ATKINS, SYDNEY Rank: Steward Date of Death: 30/04/1941 Age: 26 Regiment/Service: Merchant Navy S.S. Nerissa (Hamilton, Bermuda) Panel Reference Panel 72. Memorial TOWER HILL MEMORIAL Additional Information: Son of Alice Atkins; nephew of Mr. W. G. Atkins, of Kennington, London. CWGC - Cemetery Details CWGC Tower Hill - Panels 71 to 80
S.S.Nerissa Departing Halifax, N.S. 21 April 1941 Torpedoed by U-Boat 552 30 April 1941 Lat. 57 – 57N : Long. 10 – 8W About 100 miles northwest of County Donegal, Ireland SS Nerissa Nerissa (British Steam passenger ship) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net
In memory of the 207 passengers and crew of the troopship SS Nerissa who died when she was torpedoed and sunk by U-552 at 2230 GMT on 30th April 1941. She was approaching the British Isles after crossing the Atlantic alone and unescorted from Halifax and St John's when a torpedo struck on the starboard side, followed by two more; she sank very quickly after that. On board were the crew, a number of US airmen, many military personnel (mostly Canadian), and some civilians including the Lomas family of Joseph, Elizabeth and their three little children, and Donald Drew of Quebec, who was 15. The second and third torpedoes flung the Lomas family from their lifeboat into the water; two stewardesses, Florence Jones and Hilda Lynch, gave up their lifebelts (and in doing so, their lives) for two of the children but none of the civilians survived. Terence Lomas, aged 6, was helped onto a raft, but sadly slipped off it some time during the night. One of those killed in the loss of the Nerissa was a relative of mine, R152016 Sydney Thaiss Atkins from London. Aged 26 he was a Merchant Navy steward, as was his twin brother Lesley who survived the war (they're pictured below). RIP
Panel from my photo collection Tower Hill Memorial. Steward ATKINS, SYDNEY Died 30/04/1941 Aged 26 S.S. Nerissa (Hamilton, Bermuda) Merchant Navy Son of Alice Atkins; nephew of Mr. W. G. Atkins, of Kennington, London.
UK, Merchant Seamen Deaths, 1939 -1953 Name: Sydney Atkins Age: 26 Birth Date: abt 1915 Birth Place: London, England Death Date: 30 Apr 1941 Death Place: At Sea Mother: Alice I suspect you already have this but I thought I would post it for others TD
Thanks to you both - much appreciated. In fact I haven't done any real research into Sydney and his brother, though Hugh Maclean (of this parish) has been very helpful with documents too. Until a few years ago I was entirely unaware of the sinking of the Nerissa.
Sydney T. Atkins – Asst Steward. Dis.A – R152016. b. 17.4.1914, London. d. 30.4.1941 – missing supposed drowned. NERISSA. 146025 – OTRANTO – 12.2.1937. 164493 – ORION – 1.10.1938 141866 – ORMONDE – 29.5.1940 147369 – NERISSA – date of engagement unknown – see last Crew Agreement for sign on. Regards Hugh
There are two recently published books on the loss of SS Nerissa. "SS Nerissa the Final Crossing" by Lt. Cmdr. William Dzladyk (RCN). "Red Devils and Heros The sinking of the Nerissa" by Kevin R. Paul. M.D. Both are published and available via Amazon. "U-552- The Red Devil Boat. Its Operational History in Words and Images" by Axel Urbanke and Michael Rey. (Luftfahrtverlag-Start.) A very comprehensive account of U-552. The attack on Nerissa is illustrated via the Attack report made out by Erich Topp's first officer Walter Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen. The excellent SS Nerissa website which CL1 has linked to gives a very good account of the unfortunate Nerissa and her sinking at the hands of U-552. Topp tracked her for two hours before working out a solution and finding himself in a suitable position to torpedo poor Nerissa. She sank in four minutes, those who survived that cold night not drowning or dying of exposure would be rescued the next morning by the destroyer HMS Veteran and would be landed in Londonderry. Over the next months, a few of those who died that night would be cast ashore on the Coasts of Scotland and on the West Coast of Ireland, two would come ashore in Donegal Bay at St. John's Point and near Killybegs. ( Another would be buried in Fahan Upper Churchyard near Buncrana.) Sub.Lt Edward Robbins and Corporal Duncan Bell, Ernest Winspear buried in Upper Fahan. ( These three men are "local" to us). Sam Robertson , a Canadian War correspondent who was lost on Nerissa, his body was never recovered. Erich Topp would survive the war, the officer who fired the torpedoes would not, Walter Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen would in time Command U 610 and would be sunk by a Sunderland from 423 RCAF flown by F.Officer Bert Russell operating out of Castle Archdale. ( October 1943).
UK, Merchant Seamen Deaths, 1939 -1953 Name: Sydney Atkins Age: 26 Birth Date: abt 1915 Birth Place: London, England Death Date: 30 Apr 1941 Death Place: At Sea Mother: Alice Name: Ernest Walter Winspear Age: 30 Birth Date: abt 1911 Birth Place: Scarboro, England Death Date: 30 Apr 1941 Death Place: At Sea Mother: Clara Nerissa (British Steam passenger ship) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net
Topp's First Officer who conducted the attack on Nerissa and Erich Topp. The attack report for SS Nerissa.
One of their victims: Sydney Thaiss Atkins was my grandfather's cousin; his twin brother Leslie survived the war and died in 1997, I believe. This is the brothers prewar (I have no idea which is which, though). PS this is a good place to acknowledge Hugh Maclean, who generously helped on this forum when I was researching Sydney. Edit: bizarrely, the earlier posts of this thread didn't display when I was replying! Apologies for the double post, and all that.
Some sources available at Héritage: The passenger manifests and correspondence. The cargo manifests. Court of Inquiry - Sinking of SS NERISSA and Loss of Canadian Army Personnel. The passenger files provide a few details about some of the civilians and how their loss was conveyed to their relatives. Pat has already mentioned the tragic Lomas family whose boarding cards are preserved and the fifteen year-old Donald Drew who appears to have taken passage unaccompanied to return to Eton to resume his scholarship. Others include one of the ferry pilots, William Nance, whose mother’s poignant letter to Mackenzie King is also preserved, and Captain Robert Stuart-French and his new wife Joy – Robert survived, Joy did not.