The RFC suffered one of its largest losses of life in one day during the war today as 75 men were killed.
The loss was part of a larger disaster when the troopship HMT Aragon was sunk by a torpedo. The ship had arrived at Alexandria at daybreak on Sunday 30 December accompanied by the destroyer HMS Attack. On approach to the port the Attack zig-zagged ahead to search the channel for mines while Aragon waited in Alexandria Roads. At this point the armed trawler HMT Points Castle approached Aragon flying the international flag signal “Follow me”. The troop ship did so, until Attack returned and signalled “You have no right to take orders from a trawler”.
The destroyer intercepted Points Castle and then ordered Aragon to return to sea. The troop ship obeyed and turned back to sea. Later investigation was unable to make sense of this order. Explanations such a lack of space in the port or a concern for mines have never been proved conclusively.
Regardless, the decision proved costly as shortly afterwards the Aragon was hit by a torpedo from u-boat UC34. The torpedo caused extensive damage to the almost empty number 4 hold and the ship listed heavily starboard.
The Attack and the Points Castle immediately came to the rescue. Attack drew right alongside Aragon to take survivors aboard as quickly as possible. After about 20 minutes the Aragon went down.
The Attack was now crowded with 300 to 400 survivors. At this point a second torpedo hit the Attack blew the ship into two pieces, both of which sank rapidly, at the same time spilling tons of bunker fuel oil into the sea.
The Aragon’s surviving lifeboats now ferried hundreds of survivors to trawlers which had come out to assist.
20 crew members from the Aragon including the Captain were drowned along with 10 from the Attack. 610 of the troops on the Aragon were also killed. The 75 RFC men were as follows:
Corporal Walter Achurch
2nd Class Air Mechanic James Armstrong
2nd Class Air Mechanic Frederick Attenborough
3rd Class Air Mechanic SH Bird
2nd Class Air Mechanic Bertie Bradley
1st Class Air Mechanic Jack Bretherton
2nd Class Air Mechanic Ernest Brooks
3rd Class Air Mechanic Richard Browne
2nd Class Air Mechanic Leonard Butterworth
3rd Class Air Mechanic David William Cartwright
2nd Class Air Mechanic George Clark
3rd Class Air Mechanic TH Clark
2nd Class Air Mechanic Henry James Covell
Lieutenant William Asheton Crawley
3rd Class Air Mechanic George William Daffern
3rd Class Air Mechanic Fred Dale
3rd Class Air Mechanic C Deller
2nd Class Air Mechanic Frederick Joseph Dilley
2nd Class Air Mechanic H Dobson
2nd Class Air Mechanic Charles John Driver
3rd Class Air Mechanic Alfred William Dudman
3rd Class Air Mechanic William Dunton
2nd Class Air Mechanic Christopher Edmund Rich
2nd Class Air Mechanic Frank Alexander Frank
3rd Class Air Mechanic Isaiah Gough
1st Class Air Mechanic Sidney T. Gray
3rd Class Air Mechanic Wilfred Walker Greaves
2nd Class Air Mechanic Harold Edwin Handscombe
2nd Class Air Mechanic William Cleland Hatton
2nd Class Air Mechanic Jeremiah Humphreys
3rd Class Air Mechanic JA Hunt
3rd Class Air Mechanic EW Jackson
3rd Class Air Mechanic John Hardy Jackson
2nd Class Air Mechanic William Jones
2nd Class Air Mechanic Fred Kendall
1st Class Air Mechanic James Henry Keyte
1st Class Air Mechanic William Albert Knight
1st Class Air Mechanic Harold Edward Ladd
3rd Class Air Mechanic John Henry Lane
2nd Class Air Mechanic Albert Joshua Laurens
3rd Class Air Mechanic Charles Lee
2nd Class Air Mechanic Herbert Henry Lucas
2nd Class Air Mechanic John Maccrimmon
2nd Class Air Mechanic Charles William Macey
2nd Class Air Mechanic GL Martin
2nd Class Air Mechanic John Matthews
3rd Class Air Mechanic Albert Mcguinness
2nd Class Air Mechanic Reginald Meade
2nd Class Air Mechanic Alfred Moore
2nd Class Air Mechanic Ernest Victor Morris
1st Class Air Mechanic George Murrell
Corporal Harold John Nicholls
2nd Lieutenant William Charles Perry
2nd Class Air Mechanic John Pilkington
2nd Class Air Mechanic Michael Power
2nd Class Air Mechanic John Rae
3rd Class Air Mechanic John Rees
Corporal Frederick John Richardson
3rd Class Air Mechanic Charles Ricketts
3rd Class Air Mechanic William Ernest Ridgewell
2nd Class Air Mechanic John William Shepherd
3rd Class Air Mechanic Thomas Sidebottom
2nd Class Air Mechanic Joseph Benjamin Standing
2nd Class Air Mechanic Austin Thomas Carroll
3rd Class Air Mechanic Ralph Bolton Toms
3rd Class Air Mechanic Frederick James Turner
2nd Class Air Mechanic Joseph Thomas Walker
2nd Class Air Mechanic Frederick John Waller
1st Class Air Mechanic Philip Courtenay Waud
3rd Class Air Mechanic Henry Charles Wiley
3rd Class Air Mechanic RJ Williams
2nd Class Air Mechanic James William Witchlow
3rd Class Air Mechanic Bertie Hugh Wolfe
3rd Class Air Mechanic Robert William Wyse
2nd Class Air Mechanic Sidney Thomas Young
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