John Flynn – Mercantile Marine - S.S. Algiers

Fireman and Trimmer John Flynn – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Algiers

Early Life and Family Background

John Flynn was born in 1880 in Swansea, the son of Michael Flynn and Ann O’Neill.

1881 Census

At the time of the 1881 Census, the Flynn family were residing at 180 Neath Road, Swansea. Michael, aged 28, was born in Ireland and worked as a Labourer, while his wife Ann, aged 25, managed the home. Their children were Ellen (3) and John (8 months).

1891 Census

By the 1891 Census, the family had moved to 17 Ann Street, Swansea. Michael, now 35, was employed as an Able Seaman, and Ann, aged 30, kept the household. Their children were Patrick (14), a General Labourer; Ellen (12); John (10); Bridget (9); Ann (6); and Michael (1). All of the older children were recorded as attending school.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 4 Michells Row, Swansea.  Michael, now 43, was employed as a General Labourer, and Ann, aged 42, was employed as a Fisher Hawker.  Their children were John (20), a General Labourer. Annie (14); Michael (11); and William (6)

Growing up in Swansea’s busy dockside community, surrounded by seafaring families, John was raised in an environment closely tied to the rhythms of maritime work and the hazards of life at sea.

Service and Early Difficulties

Swansea Prison Records

Service Records

In 1899, John Flynn enlisted in the Royal Monmouthshire Engineers (Militia), part of Britain’s reserve military force. His service, however, was not without difficulty. In January 1904, he was charged with being absent from militia training and sentenced to 14 days’ hard labour. Despite this brief period of punishment, John returned to civilian life and found steady employment in the maritime trades.

Service in the Mercantile Marine

By the outbreak of the First World War, John Flynn was serving as a Fireman and Trimmer in the Mercantile Marine, working aboard the S.S. Algiers. As a Fireman, his role was to feed the ship’s boilers, while as Trimmer, he was responsible for maintaining the coal supply within the bunkers—a physically demanding job carried out in exhausting heat and darkness deep within the ship’s hull.

The S.S. Algiers

The S.S. Algiers was a British steam cargo ship of 2,361 gross register tons, employed in the transportation of vital goods during the war. On 26^th February 1917, while sailing through the English Channel, approximately three miles south of the Owers Light Vessel, the Algiers was torpedoed without warning and sunk by the German submarine UC-65.

The ship went down rapidly, and 24 crew members, including Fireman and Trimmer John Flynn, lost their lives. The attack occurred in waters that had once been considered safe, highlighting how the German U-boat campaign had extended its deadly reach to Britain’s coastal shipping lanes by 1917.

The German Submarine UC-65

The UC-65 was a Type UC II minelaying submarine of the Imperial German Navy, launched in June 1916 and commissioned later that year. Built by AG Vulcan in Hamburg, the vessel displaced around 417 tons surfaced and 493 tons submerged and carried six mine tubes, three torpedo tubes, and an 8.8 cm deck gun.

Commanded during its service by Oberleutnant zur See Otto Steinbrinck, UC-65 became one of the more successful submarines of its type, credited with sinking numerous Allied ships through both torpedoes and mine warfare.

UC-65 operated primarily in the English Channel and Western Approaches, where it sank the S.S. Algiers in February 1917. The submarine itself met its end later in the war, when it was sunk on 28^th October 1917 near Zeebrugge, with all hands lost.

The loss of the Algiers underlines the extreme danger faced by merchant sailors like John Flynn, who continued to serve on unarmed or lightly armed vessels despite the daily threat from submarines.

Commemoration

S.S. Algiers
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial 

Fireman and Trimmer John Flynn 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

At the age of 37, John Flynn gave his life in the service of his country, one of many Swansea men whose labour and bravery kept Britain’s ships moving through the most perilous years of the war. His story reflects both the hardship and heroism of the working seamen of the Mercantile Marine—men who risked their lives daily to sustain the nation’s lifelines at sea.

His name, carved on the Tower Hill Memorial, stands as a lasting reminder of the sacrifices of Swansea’s mariners and the enduring legacy of those who perished in the Great War.