Looking to contact crew from SS Derby on 28th Feb 1968

[Elizabeth Byrne]

I am very anxious to find some information about my brother Martin (Matthew) Doyle, who died aboard
SS Derby on 28th Feb 1968.
He was 3rd Engineer, 26 years old & died of Heart Failure & was buried at sea (in the Persian Gulf).
I would be grateful if you could provide any piece of information on Martin.
He also worked on the Irish Hawthorne in the mid 60s.
Thank you!
Elizabeth Byrne (Doyle)

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Elizabeth
Was he J M Doyle ? Born 1st Jan. 1942 Dublin!??
Thanks

[Gulliver]

Dear Elizabeth
Welcome Aboard here. A sad story in the history of you and your family's lives.To die so young is tragic. I'd just like to say,and many of my shipmates here I'm sure would agree,that when we were aboard ship,anyone who was witness to the passing and burial of one of us would, throughout their lives, never forget that and would be in their thoughts,and not forgotten, whenever memories of a particular ship are evoked. Hope that is of some comfort to you.
Quite a lot of us are still around from that era so I wish you all the best in your appeal to contact Martin's former shipmates on either the Derby or the Irish Hawthorn.

I attach two photos of the st.Derby.There were a few vessels of that name around during the period in question,but I have assumed it would be the tanker illustrated,especially as the Irish Hawthorn that you mentioned was also a tanker,and your brother's death occurred in the Persian Gulf.

s.t.DERBY(Official No.301141) was a steam turbine engined British owned tanker of c.50,000 tonnes deadweight built by John Brown's Shipyard,Clydebank in 1960.At that time she would be classified as quite a large tanker,prior to the coming of the 'supertankers'at the end of that decade.
She was owned by Charter Shipping Co ,an arm of Federal Steam Navigation Co.London which was itself in the process of being absorbed into the Trident Tanker group of the parent P & O Shipping Company.

In 1968,the same year of your brother's passing. she was sold to the Greeks,flagged out to Liberia and renamed OKEANIS.
She was broken up 7/8/76 by Taiwanese breakers in Kaohsiung.

Once again good luck in your searches

Gulliver
s.t.DERBY (O.N.301141).jpg s.t DERBY in DryDock.jpg

[Doc Vernon]

Great info there Gulliver
Thanks for that I am sure Elizabeth will appreciate it !
Cheers

PS Hope you are keeping well these days after your sad times!
Cheers

[Elizabeth Byrne]

Dear Gulliver and Doc,

Thank you so much for replying!
I'm Lisa, Elizabeth's daughter - she asked me to log in for her to thank you for the wonderful news about the Derby and for the pictures.
I hope you don't mind hearing from me in the meantime, but she needs me there to show her how to use the forums and I live in Dublin at the moment. My Mum saw the messages in her email and wasn't sure how to reply until I see her at the weekend.
Gulliver, it was so lovely of you to look into the Derby for her, it's very much appreciated and very thoughtful of you!
Doc, I believe Martin, (known to the family as Matthew) was born in 1942 but I will double check his date of birth with my Mum and get back to you.

Thanks again for all the help!

Lisa

[Doc Vernon]

Thank you Elizabeth
Just check his Initials as well please as the info is on a J M Doyle
Cheers

[Elizabeth Byrne]

IMG_2319.jpgIMG_2321.jpgphoto.jpg

Hi Doc,

I have attached Martin's birth and death cert, along with a photo in case that helps.
Sorry they uploaded upside down!
His D.O.B on the birth cert is 5th April 1941.
I'm not sure about the 'J' in the initials you mention, but I wonder would that discount him as being the same M Doyle on the SS Derby at that time. I'm hoping that there weren't too many with the same name and the photo helps to identify him.

Thank you so much for your help so far!

Elizabeth

[Doc Vernon]

Unfortunately the info is not for the person you are looking for Elizabeth sorry!
I have looked at the Birth Cert and it is as I see it Martin Patrick Boyle (or very close to Patrick)
Also the DOB is different from the info on the NA at Kew!
But will keep plodding!
Someone else may come up with other info so hang in there!
Cheers

[gray_marian]

#1, Hello Elizabeth, I'm sorry was unable to find Martin in any of the "crew lists" on Ancestry [world wide] However they don't have complete records so if any other members on site have a subscription to Find my past [FMP] they may locate something for you. All I can provide which your mum will probably know already is a synopsis of the area Martin/Mathew grew up in.

"Clanbrassil Street and the labyrinth of streets leading off it offered a certain mystique and intrigue that stirred a young imagination. The area between Leonard’s Corner and Kelly’s Corner, and some of the other nearby streets, was still known as ‘Little Jerusalem.’ This was still the heart of Dublin’s Jewish community in the 1950s and even in the 1960s.. In 1932, Clanbrassil Street was Dublin’s main Jewish shopping street. In 1943, 23 kosher shops were trading here, and there were 16 by the end of the 1950s. But the number had dropped to nine by the end of the 1960s, only five were open by the end of the 1970s, and two in the 1980s. In the last decade or two, this area has become an interesting melting pot, with not only a Kurdish café but shops, restaurants and cafés selling a variety of Indian, Pakistani and south Asian foods, many of them clearly catering for halal needs." From a dwelling place number 79 has been host to various shops since.

[Elizabeth Byrne]

Hi everyone,

I wish to thank you all for all the information you have sent to date. You will never know how much it means to me.
I have enclosed a photo of Martin & myself which was taken in early 1967, approx 1 year before his death on board SS Derby, while sailing in the Persian Gulf. I hope this picture will jog someone's memory & possibly lead to some fresh information.
Following martins death, my mother & I received a visit from the ships Chief Engineer who reassured us that Martin had the company of two of his colleagues, both of whom remained with him on the night of his passing.
Some weeks later, these two men apparently attempted to convey a personal message to me, but unfortunately I never received it.

Summary information:
Martin Patrick Doyle (3rd Engineer)
DOB 05/04/1941
DOD. 28/02/1968, on board SS Derby in Persian Gulf. (Age 26)

Many Thanks
Elizabeth Byrne (nee Doyle)
image.jpg image 11.jpg Bit of correction Elizabeth
Cheers