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Corporal ALBERT JAMES RALPH, R.M. CH 24819(T), Corporal, Royal Marines. Age 41 Died 28.3.1943
Corporal ALBERT JAMES RALPH, Royal Marines, was the son of James and Hannah Ralph of Gosport. He was the husband of Gwendoline Ivy Ralph, and
they lived at No.27 Peel Road, Gosport. Corporal Ralph passed away on Sunday 28th of March 1943, at the Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital, Sherborne, Dorset, as a result of wounds received whilst he was
manning a gun turret on a board a merchant ship, which was part of a convoy, crossing the Atlantic form America to this country, carrying war supplies. It is not known what the cause was! Corporal ALBERT
JAMES RALPH, R.M., was buried on Friday 2nd April 1943; he is laid to rest, Plot 44 Space 53, and is commemorated by a CWG headstone.
Steward, RICHARD WILLIAM RALPH, M.M.R. Steward, Maritime Merchant Reserve, HM Yacht Amalthea. Age 51 Died 2.8.1917
Steward, RICHARD WILLIAM RALPH, M.M.R., served aboard His Majesties Yacht Amalthea. The motor yacht had been commandeered by the Royal
Navy, for use as a patrol boat during the First World War. Her area of patrol was off the numerous small islands around the Shetland Isles. On the 2nd of August 1917, she was caught in a severe storm,
whilst patrolling off the south-west of the Shetland Isles, The yacht was soon wallowing in the huge waves and drifting in the treacherous swirling currents in the channel she was in.
First the engine failed, this meant that the generator stopped. With no power for the pumps, the yacht was soon swamped, and sank. The wreckage of HMY Amalthea was found some days later on rocks off the Shetland’s. There were no survivors. Over the weeks after the storm, some of the crew’s bodies were washed ashore. Steward, RALPH’s body, was recovered from the foreshore of a small island.
He was identified and on the request of relatives, his remains were returned to Gosport for interment. Steward RICHARD WILLIAM RALPH, MMR, was
laid to rest on the 13th of August 1917, Plot 37 Space 29, and is commemorated by a CWG headstone.
Able Seaman SYDNEY RANDALL, R.N. P/J 32090, Able Seaman, Royal Navy, S.S. Baron Erskine. Age 45 Died 30.1.1943
Able Seaman SYDNEY RANDALL, Royal Navy, was the son of Albert and Sarah Randall. He was also the husband of Ethel Randall, and they lived in
Gosport. He served aboard the SS Baron Erskine. The ship was owned by H. Hogarth & Sons, and was 3,657 tonnage. The vessel was one of an inbound convoy. She had left Tampa Bay, Florida, United
States of America, on the 6th January 1942, and was making for Garston, on the River Mersey, near Liverpool. Her cargo contained war materials.
For A/B Randall, the voyage had been an arduous one, several of the ships in the convoy, had been sunk by German U-boats, which had shadowed
them across the Atlantic Ocean. He was a gunner on the ship’s gun, and had spent long cold hours ‘closed up’ at action stations. With the majority of the voyage behind them, and fast
approaching the West Coast of Ireland, the date was Saturday 10th January 1942. The shadowing wolf pack of German U-boats closed in again, under the cover of darkness. U-701 torpedoed the ‘Baron
Erskine’ some 300 miles to the west of Ireland; the ship sank rapidly causing the loss of 40 of her crew. Sydney Randall was plucked from the freezing seawater, and although injured survived.
On survivors leave, and convalescing in an effort to recover from exposure and injuries he had suffered, he had been allowed home, at Rothsay Road, Gosport. Sadly, due to his injuries and exposure to the
elements, Sydney Randall contracted pneumonia and passed away at his home on Sunday 30th January 1943.
Able Seaman SYDNEY RANDALL, R.N., was buried on Thursday 3rd February 1943, and is laid to rest, Plot 42 Space 27. A CWG headstone commemorates
him.
Mr ALBERT EDWARD RANN Pensioner, Royal Marines, No. 81 Leesland Road, Gosport.
Age 70 Died 20.9.1941 SEE – Mrs ADA EMMA BROWN
Sergeant BERNARD STANLEY RANSOM, R.A.F. 1322952, Sergeant, No. 101 Squadron, Royal Air Force. Age 20 Died 30.11.1943
Sergeant, BERNARD STANLEY RANSOM, Royal Air Force, was the son of William and Annie Edith. He was born in Gosport, his home
address being 16 Prince Alfred Road. Having joined the RAF, he was trained as a bomb-aimer, and posted to the strength of 101 Squadron equipped with the famous 'Lancaster' bomber.
At 3.31am the early morning hours of 30th of November 1943, Sgt. Ransom's aircraft a Lancaster Mk 1, ED552 coded Q for
Queen and nicknamed "Gremlin Queen", took off for a night cross-country exercise from their base at Holme-on-Spalding Moor, Yorkshire. Upon becoming airborne the aircraft started to slowly gain
height but not enough the aircraft crashed into trees on the high ground at South Cliffe, just 4 miles south east of the R.A.F. Airfield they had just taken off from. The crew never stood a chance; P/O
W.T. Hobday (pilot), Sgt L. Mayden, F/O L. Waite, Sgt. R. Waterhouse, Sgt. T.J. Knock and Sgt. B.S. Ransom were all killed. All the crew were returned to their hometowns for burial.
Sergeant BERNARD STANLEY RANSOM, Royal Air Force, was buried on Friday 2nd April 1943; he is laid to
rest in the War Graves Section (see plans on back pages), Row 3 Grave 7, and is commemorated by a CWG headstone.
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