William George Brett
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Son of Mr and Mrs William Charles Brett; husband of Elizabeth May Brett of Nottingham
CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL 53, 1.
SS Caledonian Monarch
On 7 January 1942 the Caledonian Monarch, carrying 8,075 tons of wheat, straggled from convoy SC-63 and was reported missing thereafter. One week later convoy encountered severe bad weather and was dispersed in 54°00N/42°22W. No trace of the ship or her crew was ever found and she was considered lost either to enemy action or marine causes on 14 January. The master, 41 crew members and six gunners, including Able Seaman William Brett from Nottingham, were lost.
It is possible that Caledonian Monarch was torpedoed and sunk northwest of Lewis, Outer Hebrides by U-588 which reported sinking an unescorted steamer in that location on January 22nd 1942. Earlier it was thought that this ship was sunk by U-333 at 13.15 hours on 18 January in position 47°30N/40°30W. U-333 reported sinking an unescorted steamer of 8,000 tons about 500 miles east of St. John’s, Newfoundland. But according to Lloyds it is inconceivable that the Caledonian Monarch would have been in the same position as the U-boat. So the victim of U-333, if any, is still unidentified. (uboat.net)
Unknown
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