George Edmund Bevan – Merchant Navy

Ordinary Seaman George Edmund Bevan – Merchant Navy

Birth and Family Background

Arthur Bevan and Clara Kinder
marriage certificate
Parish Church of Honley, Yorkshire

George Edmund Bevan was born in 1920 at Honley, Yorkshire. He was the son of Arthur Bevan and Clara Kinder, who were married in 1919 at the Parish Church of Honley, Yorkshire.

1921 Census

At the time of the 1921 Census, the Bevan family were residing at 10 Victoria Place, Honley, Yorkshire. The head of the household was Nathan Kinder (70), a widower and retired foreman warper, formerly employed in the cloth manufacturing industry. Also living in the household were Arthur Bevan (30), born at Oystermouth, who was employed as a joiner’s labourer with E. Holdroyd & Sons, Builders and Contractors, and his wife Clara (32), who undertook household duties. Their son, George Edmund Bevan, was aged six months.

Maritime Service

George Edmund Bevan served in the Merchant Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His home address was recorded as “Honleigh”, Limeslade, Mumbles.

Death and Commemoration

S.S. Canford Chine

Ordinary Seaman George Edmund Bevan lost his life while serving aboard the S.S. Canford Chine during the Second World War.

At 14.35 hours on 10^th February 1941, the unescorted Canford Chine, commanded by Master Neil Macdougall, and a straggler from convoy OG-52 since 8^th February, was struck beneath the bridge by a G7e torpedo fired from the German submarine U-52, approximately 165 miles south-west of Rockall. The explosion caused the vessel to break in two, and after a further torpedo struck the ship amidships at 15.35 hours, delivering a coup de grâce, she sank. German observers later reported seeing a lifeboat under sail at the sinking position, but no survivors were ever recovered. The master, 33 crew members, and two gunners were lost.

Merchant Seamen Deaths

The Merchant Seamen Deaths records state that George Edmund Bevan was reported as missing, presumed drowned, a designation commonly used for those lost at sea where no body was recovered.

George Edmund Bevan
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial 

He has no known grave, and his name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, which honours members of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives during the war and whose burial places are unknown.