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 :

SS Southborough
Built as the ANERLEY for Una Ltd (Houlder, Middleton), London; Yard No 249; Launch Date 23/08/1919; Owned at the time of loss by Hazelwood Shipping Co. Ltd. and managed by Hopkin, Jones & Co. Ltd. from 1914 to 1916; In 1917 the managers became Humphries Ltd., Cardiff; Fitted with 1 x 90mm stern gun; Torpedoed by UB-110 at 1.43pm. Hit on the starboard side of the forward bunker. Sank almost at once; Crew 37. 1 Pilot; Thirty lives lost including Master. UB-110 was later sunk in the Tees area, raised by the British, and towed to Dry Dock at Newcastle for inspection. She was finally towed to Whitby and scrapped. ref. used:Carl Racey †, East Coast Shipwreck Research

The SOUTHBOROUGH was on passage from La Goulette to the Tees with a cargo of iron ore. She was torpedoed by UB-110 at 1.43 p.m., 4-5 miles from Ravenscar. The vessel was hit on the starboard side of the forward bunker. The SOUTHBOROUGH was in convoy at the time and sank almost at once killing 30 of the crew. The eight survivors were picked up by an escort vessel and landed at Middlesbrough. ref. used:Carl Racey †, East Coast Shipwreck Research Allen Tony 15/07/2009 SOUTHBOROUGH SS was 3,709grt defensively-armed cargo steamship built in 1910 by Sunderland Shipbuilding Co., England for Una Ltd. (Houlder, Middleton),London as the Anerley Ss. In 1913 she was renamed SOUTHBOROUGH SS when purchased by new owner Hopkins Jones & Co. On the 16 July 1918, 5 miles N by E ½ E from Scarborough, torpedoed without warning and sunk by submarine, 30 lives lost including the Master. ref. used:Rodger Haworth, Miramar Ship Index

THOMAS, THOMAS CHARLES , Chief Engineer, SS Southborough, Mercantile Marine, †16/07/1918, Husband of Elizabeth Ethel Thomas, of 44, Plasturton Avenue, Cardiff, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial

Read more at: Wrecksite EU

Masonic :

The masonic record shows him listed as a Marine Engineer and although no war service is recorded, he is noted to have "Died 16th July 1918."

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