Thomas Fitzgerald - Mercantile Marine Reserve, H.M.S. Marmora

Fireman Thomas Fitzgerald - Mercantile Marine Reserve, H.M.S. Marmora

Naval and Merchant Service

H.M.S. Marmora

Thomas Fitzgerald served with the Mercantile Marine Reserve, holding the rank of Fireman aboard H.M.S. Marmora. His duties placed him in the engine spaces of the ship, a vital but dangerous role, particularly during wartime operations when merchant vessels were frequent targets for enemy submarines.

Loss at Sea

Thomas Fitzgerald
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

Thomas Fitzgerald lost his life on 23 July 1918 while in service aboard Marmora. With no known grave, he is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours members of the Royal Navy and Merchant Service who died at sea during the First World War.

H.M.S. Marmora

H.M.S. Marmora was a British armed merchant cruiser, built by Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast, in 1903. During the First World War she was taken up for naval service and operated under the control of the Royal Navy.

On 23 July 1918, while on a voyage from Cardiff to Dakar, Marmora was torpedoed and sunk south of Ireland by the German submarine UB-64. Ten members of her crew were killed in the attack, including Fireman Thomas Fitzgerald.