Horace Joseph King
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: Charles and Jane King
Marital status: Married
Home address: 29 Remells Place, Camberwell, South London
Pre-war occupation: Upholsterer
Date of birth: 10/06/1907
Place of birth: South East London
Date of death: 11/11/1942
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial and the Maritime Memorial Thornbury
Age: 35
Further information:
Horace was born in South East London and lived there for all of his life. In 1939 both Horace and his wife Katherine Anne King were employed in the furniture trade with Katherine working as a mantle finisher.
On the day of his death, Horace was serving aboard the unescorted British steam merchant, the City of Ripon, which was on route from Cape Town to Trinidad carrying a cargo of 2000 tons of sand as ballast. At 08.01 hours on 11 Nov 1942 about 90 miles northwest of Georgetown, British Guiana, the vessel was hit aft by a torpedo from U-boat U-160. The vessel sank after 10 minutes, following two further hits. 52 crew members and four gunners, including Horace, were lost. 22 survivors were picked up by a Brazilian steam merchant and landed in Trinidad. Horace was originally reported as missing which was changed to killed in action 8 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/2406.html