Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Tower Hill Memorial | London | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 13D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Husband of Josephine Madigan, of 83, East Ferry Rd., Millwall, London. Master Mariner, Poplar in the Masonic record.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: SS Joshua Nicholson |
Mike: Joshua Nicholson SS was a 1,853grt defensively-armed British Merchant ship. On the 18th March 1917 when on route from London for Alexandria she was torpedoed by German submarine U-70 when off the Wolf Rock, Lands End, Cornwall. 26 lives lost including Master. Owned by Westcott & Laurance Ltd. |
| Action : SS Joshua Nicholson, Sinking of |
Wrecksite EU shows "The British steamer Joshua Nicholson was torpedoed by a German submarine without warning at 6.30 a.m. on the 18th March, 1917. She began to settle down very rapidly, with a heavy list to starboard. While the port lifeboat was being lowered she capsized, and three men were drowned. Another man was blown into the water by an explosion. After the ship had gone down, six men came to the surface and clung to pieces of wreckage. Of these, three sank during the next five hours, the remaining three being picked up at about 5 p.m., exhausted but alive."
North East War Memorials Project elaborates further "She was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 70 in the Atlantic Ocean off Wolf Rock, on a voyage from London to Alexandria, Egypt with general cargo. No warning was given and there were 26 casualties."
Detail :
Only 5 days after his initiation, Thomas was killed in the sinking of S.S. "Joshua Nicholson." Two Freemasons were killed in this incident.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Merchant Navy No. 781 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
13th March 1917 | - | - |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley