Leon Keith Noyes – Merchant Navy, S.S. Cressdene

Galley Boy Leon Keith Noyes – Merchant Navy, S.S. Cressdene

One of the youngest wartime casualties buried at Morriston Cemetery

Leon Keith Noyes was born in 1925, in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, the son of William and Dorothy Noyes. At just sixteen years of age, he is among the youngest wartime casualties to be buried at Morriston Cemetery.

1939 Register

1939 Register – St John’s School, Tiffield

The only official civilian record capturing Leon before the war is the 1939 Register, where he appears as a pupil residing at St John’s School, Tiffield, Northamptonshire. This entry places him in education on the eve of the conflict, still a schoolboy only months before he entered the Merchant Navy.

Merchant Navy Service – S.S. Cressdene

Leon served as a Galley Boy aboard the S.S. Cressdene (London), one of the many merchant vessels operating under dangerous wartime conditions along the British coast.

S.S. Cressdene

The Cressdene was a steel screw steamer, built in 1936 by William Gray & Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool, for Cressdene Shipping Co. Ltd., managed by Dene Shipmanagement Co. Ltd., London. She was a substantial cargo vessel of:

• 4,270 gross tons

• 385.5 ft length

• 53.2 ft beam

• 24.6 ft depth

Powered by a triple‑expansion steam engine rated at 289 nhp, she was designed for long‑distance cargo work and formed part of the backbone of Britain’s merchant fleet during the war.

Registered in London, Cressdene operated on coastal and international routes, carrying essential wartime cargoes. Merchant ships like her faced constant threats from air attack, mines, and U‑boats, especially along the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea.

The vessel herself was later lost on 16 March 1942, after striking a mine at 52.08N – 01.52E while sailing in ballast from London to Methil and Rosario. She sank the following day during salvage attempts—confirming the hazardous waters in which Leon and his shipmates served.

Death in Swansea Bay – May 1941

Merchant Seamen Deaths Register

The Merchant Seamen Deaths Register records that Leon died on 24 May 1941 in Swansea Bay, the result of enemy action. His death occurred during a period of intense danger for merchant shipping off Swansea, where vessels were vulnerable to Luftwaffe attacks and mines laid along the South Wales coast.

Wiltshire News

Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser

Following his death, both the Wiltshire News and the Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser published articles, reflecting the shock felt in his home community at the loss of a boy barely sixteen years old.

Leon Keith Noyes
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Burial

Leon Keith Noyes was buried at Morriston Cemetery, where his grave stands as a poignant reminder of the very young lives claimed by the war.