San Demetrio

[Kim Webb]

Hi to everyone.

I feel a bit of a fraud joining because I am not Merchant Marine, but my grandfather was. Captain George Waite was the captain of the San Demetrio, a story many of you will know about. My mother, now deceased, hated her father (families eh!) and as a result I knew very little about him, apart from his role on the San Demetrio.

I have carried out considerable research and now know that he was also the captain the San Alberto and the San Ernesto, both tankers. The former was lost following a torpedo attack and a long struggle to save the the ship after it had broken into two. The San Ernesto was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine which surfaced and attacked it by deck gun. Many souls were lost but the ship didn't sink, was abandoned and drifted for 2000 miles, ending up on an island off the coast of Sumatra.

He seems to have been quite a character and, as my late father said, 'he had a lucky war - he came back', in that he survived the three sinkings.

I'm now stuck. I found references to him in the London Gazette for his OBE award and surprisingly traced him in the Edinburgh Gazette of 1919 where he has a mention as an MM chief officer in the Great War.

I'm trying to establish some more background and thought that this might be a good site to visit and to use the collective knowledge and goodwill of its members.

I think it extremely unlikely that anyone is alive now who served with him, but he did end up as head of the navigation college in South Shields and someone may have passed through while he was there. I suppose it is also possible that someone will remember talk of him through their own loved ones experiences. Who knows?

Any thoughts of further avenues of enquiry would be very welcome. I'm afraid these are the only references that I have.

Thanks

[Ivan Cloherty]

Welcome aboard Kim, no need to feel a fraud all are welcome here and with forbears like yours you are certainly welcome aboard this site which pays homage to past and present seafarers. As seafarers we could not survive without the help of our loved ones ashore .

There are some on this site who will have passed through the school at some time, be patient as not all members have the opportunity to be on site every day, so bear with us.

Enjoy the voyage with us and we will assist where and when ever we can

Ivan

[Stuart Henderson]

Remember seeing the film many many years ago ,enjoying it and appreciating the actions of her crew. Unfortunately thats all I can add, but wish you successs with your family research.
Stuart

[Captain Kong]

Hi Kim dont feel a fraud for being here, Your Dad has certainly, more than many, earned the right to be here. That is an incredible story. One of the most famous of the WW2.
There will certainly be someone on here who can find the details you want, just keep looking in and it will be here.
Saw the film several times so appreciate what your Dad went through.
Enjoy your stay.
Cheers
Brian.

[Hugh]

Welcome Kim,
'SAN ERNESTO' Tanker, Eagle Oil & Shipping Co. 8,078 tons Speed 13 knots. Built in 1939. Torpedoed and shelled by the Japanese submarine I-37 and abandoned in the Indian Ocean on 15th June 1943.

London Gazette 2 May 1944 - For services when the ship was torpedoed and shelled and abandoned.

Brown, William - Chief Steward - Commendation
Gargett, William Stobbs Sanderson - Boatswain - Commendation
Hodges, Henry Arthur - Chief Engineer - Commendation
Waite, George - Captain - Commendation

'SAN ALBERTO' Tanker, Eagle Oil & Shipping Co. 7,397 tons. Speed 13 knots. Built in 1935. Torpedoed by U-48 and damaged in the NOrth Atlantic on 9th December 1939 and sunk buy own forces on 11th December

London Gazette 20 March 1940 - For services when the ship was torpedoed.

Robson, Thomas William - Chief Engineer - OBE(Civ)
Waite, George - Captain - OBE(Civ)
Skea, Alfred Ernest - Fourth Engineer - MBE(Civ)
Staincliffe, Robert Alfred - Third Engineer - MBE(Civ)
Pirie, Maxwell - Able Seaman - Commendation
Young, John - Seaman - Commendation
Bain, Malcolm - Boatswain - Posthumous Commendation

Ungazetted awards by Lloyd's
Pire, Maxwell - Able Seaman - Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea
Young, John - Seaman - Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea.

Regards
Hugh

[Hugh]

Much has been written about 'SAN DEMETRIO' - a piece from the War Illustrated.

Regards
Hugh

[David Howden]

I know this is a bit off topic but when I joined Eagle Oil as an apprentice in 1958 I was interviewed by Captain Dudley W. Mason, who was the master of the OHIO. a TEXACO tanker being operated by Eagle Oil at the time of Operation Pedestal, when her name became history.

I remember him as a large kindly man who had nothing to prove.

Interesting piece about the San Demetrio here:

http://www.rhiw.com/y_mor/capt_j_l_j...n_demetrio.htm

[corrientes]

MV San Demetrio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_San_Demetrio - CachedSimilar
You +1'd this publicly. Undo
Second Officer Hawkins was awarded the OBE in recognition of his gallantry. San Demetrio was repaired and returned to service, but she was sunk by a torpedo ...

Following the earlier posts, the above link is also interesting reading.
I knew Arthur Hawkins and crusied a bit with him in my very early pilotage days. He never spoke much about the incident.

[Justin Waite]

Dear Kim,

I have limited information. My great-grandfather (Henry Montague Waite) was the brother of George Herbert Waite.

I have found a number of articles/ websites about the San Demetrio and my father has a model of the ship at home.

If you would like to know more let me know.

Justin.

[j.sabourn]

Kim would he have been at South Shields marine School in 1952 ? Regards John Sabourn