John George Edward Harris – Mercantile Marine - S.S. Llwyngwair
Second Engineer John George Edward Harris – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Llwyngwair
Background and Family Life
John George Edward Harris was born in 1892, in
Wellington, New Zealand, the son of George Thomas Harris and Margaret
Mabel Harris. Although born overseas, John’s life and career later became
closely connected with Swansea, where he established his home.
In 1912, he married Gwenllian Davies, and the
couple settled at 32 Percy Street, Swansea. Like many men from the
town’s strong maritime community, John pursued a career at sea, joining the Mercantile
Marine as a marine engineer — a demanding profession requiring technical
expertise, long hours, and courage.
Service and Loss
During the First World War, John Harris served
as Second Engineer aboard the S.S. Llwyngwair, a
Swansea-owned merchant steamship operating in British coastal waters. His
duties included overseeing the ship’s propulsion systems, boilers, and
machinery — the vital heart of the vessel.
On 26th April 1918, while sailing along
the north-east coast of England, the Llwyngwair was torpedoed
and sunk without warning by a German submarine. The ship went down rapidly,
and Second Engineer John George Edward Harris, aged just 26, was
among those who lost their lives.
The S.S. Llwyngwair
The S.S. Llwyngwair was a British merchant
steamer of approximately 1,304 gross register tons, built in 1913
by the Antwerp Engineering Company Ltd. She was owned by Harries Bros
& Co. of Swansea and named after the Llwyngwair estate in
Pembrokeshire.
On 26th April 1918, the vessel was sailing
from Middlesbrough to London when she was torpedoed and sunk by
the German submarine SM UC-64, approximately five nautical miles
south-southeast of Seaham Harbour, County Durham. Several crew members were
killed, including John Harris of Swansea.
The loss of the Llwyngwair illustrates the
ever-present danger faced by merchant ships even close to home waters, as
Germany’s campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare brought the front line of
conflict to Britain’s coasts.
The German Submarine SM UC-64
The SM UC-64 was a Type UC II minelaying submarine
of the Imperial German Navy, commissioned on 22nd February
1917. Measuring 51.85 metres in length and displacing about 422
tons surfaced and 504 tons submerged, she carried a complement of 26
men.
Armed with six mine tubes carrying up to 18 mines,
three torpedo tubes with seven torpedoes, and an 8.8 cm deck
gun, UC-64 was designed to strike merchant shipping both by laying
mines along key routes and through direct torpedo attacks.
Operating primarily in the North Sea and English Channel,
UC-64 conducted 15 patrols and was credited with sinking 26
ships before meeting her own end. On 20th June 1918, she
was mined and sunk with all hands in the Dover Strait, ending her
career as one of the many U-boats that brought heavy losses to Britain’s
merchant fleet.
Her attack on the Llwyngwair is one of many examples
of how Germany’s U-boat campaign endangered the men of the Mercantile Marine,
who faced the same hazards as the Royal Navy but with far fewer defences.
Commemoration
Second Engineer John George Edward Harris is commemorated
on the Tower Hill Memorial, London — the national monument dedicated to
those of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who died at sea during
both World Wars and have no known grave but the ocean.S.S. Llwyngwair
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - findagrave
Legacy
Although his life was brief, John Harris exemplifies
the courage and dedication of Swansea’s maritime community. His story —
spanning from New Zealand to South Wales and ending in the cold
waters off Durham — reflects the global reach and sacrifice of the Mercantile
Marine during the First World War.
His name, carved on the Tower Hill Memorial, ensures
that his service will never be forgotten
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