ss " ALEX"

[frank richardson]

my mams cousin was torpedoed in the south atlantic in 1942,he later died of exposure through been in a boat for 12 days,on his grave stone it says ss "alex" could any one tell me was their a ship called alex or was it an abbrevation for another name,cheers frank

[Keith at Tregenna]

my mams cousin was torpedoed in the south atlantic in 1942,he later died of exposure through been in a boat for 12 days,on his grave stone it says ss "alex" could any one tell me was their a ship called alex or was it an abbrevation for another name,cheers frank

TRENCHER, CHARLES HENRY:

S.S. Alex (Cardiff).

LINK 1: CWGC :: Casualty Details

LINK 2: CWGC :: Certificate

In Memory of
Second Engineer Officer CHARLES HENRY TRENCHER

S.S. Alex (Cardiff)., Merchant Navy
who died
on 03 September 1945

Remembered with honour:
SUNDERLAND (RYHOPE ROAD) CEMETERY

K.

[DeepSea]

Th SS Alex was an old ship of 3,907grt, built in 1914 as the Constantinos XII. She was bought by the Hector SS Co. in 1938 and renamed Alex and served with the British Merchant Fleet throughout WWII and sailed in many Atlantic convoys and was eventually sold on in 1946.

[frank richardson]

cheers thanks very much lads.

[Keith at Tregenna]

If more can be found all on site will help, many thanks to Deep Sea.

K.

[Hugh]

This could be his medal file held at Kew in piece BT 395/1: The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Image Details

The ship survived the war and there is no indication that she was torpedoed or damaged. If he was ship wrecked and spent 12 days in a lifeboat it would have been on another ship. I would advise that you obtain his Form CRS 10 [service record from Jan, 1941]. This will list all his ships from that date until 1945.

His record, if it has survived, should be held at Kew in piece BT 382/1821: Detecting your browser settings
Best obtained by visit to the archives

Regards
Hugh

[frank richardson]

hi hugh ime enclosing a cutting taken at the time

[Keith at Tregenna]

LINK: The War Graves Photographic Project

Trencher, Charles Henry

Cemetery: Sunderland (Ryhope Road) Cemetery

Country: England

Area: Durham

Rank: Second Engineer Officer

Official Number:

Unit: S.S. Alex (Cardiff).

Force: Merchant Navy

Nationality: British

Details:
3rd September 1945. Ward 14. Sec. B.B. Grave 14080.

[Captain Kong]

Here could be a photo of ALEX from Old Ship Pictures files.
It looks an old vessel with a counter stern, and possibly post war judging from the paint and the other ship across the dock.
Click on the open picture then View, and zoom 200%
What confuses me is if it was torpedoed in 1942 did the ALEX survive the attack and last out the war?
Cheers
Brian

[Keith at Tregenna]

.

I would tend to go along with Hugh - QUOTE: "the ship survived the war and there is no indication that she was torpedoed or damaged. If he was ship wrecked and spent 12 days in a lifeboat it would have been on another ship".

It seems likely that he did sail again and the Alex was his last recorded ship served on, there are three years between the incident and Charles crossing the bar. The attack may well have been the cause of his death later, but he may have had a period where he seemed well enough to sail, hence the Alex ?

Deep Sea confirms the ship survived.

Out of interest, may help if you could mention where he was from, home town, lived at etc. Burial suggests Sunderland, Durham way ? Actually just enlarged news clip and this does suggest Sunderland.

THANKS.

K.