Family :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

Naval Campaign is defined as to include all sea operations where attrition rates are in ones and twos and which do not fall within specific naval battles such as Jutland, Coronel, Falklands etc. This includes Merchant Navy losses.

Detail :

"On the evening of 2 August 1918, Warilda left Le Havre bound for Southampton, escorted by two destroyers, carrying 660 wounded soldiers with a medical staff of 60 and 115 crew members. At about 1:30 in the morning of 3 August, the officer on watch sighted a submarine on the surface off the starboard bow. Warilda turned to ram the submarine, which fired a torpedo hitting the Warilda on the starboard side, exploding in the engine room. Seven men in the engine room, including Third Engineer John Milne, were killed instantly. The explosion also killed 102 soldiers and nurses in a ward directly above where the torpedo hit.

With the starboard engine out of action and the port engine still running but out of control, Warilda began to turn in circles, settling deeper in the water. Attempts to launch the lifeboats were hampered by the movement of the ship, with at least two capsizing before they hit the water, with 14 passengers drowning as they were thrown into the sea. Fortunately, the two destroyers were quickly on the scene and were able to rescue the survivors. One of the destroyers attempted to take Warilda in tow without success and, at 4:10 a.m., two and a half hours after the torpedo attack, she sank stern first.

Out of the total of over 800 persons on board, 123 lost their lives as a result of the attack."

De Ruvignys "MILNE, JOHN, 3rd Engineer, S.S. Warilda, 2nd s. of George Milne, of 7, Anderson Road, Southampton, Shipwright, by his wife, Barbara, dau. of the late John Munro, of Garmouth; b. Southampton, co. Hants, 20 Aug. 1893; educ. District School, and Arlanza College there; joined the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's Steamships 8 Jan. 1914; sailedon the Arlanza, and subsequently on the Carnarvonshire; joined the Royal Naval Reserve; served on S.S. Warilda from 23 May, 1917, and was lost when that ship was torpedoed in the Channel 3 Aug. 1918. Chief Engineer Young told his father that his son was on watch in the engine room when the ship was struck, and was literally blown to pieces. He had always proved him a most trustworthy and reliable officer, and one of great promise, and he felt his loss most keenly. He was respected by the whole of the ship's officers; unm."

Masonic :

On 14 November 1917, John Milne (aged 24) was initiated into Beach Lodge No 2955 at Southampton. He was passed to the Second Degree on 10 April 1918 and raised to the degree of a Master Mason on 8 May.

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
• Website : Sussex People - Masonic Roll