BORN LEEDS 12/03/1896. SON OF WALTER MARGERISON (1868-1942) AND JANE MARGERISON (1868-1922), AT 42 RUSSELL STREET, 13 VANE STREET & 18 GODDARD AVENUE, HULL (CWGC ADDRESS). HE SERVED AS THIRD HAND, ON THE STEAM SHIP ‘CHICAGO’, SUNK ON 08/07/1918. HIS NAME IS RECORDED IN THE WW1 HULL MERCHANT NAVY RECORDS. HE DEATH WAS REPORTED IN THE HULL DAILY MAIL, WITH HIS PHOTOGRAPH, ON 11/07/1918. *
HIS NAME IS RECORDED ON THE HULL TECHNICAL COLLEGE MEMORIAL, PARK STREET HULL, ON THE NEW GEORGE STREET MEMORIAL & THE CLIFTON STREET SCHOOL ROLL OF HONOUR.
HIS BROTHER 2ND LIEUT., THOMAS MARGERISON, ROYAL FLYING CORPS, WAS ALSO KILLED IN ACTION, ON 13/04/1917, AGED 22. THEY LEFT A BROTHER, ARTHUR, AND SISTERS, LILIAN AND IVY. (THANK YOU TO NADINE TULL FOR THE MARGERISON FAMILY INFORMATION AND PHOTOGRAPHS).
Death Announcement of George William Margerison – Transcript of the obituary of George, published in the Hull Times 13 July 1918: “Mr and Mrs W Margerison, 18 Goddard Avenue, late of 13 Vane Street, Hull, have received the sad news of the death of their second son, George William. He was serving as third officer with the Ellerman-Wilson Line, and this was his first voyage after completing his apprenticeship. He was described by his employers as a very promising young officer, and was highly esteemed by all. Mr and Mrs Margerison lost their eldest son, Lieut. T. Margerison, R.F.C. on April 13th 1917, he being killed in an aerial fight in France.”
Family life – George was the third of six children born to Walter Margerison, an Engineer Fitter, and his wife Jane (nee Walton). His elder sister Lilian was born in Stockton (1892), but sadly died aged three. By then the family had moved to Leeds where a son Thomas was born (1894) and then George (1896). The family moved again, for the last time, to Hull where three more children were born, Arthur (1901), Ivy (1902), and Elsie (1911). Elsie died in 1915 aged three.
Merchant Navy – George joined the Merchant Navy and had just completed his apprenticeship when he joined the SS Chicago as Third Mate. He had recently qualified as a Second Mate, and would have been able to apply for a promotion at his next posting. The Chicago was sailing from North Shields to Gibraltar in convoy when it was sunk by a torpedo from an enemy submarine (UB-107) at 1.15am, four miles north-east from Flamborough Head. The torpedo struck level with the No. 2 hatch below the water level and the ship sank within ten minutes (www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?65620). George was one of three lives lost, the others being Able Seaman Jacob Lie, aged 55, and Fireman William Reynolds, aged 45. George’s mother heard that there had been a panic on board when the torpedo hit, and in the rush to abandon ship, George was denied a place in a lifeboat and subsequently drowned. Officially the crew said they were unable to find the missing men and that they were presumed to have been caught in the explosion. George’s body was not recovered, but he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial, Tower Hill, and on the family headstone in Hull.
SS Chicago – Chicago was a 7,709grt, defensively-armed steamship. Built for Ellerman´s Wilson Line Ltd, Hull; Yard No 616; Launch Date 24/02/1917; 1 x 4.7ins QF stern gun; Carring Fuel oil in double bottom. Whilst on passage from North Shields to Gibraltar and in convoy off Flamborough Head, at 1.15 a.m. the CHICAGO was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-107. The torpedo struck level with the No 2 hatch below the water line. The crew abandoned ship but were unable to find either the 3rd officer and two crew, they were presumed to have been in the explosion. The vessel sank within ten minutes, the survivors were picked up by an escort vessel and landed at Grimsby. The UB-107 was responsible for the following losses off the Yorkshire coast in 1918: ERICH LEA 10/05, NAPARIMA 10/05, AGNES 13/05, KALO 13/05, KIELDRECHT 15/05, HOGARTH 07/06, CHICAGO 08/07, WAR CROCUS 08/07, CHLORIS 27/07, and JOHN RETTIG 27/07.
PEOPLE ON BOARD SS ‘CHICAGO’
LIE, JACOB ANDREW (55), Able Seaman, S.S. Chicago, Mercantile Marine, †08/07/1918, Son of the late Jacob and Hannah Lie; husband of Olive Cecilia Lie (nee Abrahamson), of 44, Madeley St., Hessle Rd., Hull. Born in Norway, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
MARGERISON, GEORGE WILLIAM (22), Third Mate, S.S. Chicago, Mercantile Marine, †08/07/1918, Son of Walter and Jane Margerison (nee Walton), of 18, Goddard Avenue, Hull. Born at Leeds, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
REYNOLDS, WILLIAM (45), Fireman, S.S. Chicago, Mercantile Marine, †08/07/1918, Son of the late James and Rebecca Reynolds. Born at Hull, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial.
