John Hampson
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: Daniel and Dinah Jane Hampson
Home address: 19 William Street, Wigton, Cumberland
Pre-war occupation: Labourer and Concreter
Date of birth: 28/12/1905
Date of death: 28/12/1942
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial and the Maritime Memorial Thornbury
Age: 37
Further information:
John was born in Wigton and lived all his life there. He was the son of a plasterer and one of 6 children, with 2 older brothers, 2 older sisters and a younger brother.
On the day of his death, John was serving aboard the British Steam Merchant Empire Wagtail, which was part of convoy ONS -154, on route from Belfast to Halifax Canada, carrying a cargo of 3857 tons of coal. At 22.36 hours on 28 Dec 1942, U-boat U-260 fired torpedoes at the convoy about 900 miles west of Cape Finisterre and hit and sank the Empire Wagtail. The master, 35 crew members and eight gunners, including John were lost. There were no survivors. Initially reported as missing, John’s records were finally change to presumed killed 14 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/2543.html