Henry McKenzie
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: Henry and Mary Elizabeth McKenzie
Home address: 36 Elswick Street, Gateshead
Pre-war occupation: General Labourer
Date of birth: 16/07/1905
Place of birth: Gateshead, Co Durham
Date of death: 19/07/1942
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial and the Maritime Memorial Thornbury
Age: 37
Further information:
Henry was born and raised in Gateshead, County Durham, the son of a factory joiner and the 2nd youngest of 7 children. In 1939 he was living alone with his widowed mother.
On the day of his death, Henry was serving aboard the British Steam Merchant ‘Empire Hawksbill’, which was part of convoy OS-34, carrying a cargo of Government stores on route from Belfast to Cape Town. At 02.30 hours, 200 miles North of the Azores, the vessel was hit by 2 torpedoes from U-boat U-564. A second ship in the convoy, the Lavington Court, was also hit by another 2 torpedoes. All 37 crew members and 8 gunners including Henry, from Empire Hawksbill, lost their lives. There were no survivors. Henry was initially reported missing which was changed to presumed killed in action, 3 months later.
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/1949.html