John Frederick Thornton
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: Robert Henry and Helena Elizabeth Thornton
Home address: Dagenham, Essex
Date of birth: 03/06/1913
Place of birth: Edmonton, North London
Date of death: 24/01/1943
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial and the Maritime Memorial Thornbury
Age: 29
Further information:
John was born in Edmonton North London and later moved to Thornley County Durham.
On the day of his death John was serving as acting Lance Bombardier aboard the former French liner 'Ville de Tamatave' then owned by the Ministry of War Transport Office. The vessel left Cardiff in ballast on January 7th, 1943, for New York. On January 24th, she reported that her rudder had broken during a storm and that she was sinking. The Master, a crew of 71 including John and 3 other gunners from the 6th Maritime Regiment were lost along with 17 passengers. There were no survivors. John was originally reported as missing, which was changed to presumed dead, 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://www.wrecksite.eu/casualty-list.aspx?QzveMoC1QrU5jLl4GHyiug==#58898