Good afternoon all. My name is Craig Iley and I am not seaman by profession but I am now retired and I spend my time writing. I have published number of books on various subjects and I am currently researching a very special story (to me) from my family history.

Many of my family served in the Navies (both Royal and Merchant). My grandfather served in both in WW1 on HMS Canada and in the merchant navy after the war, my uncle was a merchant seaman who was unfortunately killed when his ship the ss Empire Gold was torpedoed in the final days of WW2 (18/4/1945).
I am currently researching his life, and sadly his death so that I can write his story.

His name was Andrew William Ogle and he was aboard the ship Empire Gold. It was sunk on April 18th 1945 on its way back across the Atlantic as part of the Halifax convoy.

I find it rather sad reflection on humanity that the details for the U Boat that sank them, crews, missions etc are quite readily available but it is much harder to find details of the unfortunate merchant seamen who fell victim to them.

The merchant seamen were every bit as much heroes during the conflict as any general or warrior on the battlefields and I do not want his story and that of his shipmates to be forgotten.

I have grown up with stories of my uncle and until now it has honestly been too raw for the family to delve into. My mother was 8 years old when he died at the age of just 24 and to my knowledge she is the last living person that remembers him.

I guess there are two aspects to my search. One is the simple facts of where the ship was, his job, what that entailed etc, as Deck Hand, Efficient Deck Hand and Able Seaman.

The other is probably harder but arguably more important for me. I don't want to simple mourn his death. That would simply add more sorrow to my family which they have already carried for decades. I would like to celebrate his life too. He was a young man doing what he loved and seeing the world and although his life was short I personally believe that there was also joy in it.

It may take me a while before I can make full use of the forums as I am trying to figure out the best place to start.

I am currently going through the letters he, and others, sent home to my grandparents, photos, and the various documents that survive. I am investigating the archives to see where his ship went and to hopefully get crew manifests in the hope that this helps me understand who he was close to. They don't call them shipmates for nothing do they.

There were four survivors from the ship rescued by the Gothland along with the survivors of a US ship the Cyrus McCormack. I am hoping to be able to trace some of the descendants to hear their stories too.

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Craig