From SN Guides
Image 1: 
Introduction
Court Line used the name Aldington Court for two ships:
- Aldington Court (1) - a cargo ship launched in 1929 and the subject of this entry
- Aldington Court (2) - a cargo ship launched in 1944
Aldington Court (1) was in service from 1929 until she was sunk by enemy action in 1942 so had a working life of 13 years.
Basic Data
- Type: Cargo ship
- Registered owners,managers and operators: British United Steamship Co. Ltd. - Managers Haldin & Philipps Ltd. London
- Builders: Pickersgill
- Yard: Southwick
- Country: UK
- Yard number: 224
- Registry: N/K
- Official number: 161230
- Signal letters: N/K
- Call sign: N/K
- Classification society: N/K
- Gross tonnage: 4,891 grt
- Net tonnage: 2,979 grt
- Deadweight: N/K
- Length: 405.6 ft
- Breadth: 55.5 ft
- Depth: 25.1 ft
- Draught: N/K
- Engines: Single 3 cylinder Doxford oil engine
- Engine builders: William Doxford & Sons Ltd.
- Works: Sunderland
- Country: UK
- Power: 1,850 bhp
- Propulsion: Single screw
- Speed: 10 knots
- Cargo capacity:N/K
- Crew: N/K
Career Highlights
- 23 June 1929: Launched by Pickersgill
- May 1929: Completed
- 1936: Owners restyled Court Line Ltd. - same managers
- 31 October 1942: Sunk by enemy action
Service Pre-War
According to External resource #3, Aldington Court (1) sailed from London on her maiden voyage on 26 May 1930 for Vladivostok uner charte to Glen Line with Glen funnel colours and houseflag. She was the first motorship for the company and the builder and the 1850 bhp 2-cylinder engine performed well at her service speed of 10 knots.
Unlike many of the Court Line ships, Aldington Court (1) does not appear to have been laid up during the years of the 1930s depression. She was used to take coal to Melbourne (including during a coal strike in Australia) and grain from Hobson's Bay to Melbourne, and also transportation of lumber from Vancouver to Sydney or Melbourne, and sugar from Cairns to Japan or India.
Participation in WW2 Convoys
The data in the following table has been extracted from External Resource #1.
A key to the routes for these convoys can be found on this page: World War 2 Convoy Names
Aldington Court took part in 30 convoys before being sunk.
|
List of Convoys
|
| Convoy No.
| Route
| Convoy No.
| Route
|
| OA.19
| Oct 1939: Southend - Dispersed
| HX.16
| Jan 1940: Halifax - Liverpool
|
| OB.113
| Mar 1940: Liverpool - Formed OG.23F
| OG.23F
| Mar 1940: Formed In 4924N 0652W - Gibraltar
|
| SL/MKS.40
| Jul 1940: Freetown - Liverpool
| FS.245
| Aug 1940: Tyne - Southend
|
| FN.291
| Sep 1940: Southend - Methil
| OA.222
| Sep 1940: Methil - RV. With Ob 222
|
| OB.222
| Oct 1940: Liverpool - Dispersed
| BN.10
| Nov 1940: Bombay - Suez
|
| BS.12
| Jan 1941: Suez - Dispersed
| BS.12C
| Jan 1941: Port sudan - Aden
|
| SL/MKS.68
| Mar 1941: Freetown - Dispersed
| SC.28
| Apr 1941: Halifax - Liverpool
|
| EC.27
| May 1941: Southend - Clyde
| WN.122
| May 1941: Clyde - Methil
|
| FN.473
| May 1941: Southend – Methil
| FS.482
| May 1941: Methil – Southend
|
| OB.332
| Jun 1941: Liverpool – Halifax
| SL/MKS.84
| Aug 1941: Freetown - Liverpool
|
| OS/KMS.8
| Oct 1941: Liverpool – Freetown
| SL/MKS.96
| Dec 1941: Freetown - Dispersed
|
| BB.134
| Feb 1942: Belfast Lough - Milford Haven
| OS/KMS.20
| Feb 1942: Liverpool – Freetown
|
| SL/MKS.84
| Aug 1941: Freetown – Liverpool
| KN.132
| Aug 1942: Key West - Hampton Roads
|
| NG.307
| Sep 1942: NYC - Guantanamo
| GAT.9
| Sep 1942: Guantanamo - Trinidad
|
| NG.307
| Sep 1942: Nyc - Guantanamo
| TRIN.16
| Oct 1942: Trinidad - Dispersed
|
|
Sinking
Aldington Court (1) was reported as sunk on 31 October 1942 by U 172 - at that time commanded by Kptlt. Carl Emmermann (Knights Cross).
According to External resource #5 she was on a voyage from Philadelphia and Trinidad bound for Saldanha Bay and Alexandria and was torpedoed at 22:23 at position 30.20S/02.10W. Of her crew of 44, there were 34 lost including the Master.
U 172 appears to have been one of the more successful German submarines and was commissioned on 5 November 1941. By the end of the war she claimed to have sunk 26 Allied ships totalling 152,080 grt.
