(296) Arthur William Curness

(B296) 2nd Dec 1917. Itchen. Hampshire.

(C296) ?. ?.

(D296) 26th Oct 1940. (Killed at Sea. SS Empress of Britain. World War Two).

Occupation :-

Footnote :- The following information has been taken from a web site which I am unable to down load in its original format so I have written it down in modified form, so that the last day of Arthur's life and the lives of his comrades is on record.

The SS Empress of Britain was a Canadian Passenger Liner captained by C. H. Sapsworth. It had been on an independent passage to the UK from the Far East via South Africa, when on the 26th of October 1940 it was damaged by bombs as it was attack by a German long range "Kondor" bomber, seventy miles south west of Donegal Bay. Despite a furious anti-aircraft barrage, the high altitude bomber was able to get more than one bomb on target. Fires caused by the explosions were soon out of control and the ship abandoned with the loss of forty five lives. Survivors were rescued by destroyers, HMS Echo, ORP Burza along with RN armed trawlers, Cape Agona, Drangey and Paynter. The ship was then taken under tow and strongly escorted, but was sunk by the U-Boat U-32 on the 28th of October 1940 .