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Edwin Graham Wilson

Chief Engineer Edwin Graham Wilson, Royal Navy, Mercantile Navy and Merchant Navy.

Edwin Graham Wilson was born in Bramley, Leeds on the 7th January 1893, the eldest son of Ossett born William Pawson Wilson (1872-1929) and his wife Lilian Leah Louise Dyson, born in Tipton Staffs, who had married on the 8th October 1892 at St. Peter's Church in Leeds. By 1901, the Wilson family were living in New Street, Ossett and William was working as a cab proprietor and offering stabling for horses. Another son, George Herbert Wilson had been born in Ossett on the 16 December 1899. George Herbert Wilson went on to be a 2nd Lieutenant Observer in the newly formed RAF in 1918, seeing action in France from July 1918.

By 1911, the Wilson family is now living at Moss Yard, Ossett and Edwin, aged 18 years, is working as a clerk in a wagon works. He enrolled in the Royal Navy on the 30th October 1916 when he was living at 30 Brougham Street, Albert Avenue, Hull. His naval record notes that he was 5ft 4" tall, fresh complexion, brown eyes and a 34" chest. It was noted that he had lost the tip of his right index finger.

The first posting for Wilson was to HMS Pekin in Grimsby, which was the name of an auxiliary patrol shore base for trawlers and drifters. On the 6th December 1916 he was transferred to HMS Attentive III, which was part of the Dover barrage, serving there on various harbour tugs and on shore based mine clearance work. The Attentive III was the parent ship and accounting base for auxiliary patrol vessels operating from Dover from January 1917 to December 1918. Wilson was transferred to HMS Ganges in July 1919, which was another Auxiliary Patrol base for trawlers and drifters in Harwich. He then was transferred back to HMS Pekin in Grimsby before being demobbed on the 26 January 1920.

Edwin Graham Wilson was awarded £16 Naval Prize Money in September 1922 and another £2 2s 8d in November 1923. £18 in 1922 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1,307 in 2025. Prize bounty was a special award under Section 42 of the Naval Prize Act 1864, which was granted to the crews of His Majesty's ships present at the capture or destruction of enemy armed vessels. The award was fixed at £5 for each member of the crew of the enemy vessel taken or destroyed, and the claim had to be proved in the Prize Court.

In addition to the British War Medal and Ribbon, Edwin G. Wilson was awarded the Mercantile Marine War Medal and Ribbon, which was established in 1919 and awarded by the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom to mariners of the British Mercantile Marine (later renamed the Merchant Navy) for service at sea during the First World War. Members of the Royal Navy seconded to the Mercantile Marine to man defensive weapons on merchant ships could qualify for the Mercantile Marine War Medal in addition to other campaign medals. Edwin G. Wilson had been seconded to the Mercantile Marine after he enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1916.

In Hull in July 1918, Edwin married 19 year-old Doris May Bates, the daughter of railway dining room cook, William John Bates whose family were living close by at 10 Brougham St, Albert Avenue in Hull. By 1939, Edwin and Doris Wilson had settled at 15 West Grove, Gypsyville, Hull and Edwin is working now as an insurance agent.

At some stage after the start of WW2, Edwin Wilson must have re-enlisted in the Merchant Navy and by 1941 he was the Chief Engineer on the SS Graslin, registered in Cardiff under the command of Captain A. Chessher, The SS Graslin was a 2,323 gross ton steam cargo vessel that survived WW2.

The following article describing the accidental death of Chief Engineer Edwin Graham Wilson appeared in the "Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette" on Saturday 22nd March 1941.

"Ship's Officer's Death - Released Hold of Lifebelt - South Docks Incident"

"A verdict of accidentally drowned was returned by the Coroner J.C. Morton at an inquest held in Sunderland Police Buildings today on a chief engineer, Edwin Graham Wilson (48), West Grove, Gipsyville, Hull who fell into South Dock shortly before midnight on Thursday, just as a soldier was being recovered from the water only 20 yards away. The soldier, Ernest Sparks of Old Kent Rd, London is making a recovery in the Royal Infirmary.

The master of the ship on which Wilson was serving as Chief Engineer, Captain A, Chessher of Marine Approach, South Shields said he had only known Wilson since March 8th. He saw him last about 1:45pm on Thursday and gave him permission to go to Hull, as he was anxious to see if his wife was safe (n.b. after a German bombing raid on Hull.) He was to report to the ship again on the following day. The captain added that he understood Wilson left the ship about half past six on Thursday night.

Flashing Torches: War Reserve Constable T.H. Harmer said that he was on duty on the west side of the South Dock at 20 minutes to 12 on Thursday night he saw torches being flashed and hurrying to the scene he found the rescue of the soldier from the dock in progress. He gave assistance, and just as they got the soldier out he heard a cry and a splash about 20 yards away, opposite the Extension Road gate. Flashing his torch in the water, he saw another man, Wilson, had fallen into the dock.

The officer said he threw a lifebelt into the water and Wilson swam about eight to ten strokes and grabbed it. Then the officer ran to fetch a ladder, which had been used in the first rescue and when he returned with this, he saw that Wilson had let go of the lifebelt and was lying face downward in the water. The officer and other helpers fastened the ladder to the dock side and immediately got Wilson out. He was unconscious. Artificial respiration was applied until the ambulance arrived and took him to the Royal Infirmary.

No Connection: It was a very dark night, and the Constable thought Wilson must have fallen into the dock as he was on his way to his ship some 400 yards away. There was no connection between the incident of the soldier's rescue and Wilson falling into the dock. He did not appear to have any torch in his possession.

Dr G.H.C. Taylor, house physician at Sunderland Royal Infirmary said that Wilson was apparently dead when admitted to the Infirmary at 12:15am. There were no signs of violence on the body. He instructed police to carry on with artificial respiration whilst he made arrangements for Wilson to be placed in the "iron lung". This was used for six hours without effect. Death was due to asphyxia.

Sympathy with the relatives was expressed by Mr H.K. Strange who represented the owners of the vessel, and by the Coroner."

Death note

After Edwin Wilson's tragic death in March 1941, his successor as Chief Engineer, Lewis Caradoc Rees-Jones died of wounds on the 14th April 1941 after sustaining wounds from a machine gun received during enemy action against the SS Graslin. He died in Southend Hospital and is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial in in Trinity Square Gardens, Tower Hill, London.

30,248 merchant seamen lost their lives during WW2, a death rate that was proportionally higher than in any of the other Armed Forces.

Edwin Graham Wilson is not remembered on any WW2 Memorial, but although born in Bramley, Leeds for the short time his father worked there, he qualifies for inclusion on the Ossett War Memorial having lived in Ossett for some of his early life. His father William Pawson Wilson was descended from a long established Ossett Wilson family with roots in the town going back to at least the 17th Century.

References:

1. "Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette", Saturday 22nd March 1941.

2. National Archive Records.