Roll of Honour
The table below lists most of those who are known to have died as a result of the sinking of Aldington Court (1).
|
List of those that lost their lives
|
| Surname.
| Forenames
| Description
| Age and other information
|
| ABBEY
| EDWIN STANLEY BURNEY
| Second Engineer Officer
| Age 32.
|
| CONNOLLY
| FRANK NORTHMORE CROAD
| Able Seaman
| Age 43. Son of Margaret Sleeman, of Plymouth.
|
| DALY
| HENRY.
| Cook
| Age 59.
|
| DAVIES
| ALEC
| Able Seaman
| Age 24.
|
| FREEMAN
| EDWIN
| Cabin Boy
| Age 18. Son of John Freeman, and of Anne Freeman, of Flixton, Lancashire.
|
| GIMENEZ
| ANTONIO
| Able Seaman
| Age 48.
|
| GOODFELLOW
| Harry
| Chief Engineer Officer
| Age 43. Son of James and Jane Goodfellow; husband of Mildred B. Goodfellow, of Fulwell, Sunderland, Co. Durham.
|
| GRICE
| DAVID EWAN
| Third Radio Officer
| Age 21. Son of Robert John and Margaret Cecelia Grice, of Maesteg, Glamorgan.
|
| HAMLET
| GEORGE
| Deck Boy
| Age 19.
|
| HAMPTON
| KENNETH DAVID
| Fourth Engineer Officer
| Age 19. Son of Alec John and Dorothy Alma May Hampton, of Fulham, London.
|
| HARVEY
| JAMES ALFRED
| Deck Boy
| Age 19. Son of Mrs. E. F. Harvey, of Canton, Cardiff.
|
| HENSHAW
| JAMES
| Ordinary Seaman
| Age 21. Son of Owen and Sarah Jane Henshaw, of Birkenhead.
|
| HEPBURN
| JAMES KEITH ROGER
| Second Officer
| Age 25. Son of Albert and Ada Hepburn; husband of Irene Elsie Hepburn, of Ipswich, Suffolk.
|
| HON
| GORDON JOSEPH
| Galley Boy
| Age 18. Son of Charles Anthony and Beatrice Hon, of Birkenhead.
|
| JAMES
| GLYNDWR
| Junior Engineer Officer
| Age 29.
|
| MURPHY
| WILLIAM
| Cabin Boy
| Age 18. Son of William and Elizabeth Murphy, of Chorlton, Lancashire.
|
| NELSON
| WILLIAM IVOR
| Third Engineer Officer
| Age 30. Husband of Violet R. Nelson of Rumney, Cardiff.
|
| NEWBOLD
| REGINALD ALBERT
| First Radio Officer
| Age 28. King's Commendation for Brave Conduct. Son of Alfred Mark and Florence Teresa Newbold, of Lee, London.
|
| O'HAGAN
| JOHN
| Chief Officer
| Age 51. Son of John and Mary O'Hagan.
|
| RIGDEN
| FREDERICK SANDFORD
| Chief Steward
| Age 49. Son of William Sandford Rigden and Mary Jane Rigden; husband of Alice Rigden, of Whitby, Yorkshire.
|
| STUART
| ALFRED
| Master
| Age 45. Son of Mr. and Mrs. F. Stuart, of Whitby, Yorkshire; husband of Elsie Margaret Stuart, of Whitby.
|
| UMMUS
| CHRISTIAN
| Donkeyman
| Age 40.
|
| WELLS
| ANDREW JOSEPH
| Cabin Boy
| Age 18. Son of Andrew and Margaret Wells, of Town Hill, Swansea.
|
| WELSON
| DAVID ALBERT
| Junior Engineer Officer
| Age 23. Son of Edwin Albert and Margaret Ellen Welson, of Verwig, Cardiganshire.
|
| WHITE
| JAMES GERARD
| Junior Engineer
| Age 27.
|
|
| They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
| 
|
Postscript
According to External resource #6, U172 was herself sunk mid-Atlantic on 13 December, 1943 after a 27 hour fight west of the Canary Islands, in position 26.29N, 29.58W, by depth charges and Fido homing torpedoes from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (VC-19) of the American escort carrier USS Bogue and by some 200 depth charges from the US destroyers USS George E. Badger, USS Clemson, USS Osmond Ingram and USS Du Pont. There were 13 dead and 46 survivors.
External resources
- Arnold Hague Convoy Database: [1]
- Miramar Ship Index: Miramar
- Information extracted from Lloyds Registers by John Powell
- Norman Middlemiss: Travel of the Tramps - Twenty Tramp Fleets ISBN: 1871128021
- Ubootwaffe: Ubootwaffe.net
- Uboat.net: Uboat.net
Images
- From the collection of Stuart Smith
Main Contributors
- John Powell and Clive Ketley - basic ships information and history
- Benjidog - further research and construction of Directory entry
- Billy McGee - names and information about those lost
