Alfred Lambert Barnett – Mercantile Marine - S.S. Lorca
Fireman Alfred Lambert Barnett – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Lorca
Early Life and Family Background
Alfred Lambert Barnett was born in 1886 in Swansea,
the son of Robert Barnett and Eleanor Wack. Eleanor had
previously been married to a Mr. Beynon before her marriage to Robert.
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| 1891 Census |
Robert Barnett died in 1889, leaving Eleanor a widow with several young children. By the time of the 1891 Census, the Barnett family were living at 11 New Oxford Street, Swansea. At that address was Elizabeth Barnett, aged 40 and born in Bristol, who was recorded as a widowed hairdresser. Also present were her stepdaughter Ada M. Wake, aged 15, and her children Madeline M., aged 9; Clara E., aged 7; Robert W. T., aged 6; and Alfred L., aged 5. A boarder, John Clow, aged 20 and also a hairdresser, was lodging with the family.
Beyond these early records, little is known of Alfred’s
later life until the outbreak of the First World War.
Service in the Mercantile Marine
During the war, Alfred Lambert Barnett served as a Fireman
in the Mercantile Marine, working aboard the S.S. Lorca.
Firemen performed one of the most demanding and dangerous jobs at sea,
shovelling coal into the ship’s boilers to keep her engines running—often in
sweltering heat and under the constant threat of enemy attack.
The S.S. Lorca
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| S.S. Lorca |
On 15th November 1916, while on passage
from Gulfport, USA, via Norfolk, Virginia, to Calais, France,
with a cargo of timber, the Lorca was torpedoed without
warning by the German submarine U-49, commanded by Kapitänleutnant
Richard Hartmann. The attack occurred approximately 200 nautical miles
west of Ushant (Île d’Ouessant), France, in the Atlantic Ocean. The
ship sank rapidly, with the loss of all hands.
The sinking of the Lorca illustrates the constant
danger faced by Britain’s merchant seamen during the First World War, as German
U-boats targeted merchant shipping in their campaign of unrestricted
submarine warfare. Many such attacks took place far from land, leaving no
survivors or trace of the ships except for later records of loss.
The German Submarine U-49
The U-49 was a Type U-43 German submarine
of the Imperial Navy, launched on 26 November 1915 and commissioned on 31st
May 1916 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Richard Hartmann. It
was armed with six torpedo tubes and a deck gun, carrying a crew
of around 35 men. Over the course of six war patrols, U-49 sank 38
merchant vessels, totalling approximately 86,000 tons, and damaged
two others.
On 15 November 1916, U-49 torpedoed and sank
the S.S. Lorca, killing Alfred Lambert Barnett and his crewmates. Less
than a year later, on 11th September 1917, the submarine
itself was rammed and sunk by the British merchant ship British
Transport in the Bay of Biscay, with the loss of all hands.
The fate of U-49 and her victims stand as a stark reminder of the deadly
nature of submarine warfare at sea during the Great War.
Loss at Sea and Commemoration
Fireman Alfred Lambert Barnett was among those who
lost their lives in the sinking of the S.S. Lorca on 15th November
1916. Like countless others in the Mercantile Marine, he served
bravely in a civilian capacity, performing essential and perilous work to
sustain Britain’s wartime needs.S.S. Lorca
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - findagrave
His name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial,
London, which honours the men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing
Fleets who died at sea during the First World War and have no
known grave but the ocean.
Legacy
Alfred Lambert Barnett’s story is one shared by many
merchant seamen of the Great War—ordinary men undertaking extraordinary risks
in the service of their country. Though little is recorded of his personal
life, his sacrifice aboard the S.S. Lorca stands as a lasting reminder
of the courage and endurance of the Merchant Navy during one of the most
perilous periods in maritime history.
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