Henry Bruce Jones – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Tiger

Steward Henry Bruce Jones – Merchant Navy, S.S. Empire Tiger

A Seaman of the Second World War

Henry Bruce Jones was born in 1898 in Swansea, though only limited records survive regarding his early life or family background. Like many men of his generation, he later entered the Merchant Navy, serving during the Second World War at a time when merchant seafarers faced extreme danger on every voyage.

Merchant Navy Service

Merchant Seamen Deaths

Henry served as a Steward, a role essential to the daily running of the ship, responsible for supporting the crew’s welfare, meals, and accommodation. According to Merchant Seamen Deaths, Henry Bruce Jones—whose last recorded address was in 38 Woodville Road, Mumbles —lost his life following the disappearance of the S.S. Empire Tiger on 27 February 1941. His death occurred during one of the most perilous phases of the Battle of the Atlantic, when merchant ships were constantly threatened by U‑boats, mines, and air attack. The Empire Tiger vanished without trace, and all aboard were lost.

The S.S. Empire Tiger

S.S. Empire Tiger
credit - wrecksite

The S.S. Empire Tiger was a 4,886‑ton cargo ship, built by Todd Drydock & Construction Corp., Tacoma, Washington, and completed in 1919 as the Orcus for the United States Shipping Board. In 1923, she was sold to the Grace Steamship Company, New York, and renamed Coya in 1927. Transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) in 1940, she was renamed Empire Tiger and placed on the hazardous wartime supply routes that sustained Britain during the conflict.

Her final report came on 27 February 1941, when she was last sighted in the Atlantic, bound for the Clyde. She never arrived. No wreckage or survivors were found, and her loss—together with all hands, including Steward Henry Bruce Jones—was one of many wartime disappearances attributed to enemy action during the height of the U‑boat campaign.

Henry Bruce Jones
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - Benjidog Histroical Research Resources.
The Merchant Navy Memorial

Commemoration

With no known grave but the sea, Steward Henry Bruce Jones is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, where his name is inscribed among those of thousands of Merchant Navy personnel who gave their lives during the Second World War. Though the surviving details of his life are few, his service and sacrifice form part of Swansea’s enduring maritime heritage and its profound contribution to the national war effort.