Doreen Kent has sent in this:
My grandfather Robert Rippon of Houghton le Spring died (drowned) in 1917 as the result of the hospital ship he was serving on being torpedoed by a German U-Boat. I believe that his name is on the War Memorial in St Michael's and All Angels churchyard but not on the Roll of Honour in the Church. He was a member of St Johns Ambulance and enlisted at Sunderland in 1914. I have all the details concerning the incident with the hospital ship HMHS "Asturias" but cannot find anything at Houghton. I would be interested to know if there were any reports in local newspapers at the time. He is remembered at the Hollywell Cemetery memorial in Southampton with other casualties of this incident.
Robert Rippon is possibly remembered in Houghton le Spring on H132.15, but some of the names are not clear to read. He is remembered in Gateshead on G39.030 and in Sunderland on S140.048 Part 5 page 100 and on our List of Ships’ crews
