Richard Lane Winser
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
He was the son of Reginald and Martha Winser and the younger brother of Harry Winser. His parents had five children of whom only Harry and Richard survived to adulthood. In 1901 the couple with their sons Harry (13) and Richard (5) were living in Sevenoaks, Kent, where Reginald was a law managing clerk. Also in the household was a live-in domestic servant. By 1911 they had moved to Nottingham and were living at 37 Talbot Street. Richard was still a school boy. On the RN and RM War Graves Roll his father's address is given as 22 Hampden Street, Nottingham.
SS Thames (Grangemouth): built Glasgow 1887, owned at the time of her loss by Carron Co, Grangemouth. On 26 May the THAMES was on passage from London for Leith with a general cargo, under the command of Captain WA McPhail, when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UC-17 (Nikolaus von Lyncker). Two explosions almost simultaneously ripped through the aft section of the ships at 10.45am, blowing her entire stern-end off, killing the chief officer, one able seaman and a fireman, while her captain, who was attempting to destroy the code book and confidential papers, is believed to have gone down with the ship. THAMES was abandoned within four minutes and she sank at 10.52am. The 24 surviving crew members were picked up by a Royal Navy patrol vessel soon after. Richard's body was not recovered for burial and he is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Nottingham Evening Post obituary (abridged) 31 May 1918: 'WINSER on May 26th, killed at sea by enemy action, Richard Lane Winser, Gunner RNVR, age 23 years.' Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 5 July 1918: ‘Winser. Killed by enemy action at sea, May 26th, 1918. Richard Lane Winser, RNVR. A tribute from his chum, Ralph Horne (BEF France).’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
