Ernest Henley Hunt

Memorial: Thornbury & District Museum: 6th Maritime Regiment Memorial

Regiment: 6th Maritime Regiment

Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945

Rank and number: Gunner

Parents: Harry Claude and Ada Georgina Hunt

Marital status: Married

Home address: Broxburn, West Lothian

Date of birth: 21/04/1909

Date of death: 14/09/1942

Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial and the Maritime Memorial Thornbury

Age: 33

Further information:

Ernest was born in Cork and was the son of a career soldier who had served mainly in India and during WW1 saw service in the Army Ordnance Corps. Ernest was born whilst his father was stationed in Cork and he was the second youngest of 6 children. He had 2 brothers and 3 sisters, all of whom were born in India. Ernest married Catherine Pale Nelson and they lived in Scotland. Together they had a son, also named Ernest Henley, who was 9 when his father died.

Ernest was serving aboard the British Steam Tanker ‘Empire Oil’ which was a straggler from convoy ON-127, on route from Milford Haven to New York carrying a cargo of ballast. At 21.10 hours on 10 September 1942, U-boat U-659 fired 2 torpedoes at the ship and stopped it south west of Iceland. The following day a 2nd U-boat sank the drifting vessel and 2 crew members and one gunner died. Of the 50 survivors 26 were picked up by one ship and landed safely at St John's Canada and 24 were rescued by the destroyer HMS Ottawa. Sadly, on the 14th September the destroyer was torpedoed and sunk by U-boat U-91 and twelve crew members and four gunners, including Ernest, from the ‘Empire Oil’ were amongst the casualties.

Died on 14th September 1942 (incorrectly recorded on the Memorial as 10th September)

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.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/2147.html