Alfred John Stark – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Laurentic

Able Seaman Alfred John Stark – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Laurentic

Early Life and Family Background

Alfred John Stark was born in 1867 at St John’s, Cornwall, the son of Richard Stark and Maria Wedlock.

Marriage

In 1896, Alfred Stark married Brenda Hullin.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, Alfred and Brenda were living at Coastguard Cottages, Rhossili. Alfred, aged 33, was employed as a Boatman and Coast Guard, while Brenda, aged 23, managed the household. They had one child, Maud A., aged 3.

1911 Census

By the time of the 1911 Census, Alfred and Brenda had moved to 8 Park Street, Mumbles. Alfred, aged 42, was recorded as a Naval Pensioner, although he was employed as an Electric Lighting Labourer. Brenda was aged 32, and their daughter Maud, aged 13, was attending school.

Naval Service

Royal Navy Register of Seamen’s Service

The Royal Navy Register of Seamen’s Service survives for Alfred Stark, showing that he first enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1884. His long naval career later entitled him to a naval pension, reflected in the 1911 census. During the First World War he returned to service at sea as an Able Seaman aboard H.M.S. Laurentic.

Death – Sinking of H.M.S. Laurentic

H.M.S. Laurentic

On 25 January 1917, H.M.S. Laurentic, operating as an armed merchant cruiser and troop transport, struck two naval mines off the north coast of Ireland, near Lough Swilly, while en route from Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The mines had been laid only days earlier by the German submarine U-80.

The first explosion disabled the ship’s engines and electrical systems, while the second caused catastrophic structural damage. In severe winter conditions, with heavy seas, snow, and freezing temperatures, Laurentic rapidly began to list and sink. Although many aboard managed to abandon ship, several lifeboats were swamped or overturned, and numerous men were lost to drowning and exposure.

British Army and Navy Births, Marriages and Death Records

Of the approximately 475 people on board, 354 lost their lives, making the sinking of Laurentic one of the most serious British maritime disasters of the First World War. Among those who died was Able Seaman Alfred Stark, whose death is recorded in the British Army and Navy Births, Marriages and Death Records.

Commemoration

Alfred John Stark
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon
credit - findagrave

As his body was not recovered, Able Seaman Alfred John Stark has no known grave. His name is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours members of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy who lost their lives during the First World War and have no known place of burial.

At the time of her loss, Laurentic was carrying a large consignment of gold bullion, intended to support the British war effort in North America. A prolonged Royal Navy salvage operation, carried out between 1917 and 1924, recovered most of the gold from the wreck, which today remains a significant maritime war grave off the Donegal coast.