sinking of SS Orsa and loss of Glasgow crew

[whitenee]

the sinking of the SS Orsa occurred Oct 21, 1939. Most of the crew members lost at sea were from Glasgow. The Master of that ship was an Alexander Simpson, Merchant Navy, age 38. I am trying to find out if this Alexander Simpson was originally from Glasgow as well. Thank you for any help you can give me!

[cumbo]

Going by war records SS Orsa was a coal ship going between Newcastle and Bordeaux when she hit a mine at Flambourgh Head.No mention of crew other than 16 lives lost.

[duncan]

Given that he must have been born roughly 1900-1902, you might want to do a check here:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

pay for usage

[lordsleek]

SS Orsa was sunk by U15. You could try Kriegsmarine records.

[salty dog]

ORSA was mined and sunk on 21st Oct.1939.
Owned by Glen & Co, Glasgow, (Clydesdale Shipowners Co, Ltd), 1,475 gross
tons, built 1925. On 21.10.39 she struck a mine laid on 5.9.39 by the German
submarine U.15 (Buchholz) and sank in the North Sea 27 miles south of
Flamborough Head while sailing independently from the Tyne to Bordeaux with
a cargo of 2,100 tons of coal. The Master, Capt. A. Simpson and 3 crew were
rescued by HMS WOOLSTON and landed at Rosyth. 11 crew were lost.

I beleive Capt Simpson was at some time later buried in Hartlepool , his death must therefore be registered there which should provide birth details.

[whitenee]

Thank you Salty Dog! I don't know why I haven't gone to the scotland site mentioned above--guess i've been leary of using it. Thanks for the help!

[salty dog]

Your welcome Whitenee , all good work from the previous posters too.All quite accurate.It provided a reason to register so i must thank you as well Whitenee.Im afraid up to now i have come here to read, a lurker i believe we are called.

[whitenee]

Salty dog--you'll find the people here to be wonderfully helpful--they go the extra mile! I don't get as much time as I'd like to research here (I do lurk when I have nothing to contribute), but the few things I've needed a lot of help on (military uniforms, location/existences of old residences etc) they have gone beyond what I expected in the way of assistance. Enjoy you stay!

Thank you all for your help!

[salty dog]

You might find this site of use if we can establish within a 10 year period when Capt. A . Simpson was buried.

http://www.1837online.com/Trace2web/

I was interested enough to pay the minimal 5 squid fee and have about 50 searches or units left. Please leave any info and i'll put in a search.

Unhappily enough it doesn't cover Scotland , but im sure he was buried in England..(shudder)

I'll leave anything i find here.

[whitenee]

thank you for that offer Salty dog! I did try the scotland site recommended above, and unfortunately, I should have familiarized myself with the site first as I blew right through 30 credits without knowing what I was doing. I'll have a look at the site you recommended. If you've had good success with that site, let me know if you think it is worth it.

[salty dog]

That was my fear , i was blowing credits with no real idea of what i was doing , im going to try again but considering Capt Simpson survived the sinking it's anyones guess which decade it made have been that he passed on.
I was much like you and wary of a site with .gov , i'll pass on that one but will continue the search , i hope others will too.

A long lost boat , Glasgow lads.. who would think we would be remembering them after all this time , i wonder if or how we can research this best.

[whitenee]

The feedback I've been getting on this is that four of the fellows were picked up from that ship, Simpson being one of them, and that these fellows were either dead when they were picked up, or died shortly after en route. Evens, McDonald, Moir and Simpson all have date of deaths as Oct. 21, 1939, and Simpson is buried in Hartlepool, Stanton Cemetery.

I'm wondering if anyone could direct me to possible newspaper accounts of this tragedy, as I was directed in the past regarding the ship the TSS AThenia. Thanks!

[salty dog]

Now thats interesting as its documented these guys survived and landed at Rosyth , which makes sense as a destroyer picked them up.

Why would they bury him in Hartlepool ?

I mean , if he was a weegie , and his body brought home to Rosyth , i don't think they would send his body back to Hartlepool , i think he survived.

I'll try newspapers , but at the rate ships were sinking at that time , i doubt if a Glen line puffer is going to get much of a mention.

[whitenee]

I thought the sinking of the Orsa would get some coverage,at least in Glasgow, even with all the downed ships at the time, seeing as though most of her crew was from Glasgow.

I believe Captain Simpson was married and resided in Hartlepool--married to a Doris Glendining(?). My only question regarding him is: is this Alexander Simpson the same as the Alexander Simpson I am looking for. He would have been my grandmother's brother born 1901 in Glasgow to Alexander Simpson and Agnes Ramage Johnstone (both originally from Edinburgh). For all I know, I could be following the wrong Alexander--lol--but I sure am getting a lesson in WWII naval history!

[salty dog]

The Athenia was a passenger ship owned by the Donaldson Atlantic Line bound for the USA with a full passenger complement consisting mainly of women and children evacuees leaving Britain because of potential war risks. On the day war was declared, 3rd September 1939, the ship was torpedoed by U.30 (Leutnant Lemp) south of the Rockall Bank in the Atlantic Ocean. 1,300 survivors were picked up by various ships but 112 passenger and crew were lost. Under the rules of the Hague Convention the attack was in contravention of the orders given to the U-boat commanders but the German Naval Command believed that Lemp had acted in good faith as he thought that the Athenia was a armed merchant cruiser. As a consequence, the British Admiralty construed the attack as evidence that Germany intended to pursue a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare as it had done during the First World War. This resulted in an increased programme of building escort vessels for the long task of convoy protection against submarine attacked, a policy decision which was justified as the U-boat onslaught developed as expected.



we can discount that event , i dunno why anyone would confuse it or suggest it had a bearing...with the information you have .. i'll pop by the Mitchell , see what they can do for me