic	U-621
Moller, Leslie John	32	1st mate	16/09/1941	Jedmoor	North Atlantic	U-98
Mowat, Alistair Richard	31	4th engineer	02/07/1940	Arandora Star	North Atlantic	U-47
Mugford, Francis Milton	18	seaman	16/12/1942	Observer	Central Atlantic	U-176
Neale, William G.		trimmer
Norman, Geoffrey (served as Poole)	21	trimmer	28/01/1943	Neva (Sweden)	North Atlantic	U-358
O'Brien, Raymond Harold	20	AB	28/01/1941	Homeside	North Atlantic	marine casualty
Otterson, Charles Harry	53	1st mate	11/10/1943	Jalabala (India)	Indian Ocean	U-532
Panther, Cyril	20	OS	07/12/1942	Ceramic	North Atlantic	U-515
Patton, William	22	seaman	14/02/1942	Biela	North Atlantic	U-98
Paynter, Ernest Frederick	22	jnr engineer	09/10/1942	Oronsay	Atlantic	Archimede (Italian submarine)
Pendleton, William Mackey	21	7th engineer	07/11/1941	Nottingham	North Atlantic	U-74
Phillips, Eric James	25	greaser	20/05/1941	British Security	North Atlantic	U-556
Pugh, Henry James	20	seaman	03/02/1943	Cordelia	North Atlantic	U-632
Reeves, Victor Albert	23	seaman	26/11/1942	Barberrys	North Atlantic	U-663
Rendle, John Mackay	26	purser	09/12/1941	Donerail (Panama)	near Hawaii, Pacific	I-10 (Japanese submarine)
Ribbands, Henry Huia Craven	29	fireman/ trimmer	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Rippon, Stanley	27	4th engineer	02/04/1943	Melbourne Star	Central Atlantic	U-129
Roberts, Jack Spencer	21	seaman	28/04/1941	Capulet	North Atlantic	U-201
Rose, Frederick William	50	1st RO	11/10/1940	Port Gisborne	North Atlantic	U-48
Rush, William Fenwick	30	4th engineer	26/04/1943	Limerick (UK/NZ)	Tasman Sea	I-177 (Japanese submarine)
Scollay, John Robert	48	AB	23/10/1945	Alchiba (Holland)	buried in Hull, UK
Scott, Thomas	64	steward	04/06/1942	Iron Crown (Australia)	Tasman Sea	I-27 (Japanese submarine)
Simmons, Hector Albert	22	AB	22/10/1942	Empire Turnstone	North Atlantic	U-621
Sinclair, John Rose Thornton	27	6th engineer	07/11/1941	Nottingham	North Atlantic	U-74
Skears, Will Chislett	33	2nd RO	25/03/1941	Britannia	Central Atlantic	Thor (raider)
Skitch, George William	58	chief engineer	10/01/1942	Baron Erskine	North Atlantic	U-701
Slade, Maxwell F.			09/02/1940	Rodney Star
Slane, Edward	30	fireman/ trimmer	02/11/1941	Larpool	North Atlantic	U-208
Smith, John Kitchener	26	OS	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Smith, Leslie	26	donkeyman	28/05/1940	Abukir	English Channel	S-34 (E-boat)
Snow, William David	26	greaser	17/03/1943	Coracero	North Atlantic	U-384
Stafford, Sidney Francis	50	RO	03/01/1942	Iron Chieftain (Australia)	Tasman Sea	I-24 (Japanese submarine)
Te Awa, Thomas 'Buster'	22	AB	29/02/1944	Palma	Indian Ocean	U-183
Thomas, Emrys Oliver	52	master	02/12/1940	Port Wellington	Indian Ocean	Pinguin (raider)
Thompson, Dick Whinray	22	2nd ref. engineer	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Thomson, Albert	31	fireman/ trimmer	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Todd, William Angus	44	1st mate	19/04/1944	ex-Hauraki (NZ)	Japan	died in Japanese captivity
Townsend, Harold James		oiler	02/03/1943	Meriwether Lewis (US)	North Atlantic	U-634
Trillo, Verdun	27	4th mate	18/03/1943	Canadian Star	North Atlantic	U-221
Tye, Desmond Gladwyn	24	4th engineer	18/12/1940	Napier Star	North Atlantic	U-100
Walls, Edward Hugh	15	deck boy	11/07/1942	Port Hunter	Central Atlantic	U-582
Wass, Jack	29	4th engineer	07/12/1944	Samsip	River Scheldt, Belgium	mine
Watson, James George	58	carpenter	18/03/1943	Canadian Star	North Atlantic	U-221
Watt, Alfred Colin	27	3rd engineer	14/01/1942	Coimbra	North Atlantic	U-123
White, Selwyn	28	3rd engineer	02/04/1943	Melbourne Star	Central Atlantic	U-129
White-Parsons, Peter Nelson	19	apprentice	16/01/1941	Zealandic	North Atlantic	U-106
Williams, Hugh Hoskyn	49	master	01/01/1945	ex-Henry Keswick (Hong Kong)	captured in Philippines; buried in Hong Kong	died in Japanese captivity
Williams, Richard Stanley	28	6th engineer	07/12/1942	Ceramic	North Atlantic	U-515
Williamson, Ernest	49	chief steward	13/09/1942	Stone Street (Panama)	North Atlantic	U-594
Willmott, John Edgar*		3rd mate	26/04/1943	Limerick (UK/NZ)	Tasman Sea	I-177 (Japanese submarine)
Wood, Henry William Carmichael	25	AB	17/08/1943	Empire Stanley	Indian Ocean	U-197
Yates, Leslie Francis	24	asst cook	14/12/1939	Inverlane	North Atlantic	mine

Sources: This list has been compiled from Marine Department records at Archives New Zealand, Wellington; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database; the National War Memorial roll of honour; the Hall of Memories and Cenotaph database at the Auckland War Memorial Museum; and information kindly supplied by Billy McGee.