No.C/SSX 19871, Able Seaman, Nephi ASHTON
Aged 22
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Nephi Ashton was born in Soham in 1918 (Newmarket Q2-1918 3B:714), believed to be the son of Charles and Sarah ASHTON. (née CROMBLEY) who married in Boston 1915. It may be his parents at 3 Gamsthorpe Road, Glanford Brigg, Lincolnshire in the 1939 register
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His GRO Marine Death Indice gives his posting as HMS Pembroke IV, this was a shore base administering personnel.
The Royal Fleet Auxillary website http://www.historicalrfa.org/rfa-edgehill-ship-informationhas the following- A fleet of 9 small mainly coal-burning vessels were acquired , 6 for deep-sea work and 3 for coastal work. All were commissioned as HM ships under their original names but were given RFA cover names and on entering harbour and while in harbour they wore the Blue Ensign, behaved as RFA's and adopted the RFA commercial practices. None of them was really suitable for their intended roles and met with a complete lack of success. Their Q-ship service officially ended on 2 March 1941. CWGC have his ship as HMS Willamette Valley but her cover name was "HMS Edgehill" (X 39). She was built as motor merchantman West Lynn in 1931 and renamed Willamette Valley for Sir William Reardon Smith & Sons Ltd, Cardiff. On 17th September 1939 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and converted to a decoy ship, commissioned as special service vessel (SSV) HMS "Edgehill" (X 39) . "Edgehill" had a concealed armament of nine 4in guns and four torpedo tubes and carried a buoyant cargo to help keep her afloat if hit. On the 29th June 1940 at just gone midnight, she was hit by one torpedo from U-51 (Dietrich Knorr) amidships and stopped but did not sink due to her buoyant cargo. The U-boat surfaced and fired a coup de grâce at 01.06 hours, but it needed a third torpedo at 01.24 hours to let the vessel sink slowly by the stern. 67 (60 RN, RNR or RNVR and 7 Merchant Navy) of the crew were killed - all commemorated on the Chatham and Liverpool Naval memorials. There were 24 survivors. |
"Willamette Valley" before conversion to "Q" ship HMS "Edgehill"
approximate site of sinking
photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details