Kenneth Victor John Deacon
Memorial: Thornbury & District Museum: 6th Maritime Regiment Memorial
Regiment: 6th Maritime Regiment
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Gunner
Marital status: Married
Home address: Rose Cottage, Rudgeway
Date of birth: 1920
Date of death: 29/12/1942
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial and the Maritime Memorial Thornbury
Age: 22
Further information:
Kenneth was born in Farnham Surrey. He married Pearl Hilda Irene Saxton in Thornbury at the end of 1941and very likely would have met her whilst training at 6th Maritime, Royal Artillery headquarters. She was just 17 at the time and he was 21 and a year later Kenneth was dead.
On the day of his death, Kenneth was serving aboard the Norwegian Steam Merchant the Norse King which was a straggler from convoy ONS-154 on route from Belfast to Boston carrying a cargo of 5453 tons of coal. The Norse King was damaged by a torpedo from U-boat U-591 on the 28th December and the crew initially abandoned ship but reboarded it and continued slowly on their way until the ship was encountered by a 2nd U-boat, U-435 who sank it. All 36 crew and Kenneth, who was the only gunner on board, were never found.
Died: 29th December 1942 (Not 28th December as per memorial)
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/2555.html