George Henry Kingscott

Memorial: Hambrook - Whiteshill Common

Regiment: Merchant Navy

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

Rank and number: Fireman

Parents: William and Louise Kingscott

Home address: Moorend, Hambrook, Bristol

Date of birth: 04/06/1913

Place of birth: Hambrook, Bristol

Date of death: 18/02/1941

Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Tower Hill Memorial (Panel 37), London, Hambrook War Memorial and St John the Baptist Church, Frenchay

Age: 28

Further information:

Motor Tanker Edwy R. Brown, Merchant Navy.

In 1929 at the age of 15 George joined the staff of Great Western Railway.

George Henry Kingscott was killed when the motor tanker S.S. Edwy R. Brown was torpedoed by the German submarine U-103. At 06.33 hours on 17th Feb 1941 his ship (Master Andrew Chalmers), a straggler from convoy HX-107, was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-103 in bad weather southeast of Iceland. The U-boat had missed the zigzagging tanker with a first torpedo at 06.15 hours. The ship continued after being hit and only stopped after two torpedoes struck behind the bridge at 06.40 hours and set her on fire. The Germans observed how the crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats and waited for the ship to sink, but she remained afloat even after being struck amidships by a fourth torpedo at 07.58 hours. Schütze gave up further attacks when a coup de grâce fired at 08.33 hours failed to detonate and left the burning wreck in a sinking condition. The master, 47 crew members and two gunners were lost.

George Kingscott is remembered on the Winterbourne Down face of the Hambrook Memorial.

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/767.html