SS Cortes sinking

Discussion in 'The War at Sea' started by dfielddww2, Apr 27, 2012.

  1. Hugh MacLean

    Hugh MacLean Senior Member

    Just to confirm he appears to have left ss CAMITO on 20th June 1919 and he joins the RAF on 9th August 1919 - previous occupation: "seaman" next of kin address on RAF record match MN next of kin record - and he is discharged on 30th March 1920. He signs on ss MINNEDOSA in May of 1921. I will post some more tomorrow when I have a minute.
    Regards
    Hugh
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2020
    Roy Martin, ozzy16, CL1 and 1 other person like this.
  2. Hugh MacLean

    Hugh MacLean Senior Member

    Hi Aidan,

    Frederick Smyth b. 3 August 1902, Liverpool. Discharge number 992152. He appears to have served as follows albeit this is not a complete list of his service.

    137796 – CAMITO – 14.5.1919
    137796 – CAMITO – 20.6.1919
    9.8.1919 – joins RAF – discharged 30.3.1920
    142717 – MINNEDOSA – 5.1921
    145994 – TEKOA – 16.5.1931

    The above - apart from the RAF record - taken from records from the Fourth Register of Seamen, some of the cards have not survived and may contain mistakes and omissions. He has a card CR 10 with a mugshot id photo and CR 1. He was travelling as DBS = Distressed British Seaman not as a member of her crew. There appear to have been 5 DBS travelling on CORTES so my guess is they joined the ship while she was in Lisbon and they were likely crew from a previously lost ship or ships and had been organised by their shipping company for onward repatriation to the UK.

    Personal WW2 records for merchant seamen begin in January 1941 and are held in a form CRS 10. This form will list his ships from that date so it should name the lost ship if it happened after January of that year which will likely be the case. If not, there are other ways to find out but it means researching crew agreements at Kew. Let me know if you need the link to his CRS 10 you will only be able to obtain this via a visit to Kew or via a researcher.

    Regards

    Hugh
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2020
    Roy Martin, Tricky Dicky and CL1 like this.
  3. Peter J Carey

    Peter J Carey New Member

    Hi Hugh? Just visited the cemetery in clifden Galway Ireland where my grandparents are buried came across the well marked grave of A.C. Pimental Boatswain s.s Cortes is possible to find some background on the gentleman. Peter.
     
  4. Hugh MacLean

    Hugh MacLean Senior Member

    Hi Peter and welcome,

    Bosun, Alphonso Cevalisa Pimentil was born in Cebu, Philippines on 2 August 1889. He became a naturalised British citizen in 1936.
    He appears to have served as follows but the voyages will contain some mistakes and omissions as is the case with some records from the Fourth Register of Seamen.

    110537 – AFRIC – 10.12.1919 (This seems incorrect as AFRIC was sunk in 1917)
    145881 – FLORENTINO – 6.5.1922
    143616 - EMPIRE MERSEY – 21.8.1936
    140597 - RAVENS POINT – 26.5.1938
    143855 – CISCAR – 13.2.1939
    143354 – CORTES – 9.6.1939.

    Convoy HG.73 - After both ships ahead of her were torpedoed, LAPWING stopped and launched a lifeboat for rescue work. Among the survivors picked up were three men from CORTES, but they had to abandon ship again when she was sunk by U-203 (Mützelburg) at 06.34 hours. The lifeboat of LAPWING made landfall in Ireland two weeks later, but two crew members from CORTES had died from exposure in the boat and the last survivor, boatswain Alfonso Pimentil, died later in a hospital in Clifden.

    He has some records in the Fourth Register of Seamen, the ship names I have transcribed for you above.

    WW2 Medal file - Medal listing of Pimentil, Alphonso Cevalisa Discharge number: 665518 Date... | The National Archives

    Regards
    Hugh
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jan 14, 2024
    RosyRedd likes this.
  5. Peter J Carey

    Peter J Carey New Member

    Thank-you Hugh Gentleman!
     
  6. Mark McShane

    Mark McShane Junior Member

    I corresponded with Alfonso's grand son, Stephen Pimentil some years back and he shared some wonderful family history.

    If you have been to Clifden then you will know the road out of the town, out that winding hilly road that leads up to the cemetery. If you can imagine the town turning out en-masse for Alfonso's funeral cortege, all walking out that road to pay their respects to an unknown seaman. I find that a really moving tribute to the man.
     
    Hugh MacLean likes this.

Share This Page