Albert Edward Smith

Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial

Regiment: Royal Marine Light Infantry

Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private CH/20846

Parents: Agnes Sylvia Ada Bertha and James Henry Smith

Home address: 39 Queen Street, Two Mile Hill, Kingswood, Bristol

Date of birth: 08/11/1898

Place of birth: St. George, Bristol

Date of death: 06/10/1918

Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea. Commemorated at Chatham Naval Memorial. Not commemorated on a local memorial

Age: 19

Further information:

Albert enlisted in the Marines on 17th August 1916 and was described as 5’ 6” tall with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. On 24th September 1918 his ship, the HMS Otranto, set sail on her final voyage from New York bound for Glasgow and Liverpool. She sailed in convoy HX.50 which consisted of thirteen ships with almost 20,000 troops aboard bound for Flanders. The Otranto had a crew of 362 plus the captain and was carrying 665 American troops. After crossing the North Atlantic, they approached the North Channel and encountered a violent gale. On the morning of the 6th October, at 8:45am the Otranto collided with the Kashmir another ship in the convoy with fatal consequences. The two badly damaged ships quickly drifted apart and the Kashmir managed to limp onwards but the Otranto was not so lucky. Water poured through a huge hole in her side, extinguishing the engines and causing her to drift helplessly in the direction of the rocky Islay coast. The destroyer HMS Mounsey answering the SOS, attempted a rescue despite mountainous seas. She came alongside the massive liner four times enabling soldiers to jump onto her deck. Many fell into the sea and were injured or drowned but others landed safely. The Mounsey then sailed for Belfast, overladen with 596 men aboard and had to leave around 400 men still on board. The captain gave orders to abandon ship and swim for shore but only 16 men survived this. In total 431 men, including Albert, died in the sinking in what turned out to be the worst convoy accident of the First World War.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?571