Kenneth Francis George Evans – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Wagtail

Sailor Kenneth Francis George Evans – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Wagtail

Early Life

Kenneth Francis George Evans was born in 1923 in Swansea, the son of William Evans and Mabel Evans. Little is recorded about his early childhood, but like many young men of his generation, he came of age during the Second World War and entered service with the Merchant Navy, joining the ranks of those who kept Britain supplied during its most perilous years.

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., 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, the vessel 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 across the Atlantic. On her final voyage, she was laden with 3,857 tons of coal, a critical commodity for Britain’s wartime industries and naval operations.

Attack on Convoy ONS 154

On 28^th December 1942, the Empire Wagtail was sailing with Convoy ONS 154 in the North Atlantic. This convoy became the target of a coordinated assault by German U‑boats operating in wolf‑pack formation, one of the most feared tactics of the Battle of the Atlantic.

During the attack, the Empire Wagtail was torpedoed and sunk by U‑260. The impact was devastating. Heavily laden with coal, the ship sank rapidly, giving the crew little chance to escape into the freezing winter seas.

All 44 men on board were lost. There were no survivors.

The destruction of the Empire Wagtail formed part of a series of heavy losses suffered by Convoy ONS 154, which became one of the most tragic convoy battles of late 1942. It occurred during a period when the U‑boat threat was at its peak and Allied escort resources were stretched thin across the Atlantic.

Death and Commemoration

Merchant Seamen Deaths

Kenneth Francis George Evans 
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - findagrave

The Merchant Seamen Deaths register records that Sailor Kenneth Francis George Evans, of 60 Mansel Terrace, Swansea, 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.