William Shorland – Merchant Navy, S.S. Aviemore

Donkeyman William Shorland – Merchant Navy, S.S. Aviemore

Birth and Family Background

William Shorland was born in 1892 at Bristol, Gloucestershire. He was the son of William Shorland.

Census Record and Early Life

1901 Census

In the 1901 Census, William is recorded as residing at 17 Penn Street, Bristol. The head of the household was Ann Williams, a 63-year-old widow born in Somerset, living on her own means. Also present was her son, William Shorland, aged 39, a widowed bricklayer’s labourer, together with his three sons: William, aged 9; James, 7; and Edward, 5.

Naval Service

Royal Navy Records

William entered service with the Royal Navy in 1910 and served throughout the First World War. His service included postings at Vivid II, and he completed his naval career aboard Warspite, being discharged in December 1919.

Marriage

William Shorland and Elizabeth Williams
marriage certificate
St Matthias of the Weir Church, Bristol

In 1917, William married Elizabeth Williams at St Matthias of the Weir Church, Bristol, Gloucestershire.

Residence at the Outbreak of the Second World War

At the outbreak of the Second World War, William and Elizabeth were living at 19 Riverside Road, West Cross.

Merchant Navy Service and Death

During the Second World War, William served with the Merchant Navy as a Donkeyman aboard S.S. Aviemore. Aviemore was a British merchant steamer, built in 1920 and owned by Johnston Warren Lines Ltd.

Merchant Seamen Deaths

On 16^th September 1939, while on passage from Swansea to Montevideo and Buenos Aires, Aviemore was carrying a cargo of 5,165 tons of tinplates and black sheets when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-31. The attack resulted in the loss of 23 crew members, including William Shorland, who died in the sinking. Merchant Seamen Deaths records formally record William’s death as occurring on this date and in these circumstances.

S.S. Aviemore 

The loss of Aviemore is historically significant, as she is widely regarded as the first British merchant vessel to be sunk by enemy action during the Second World War, marking the beginning of the long and costly Battle of the Atlantic.

Commemoration

William Shorland
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial

William Shorland is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, which honours Merchant Navy personnel who lost their lives at sea and have no known grave