Randall Frederick Thomas – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Endurance

Assistant Steward Randall Frederick Thomas – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Endurance

Birth and Family Background

Randall Frederick Thomas was born in 1922 at Swansea. He was the son of William Bertram Thomas and Agnes Barnes, who were married in 1920.

Civilian Record

Merchant Seamen Deaths Records

No surviving civilian records have been identified for Randall beyond official maritime documentation. The Merchant Seamen Deaths Records record his home address as 444 Mumbles Road, Mumbles.

Merchant Navy Service

Randall served with the Merchant Navy as an Assistant Steward, a position that normally involved duties below decks, including catering and accommodation services for officers and crew.

S.S. Empire Endurance and Her Loss

S.S. Empire Endurance

S.S. Empire Endurance was an 8,570-ton merchant vessel, measuring 513 feet by 64 feet. She was built in 1928 as the Alster for North German Lloyd of Bremen. On 10 April 1940, she was captured by the Royal Navy at Vestfjord and subsequently renamed Empire Endurance. The ship was requisitioned by the Ministry of War Transport and managed by Booth Line.

On 20^th April 1941, while engaged in wartime service, Empire Endurance was torpedoed and sunk. The attack resulted in heavy loss of life, and many members of her crew were killed in the sinking.

Death and Commemoration

Randall Frederick Thomas
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial

Randall Frederick Thomas lost his life on 20^th April 1941 as a result of the sinking of S.S. Empire Endurance. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, which honours Merchant Navy personnel who died at sea during the Second World War.