John Herbert Bruton
Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Merchant Navy
Rank and number: Master
Parents: James and Hannah Caroline Bruton
Marital status: Married
Home address: 21 Gloucester Road, Thornbury, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Merchant Seaman
Date of birth: 1880
Date of death: 28/08/1940
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated at Tower Hill Memorial and on St Mary’s Church Memorial Thornbury
Age: 59
Further information:
Records show John to have gained his second mate’s certificate in 1903 and his first mate’s certificate in 1906. He became a Ship’s Master from the middle of the 1920s.
On 28th August 1940 John was sailing the Dalblair “in ballast” from Newcastle on Tyne to Philadelphia. In the early hours of the 29th, the Dalblair was hit by a torpedo fired by German submarine U-100 whilst in convoy 148 miles northwest of Bloody Foreland, Donegal. The Dalblair sank within ten minutes and four of the crew were lost. Seventeen crew members were picked up by a naval vessel and were taken safely to Londonderry. John and 18 members of his crew and one gunner were picked up by Alida Gorthon, a Swedish merchant vessel in the same convoy, which was also sunk by U-100 three hours later. John and his 18 surviving crew members were all lost.
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.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Thornbury Roots - http://www.thornburyroots.co.uk/gloucester-road/18-gr-tenants/#bruton
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship.html?shipID=495