Joseph Henry Caplin – Mercantile Marine - S.S. Heatherside
Mess Room Steward Joseph Henry Caplin – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Heatherside
Early Life and Family Background
Joseph Henry Caplin was born in 1900 in Poole,
Dorset, the second son of Joseph Caplin and Ellen Rose Annis,
who were married in 1898 in Devon.
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| 1901 Census |
At the time of the 1901 Census, Joseph senior was absent — possibly serving at sea — while the rest of the family were living at 5 Alfred Place, Stoke, Devon. Ellen, aged 23, was caring for her two young sons, Frank E. (2) and Joseph H. (1).
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| 1911 Census |
By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to Swansea, residing at 80 Stepney Street, Cwmbwrla. Joseph Senior, aged 41, was recorded as a Watchman and a naval pensioner, suggesting a previous career in the Royal Navy, which likely explains his earlier absence. Ellen Rose, aged 31, managed the household, which had grown to include six children: Frank Edward (13), Joseph Harry (11), Elsie Rose (9), George Thomas (8), Ellen Florence (4), and Henry John (2).
Service in the Mercantile Marine
Following in his father’s seafaring footsteps, Joseph
Henry Caplin joined the Mercantile Marine while still a teenager. He
served as a Mess Room Steward aboard the S.S. Heatherside
— a role vital to the running of the ship, responsible for maintaining the
crew’s dining quarters, assisting with food service, and supporting the
stewards and cooks in daily life at sea.
At just eighteen years old, Joseph was among the
youngest of Swansea’s merchant seamen serving during the First World War,
part of a generation who risked everything to keep Britain’s shipping lanes
open.
The S.S. Heatherside
The S.S. Heatherside was a British steam
cargo ship of 2,767 gross register tons, built in 1909 by Short
Brothers Ltd., Sunderland, for the Charlton Steam Shipping Co. Ltd.
(Charlton, McAllum & Co.), Newcastle.
In August 1917, the Heatherside was employed
in transporting coal and general cargo to support Britain’s wartime needs. On 25th
August 1917, while on a voyage from Newport, via Milford Haven,
bound for Malta, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German
submarine U-93, northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain, at position 46°14′
N, 10°57′ W.
The attack came without warning, and the ship sank rapidly. Twenty-seven
crew members, including Mess Room Steward Joseph Henry Caplin, were
lost. None of the crew survived.
The loss of the Heatherside was one of hundreds of
sinkings caused by Germany’s campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare,
which aimed to starve Britain by targeting merchant shipping, even those
carrying essential cargoes.
The German Submarine U-93
The U-93 was a Type U 93 submarine of
the Imperial German Navy, commissioned on 10th February
1917. Built at Germaniawerft, Kiel, she was one of a class of
long-range ocean-going submarines designed for deep patrols in the Atlantic.
U-93 displaced around 838 tons surfaced and 1,000
tons submerged, with a length of 71.55 metres, a beam of 6.30
metres, and a draught of 3.94 metres. She was powered by twin diesel
and electric engines, capable of reaching 16.8 knots on the surface and 8.6
knots submerged.
Armed with six 50 cm torpedo tubes (four forward, two
aft), a deck gun (either 10.5 cm or 8.8 cm), and carrying up to 16
torpedoes, she was a formidable threat to merchant shipping.
During her service, U-93 completed several
patrols and was credited with sinking 34 merchant vessels, totalling
approximately 87,872 tons, and damaging three others. Among her victims
was the S.S. Heatherside, sunk on 25th August 1917.
Her career was short but destructive: U-93 was
lost in January 1918 off the coast of Hardelot, France, likely
due to an internal explosion or striking a mine. All hands were lost.
Loss and Commemoration
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| Registers and Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths of Passengers and Seamen at Sea |
The Registers and Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths of Passengers and Seamen at Sea record that Joseph Caplin, aged 18, was among those lost when the Heatherside failed to reach its destination. His name appears on no known grave, but his sacrifice is officially recorded.
S.S. Heatherside
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial
Mess Room Steward Joseph Henry Caplin 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.S.S. Heatherside
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial
Legacy
Barely out of childhood, Joseph Henry Caplin was one
of Swansea’s youngest wartime seafarers to give his life at sea. His courage
and service represent the devotion of the Mercantile Marine, whose men
kept Britain’s lifelines open under constant threat.
The story of the S.S. Heatherside and its crew —
destroyed by U-93 — stands as a lasting reminder of the hidden
war fought across the oceans, where merchant sailors faced daily peril with
quiet endurance.
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