Frederick Ledger Carter – Merchant Navy, S.S. British Security

Chief Steward Frederick Ledger Carter – Merchant Navy, S.S. British Security

Early Life

Frederick Ledger Carter was born in 1906 in Swansea, the son of John Thomas Carter and Susan Jane Pattie Gardiner, who had married in 1892 in Milford Haven.

1911 Census

By the time of the 1911 Census, the family was living at 107 Western Street, Swansea. Frederick’s father, John Thomas, aged 40, was a fisherman originally from Yorkshire, while his mother Susan Patti, aged 35, was born in Devon. Their children at home were Ellen Alice (16), Louise (13), Annie Elizabeth (9), Frederick Ledger (5), and John Hayden (1). The four eldest children were all attending school. The census presents a picture of a hardworking family supported by a father engaged in a demanding trade and a mother caring for several young children.

Frederick does not appear on the 1921 Census, and his whereabouts at that time remain unknown.

Marriage and Adult Life

In 1929, Frederick married Hilda Sandry at Shepton Mallet, Somerset, marking the beginning of his adult life away from Swansea. At some point thereafter, he entered service with the Merchant Navy, joining the ranks of the civilian sailors who kept Britain supplied during the most dangerous years of the Second World War.

Service in the Merchant Navy

S.S. British Security
credit - wrecksite

Frederick rose to the rank of Chief Steward, a senior and responsible position aboard ship, overseeing provisions, catering, and the welfare of the crew. He served on the S.S. British Security, a tanker operated by the British Tanker Company, the forerunner of BP (British Petroleum).

The S.S. British Security, built in the early 1920s, was part of a large fleet of tankers tasked with transporting vital petroleum supplies across the world. This cargo made her critically important to the Allied war effort—and extremely vulnerable. Tankers were prime targets for German U‑boats: their slow speed, predictable routes, and highly flammable cargo meant that even a single torpedo could cause catastrophic explosions. Despite these dangers, the British Security continued to operate in the Atlantic and coastal waters, supplying the fuel needed to keep the Royal Navy, merchant shipping, and Allied military operations functioning.

Her loss in 1941 was typical of the perilous conditions faced by wartime tankers—rapid, violent, and often leaving little chance for survival.

Death and Commemoration

Merchant Seamen Deaths

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

According to the Merchant Seamen Deaths register, Chief Steward Frederick Ledger Carter, of Oakland, Oaklands Park, Falmouth, lost his life on 20^th May 1941 following the sinking of the S.S. British Security. As he has no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, alongside thousands of other Merchant Navy personnel who died at sea during the Second World War