John Rooksby
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
He was the son of John and Nellie Rooksby and the brother of Millie Brooksby. In 1921, they lived at 22, Parker Street, Radord and later at Stockhill, Nottingham.
Name Empire Bell
Type: Steam merchant
Tonnage 1,744 tons
Completed 1930 - Öresundsvarvet A/B, Landskrona
Owner James Westroll Ltd, Sunderland
Homeport London
Date of attack 25 Sep 1942 Nationality: British
Fate Sunk by U-442 (Hans-Joachim Hesse)
Position 62° 19'N, 15° 27'W - Grid AE 8519
Complement 37 (10 dead and 27 survivors).
Convoy UR-42
Route Tyne - Loch Ewe (22 Sep) - Reykjavik
Cargo 1832 tons of coal
History Completed in May 1930 as Swedish Belgia (2023 grt) for Förnyade Ångfartygs-A/B Götha (F. Sternhagen), Gothenburg.
On 26 Jan 1941, the Belgia was bombed by a German aircraft in the Thames Estuary and burned out. The vessel was rebuilt as Empire Bell for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).
Notes on event
At 16.16 hours on 25 Sep 1942 the Empire Bell (Master George Charles May) in convoy UR-42 was torpedoed and sunk by U-442 west-southwest of the Faroe Islands. Ten crew members were lost. The master, 20 crew members and six gunners were picked up by the Norwegian steam merchant Lysaker IV and landed at Reykjavik. (Courtesy of uboat.net)
Unknown
No photos