| SS HOIHOW (July 2, 1943)
British vessel of 2,798 tons, owned by the China Navigation Company Limited of London and requisitioned early in 1943 by the Ministry of War Transport. Used mainly as a 'General Purpose Stores' ship servicing the island bases in the Indian ocean. While sailing from Mauritius to Tamatave the Hoihow was attacked by the German submarine U-181 (Wolfgang Lüth) On board were a crew of 94 and 7 gunners plus 48 passengers including members of the Queen Alexandria Nursing Corp, some military and medical personnel. Of the 149 souls on board, only 5 survived.
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On weald of Kent I watched once more
Again I heard that grumbling roar
Of fighter planes; yet none were near
And all around the sky was clear
Borne on the wind a whisper came
'Though men grow old, they stay the same'
And then I knew, unseen to eye
The ageless Few were sweeping by
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