Evan Basil Davies – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Wagtail

Able Seaman Evan Basil Davies – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Wagtail

Early Life

Evan Basil Davies was born in 1917 in Swansea, the son of Evan Beynon Davies and Mary Ethel Harris, who had married in Swansea in 1914.

Family

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the Davies family living at 5 Moreton Terrace, St. Thomas, Swansea. Evan’s father, Evan Beynon Davies, aged 35 and born in Cardiganshire, was employed as a Temporary Clerk with the Medical Pensions Board. His mother, Mary Ethel, aged 33, was at home caring for their three children: Bernardine, aged 6 and attending school; Evan Basil, aged 4; and David E., aged 2. The census reflects a young family firmly rooted in Swansea.

Service in the Merchant Navy

Evan Basil later joined the Merchant Navy, serving as an Able Seaman, a skilled deck rating responsible for watch‑keeping, maintenance, and essential seamanship duties. The Merchant Seamen Deaths register records his home address at the time of service as 5 Moreton Terrace, confirming his continued connection to the family home.

S.S. Empire Wagtail – Background and Loss

S.S. Empire Wagtail 
credit - wrecksite

The S.S. Empire Wagtail was a 4,893‑ton British steam merchant ship, originally built in 1919 by Todd Drydock & Construction Corp. in Tacoma, Washington. Launched as the Ossining for the U.S. Shipping Board, she was renamed Point Lobos in 1933 under the Gulf Pacific Mail Line of San Francisco. In 1941, she was transferred to the British Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Wagtail, operating under the management of Smith, Hogg & Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool. Measuring 380 feet in length and powered by a triple‑expansion steam engine, she carried vital wartime cargoes, including coal.

On 28^th December 1942, while sailing with Convoy ONS 154 in the North Atlantic, the Empire Wagtail came under attack by German U‑boats operating in coordinated wolf‑pack formation. She was torpedoed and sunk by U‑260. Laden with 3,857 tons of coal, the ship sank rapidly after the torpedo strike. All 44 men on board were lost, with no survivors. The sinking formed part of a series of heavy losses suffered by Convoy ONS 154 during one of the most dangerous phases of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Death and Commemoration

Merchant Seamen Death

Evan Basil Davies 
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - findagrave

The Merchant Seamen Deaths register records that Able Seaman Evan Basil Davies lost his life on 28^th December 1942 when the Empire Wagtail was sunk. As he has no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, which honours the thousands of Merchant Navy personnel who died at sea during both world wars.