Born Hull, 10/08/1896. Son of James Sayers (1860-1900) and Florence McBride Burnham (1875-1953), of 15, Victoria Gardens, Hawthorne Avenue, Hull (War Pension address0. He had three Brothers. he served in the Royal Naval reserve’. Drowned on the Trawler “Speeton”, 31/12/1915, aged 19. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Kent and on the St John The Baptist Church Memorial, Newington, Hull. His brother, Albert, served as a Lance Corporal, in the Durham Light Infantry at the same address.
HMT Speeton, built by Cochrane & Sons Ltd., Selby in 1913 and operated at the time of her loss by Royal Navy, was a British navy trawler of 205 tons. On December 31st, 1915, HMT Speeton was sunk by a mine from the German submarine UC-7 (Georg Haag), off Lowestoft. 11 persons were lost. They included:-
SAYERS, JAMES (19), Trimmer (no. 4227TS), HMT Speeton, Royal Naval Reserve, 31/12/1915, Son of Florence McBride (formerly Sayers), of 15 Victoria Avenue, Hawthorn Avenue, Hessle Rd., Hull, and the late James Sayers, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial
STEAD, HAROLD ELLIOTT (23), Deck Hand (no. 8763DA), HMT Speeton, Royal Naval Reserve, 31/12/1915, Son of Sarah Ann Milner (formerly Stead), of 85 Ringrose St., Hawthorne Avenue, Anlaby Rd., Hull, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial
STRIDE, GEORGE , Deck Hand (no. 8726DA), HMT Speeton, Royal Naval Reserve, 31/12/1915, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial
WHITE, WILLIAM CHARLES MATTHEW (26), Engineman (no. 4106ES), HMT Speeton, Royal Naval Reserve, 31/12/1915, Son of William and Maria White, of 117, Woodcock St., Hull; husband of Minnie Sybil White, of 9, John St., Kingston Square, Hull, Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial.
