William David Davies – Merchant Navy, S.S. Bibury

Able Seaman William David Davies – Merchant Navy, S.S. Bibury

Early Life

William David Davies was born in 1900 in Morfa, Swansea. Very few surviving records shed light on his early life or family circumstances, but by adulthood he had entered service with the Merchant Navy, joining the ranks of those who kept Britain supplied during the most dangerous years of the Second World War.

Service in the Merchant Navy

Merchant Seamen Deaths

William served as an Able Seaman, a skilled deck rating responsible for watch‑keeping, maintenance, and the safe handling of the ship at sea. According to the Merchant Seamen Deaths register, his home address at the time of his final voyage was 134 Bute Street, Cardiff, an area long associated with seafaring communities.

Sinking of the S.S. Bibury – 2^nd September 1940

S.S. Bibury
credit - wrecksite

The S.S. Bibury was operating in the Western Approaches during the early and perilous phase of the Battle of the Atlantic, when German U‑boats were inflicting heavy losses on Allied shipping. On 2^nd September 1940, the ship was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U‑59. Torpedoes struck the vessel with devastating force, and the Bibury sank rapidly, giving the crew little time to escape. Several men were lost in the attack, including Able Seaman William David Davies.

In the weeks that followed, the sea carried the bodies of some of the crew towards the Scottish coast. William’s body was washed ashore on the Isle of Mull on 21^st September 1940, allowing him to be laid to rest—something denied to many Merchant Navy men lost at sea.

Burial

William David Davies
Kilmore Cemetery, Isle of Mull
credit - findagrave

William is buried in Kilmore Cemetery, Isle of Mull, where his grave stands as a quiet reminder of the human cost of the Battle of the Atlantic.