Leonard William Hare - Merchant Navy, S.S. Aracataca

Assistant Steward Leonard William Hare, Merchant Navy, S.S. Aracataca

Family Roots and Early Life in St Thomas

Leonard William Hare was born in Swansea in 1917, the youngest child of Alfred Mitchell Hare and Mary Lizzette England, who had married in the town in 1905. 

1921 Census

By the time of the 1921 Census, the Hare family were living at 14 Benthall Place, St Thomas, a neighbourhood shaped by the docks, the river, and the industries that sustained the city. Alfred, aged 39 and born in Tenby, was recorded as a Coal Trimmer, formerly employed by the Chamber of Commerce but out of work at the time. His wife, Lizzette, was 40.

A Working‑Class Household in Industrial Swansea

Their household was a busy and industrious one. Charles, 17, worked as a Cold Roller for Baldwin, Tinplate Manufacturers; George, 15, was employed in Handing Rivets at the National Oil Refineries; while Avril, 11, Alfred Glyn, 9, Lawrence, 5, and Leonard, 3, were all attending school. Two boarders, William Acton, 45, and Thomas Hobson, 19, also lived with the family, reflecting the economic interdependence and shared resilience common in working‑class Swansea homes of the period.

Following the Call of the Sea

Leonard grew up in a city shaped by the sea, and in time he followed its call. He entered service with the Merchant Navy, becoming an Assistant Steward aboard the S.S. Aracataca, a refrigerated cargo vessel owned by Elders & Fyffes Ltd and built at Cammell Laird in the mid‑1920s. Designed for the West Indies fruit trade, the Aracataca was part of a fleet that carried bananas and citrus fruit from Jamaica to Britain, her insulated holds and refrigeration machinery enabling long‑distance transport of perishable cargo. With a service speed of around 13 knots and a home port of Liverpool, she was typical of the modern, purpose‑built merchant ships that sustained Britain’s interwar economy.

The Final Voyage of the Aracataca

S.S. Aracataca
credit - wrecksite

In November 1940, during the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, the Aracataca sailed unescorted from Port Antonio, Jamaica, bound for Avonmouth via Halifax, carrying 1,600 tons of bananas and grapefruit. On 30^th November 1940, while steaming on a zigzag course some 230 miles west of Rockall, she was attacked by the German submarine U‑101, commanded by Ernst Mengersen. A torpedo struck her starboard side, causing her to list and settle by the head. After distress signals were sent, the master ordered the crew to abandon ship, and all four lifeboats were successfully lowered despite rough seas.

U‑101 attempted to shell the vessel but was hampered by the weather. Two further torpedoes were fired: the first failed to sink her, but the second struck the engine room, triggering a devastating boiler explosion that sealed the ship’s fate. The Aracataca slipped beneath the Atlantic in the early hours of the morning.

Loss, Rescue, and the Men Who Never Returned

Merchant Seamen Deaths

According to the Merchant Seamen Deaths records, Leonard William Hare was among the 36 men who never returned. Survivors in two of the lifeboats were eventually picked up—one group by the motor merchant Potaro and landed in Buenos Aires on 23 December, the other by the steam merchant Djurdjura and landed in St John, New Brunswick, on Christmas Day. Two lifeboats were never found, and Leonard was among those lost with the ship.

Leonard William Hare
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - Benjidog Histroical Research Resources.
The Merchant Navy Memorial

Commemoration and Legacy

Like so many Merchant Navy men, Leonard has no known grave; instead, his name is honoured on the Tower Hill Memorial, where the losses of civilian seafarers are preserved in stone, ensuring that their service is neither overlooked nor forgotten. His story stands as one thread in the wider tapestry of Swansea’s maritime history—a reminder of the ordinary lives shaped by the sea and the extraordinary risks borne by those who sailed in wartime.