THIRD OFFICER OF THE ‘MANCHESTER COMMERCE’. BLOWN UP BY ENEMY MINE OFF TORY ISLAND, ON THE COAST OF NORTHERN IRELAND, ON 26/10/1914. THE CAPTAIN AND 13 MEN PERISHED FROM A CREW OF 44. HE DIED WITH THE SHIPS CAPTAIN, CHARLES WILLIAM PAYNE, FROM 80 COTTINGHAM ROAD, HULL. BOTH MEN ARE PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE HULL AND LINCOLNSHIRE TIMES, ON 31/101/1914. * THERE IS NO CWGC RECORD OF STANLEY JOHNSON’S DEATH
Manchester Commerce SS was a 5,363 grt British Merchantship. On the 27th October 1914 when 20 miles N ¼ E from Tory Island, Co Donegal, Ireland she was mined and sunk. 14 lives lost including Master. Manchester Commerce ran into a minefield laid by the North German Lloyd liner Berlin 20 miles N. of Tory Island. She was bound from Manchester to Quebec and sank on October 26th, 1914, with the loss of 14 of her crew, including the captain. Unfortunately owing to the nearby coastguard station not possessing telegraphic communication, it was not possible to circulate the news of the steamship´s loss at once. As a result of this the loss of the ship was not known to the Admiralty until after a battle squadron had steamed into the minefield, and on the next day the battleship Audacious was lost in the same area through striking a mine.
The Manchester Commerce, belonging to the Manchester Liners (Limited), was a steamer of 5.383 tons, built in 1899, and represented a value of about 55,000. There are indications that her cargo from Manchester for Montreal was not a particularly important one. It would have been insured against war risks at very low rates. The 30 survivors of her 44 man crew were picked up by the trawler City of London at 2:30 am on 27 October, 1914. The Times, Wednesday, Oct 28, 1914.
People on board SS MANCHESTER COMMERCE 123 1. ALI MUSA , Fireman and Trimmer, SS Manchester Commerce, Indian Merchant Service, †26/10/1914, Memorial: Bombay 1914-1918 Memorial, Mumbai 2. BURGESS, DANIEL (30), Storekeeper, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of Margaret and the late John Burgess; husband of Hannah Burgess, of 20, Penny St., Pendleton, Lancs. Born at Pendleton, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 3. BURKE, JOHN (43), Fireman and Trimmer, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Born at Cork, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 4. DENNETT, FREDERICK W. (48), Boatswain, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Born in Kent, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 5. DENNY (20), 2nd Steward, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Born at Gorton, Manchester, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 6. EVEREST, CECIL H. (20), Fourth Mate, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of Capt. Everest, of 66, Langdale Rd., Liverpool. Born at Liverpool, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 7. HUGHES, JOHN THOMAS (22), Deck Boy, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of Dinah Hughes, of 23, Barton Grove, Patricroft, Lancs, and the late Edward Hughes. Born at Salford, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 8. MCMAHON (50), Able Seaman, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Born at Liverpool, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 9. MOLLER, CHARLES (36), Donkeyman, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of the late Mathias and Caroline Moller. Born at West Hartlepool, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 10. PAYNE, CHARLES WILLIAM BLOOM (41), Master, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of Mary Louisa Payne, of 19, Milton Rd., West Hartlepool; husband of Frances Elizabeth Payne, of 80, Cottingham Rd., Hull, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 11. SPEARS, ROBERT (35), Chief Steward, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Spears; husband of Bertha Spears (nee Harrison), of 51, Weaste Rd., Pendleton, Salford, Lancs. Born at Manchester, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 12. WARREN, ARTHUR HERBERT (32), Second Engineer, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Son of Peter and Martha Ann Warren; husband of Florence Warren (nee Green), of 92, Peel House Lane, Widnes. Born at Macclesfield, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial 13. WATSON, GEORGE (37), Ship’s Cook, SS Manchester Commerce, Mercantile Marine, †26/10/1914, Born at Edinburgh, Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial Read more at wrecksite: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11012
