Photo :Naval Record

Record of Death

Shields Daily News Thursday 12/11/1942

Cunard White Line SS Samaria

Samuel Otto Anderson was born on the 9th March 1904 at 17 St Mary's Terrace, Tyne Dock, South Shields, baptised on the 3rd April 1904 at St. Hilda's, South Shields, to Oscar Anderson, born Sweden 1871, [died June 1922], and his wife Alice, [nee Pascoe], born 23rd May 1879, daughter of John [born 1854], and Catherine Pascoe [born 1859], of West Pan Place in South Shields.

They were married on the 24th August 1898 at St. Michael and All Angels church, South Westoe and had six children but one of the children died, Ernest Hubert Anderson, born 1st October 1898 died July 1899, Catherine Pascoe Anderson, born 8th July 1902, died 14th April 1945, married a Richard H Dockwray, [born 1900 died 1984], Stanley Pascoe, born 13th February 1912, died 1996, he married Florence Letitia Milne, born 1916 died 2003, George William Pascoe, born 16th December 1915 and a Alice M. Sanderson born 16th December 1917 died 1995, she married a James Moule, [born 1911 died 1978].

In 1901 the parents were residing at 15 South Eldon Street, South Shields. Living three doors away was Alice’s mother with her husband and family.

By 1911, they were residing at 17 St Mary's Terrace, Tyne Dock, South Shields.

Oscar Anderson the father also served in the Mercantile Marine during World War 1, but survived the war. On 19th September, 1919, Oscar’s certificate of discharge states that he received his Mercantile Marine Medal and his British Medal ribbons and on 30th May, 1921 received his Mercantile Marine and British Medals.

Samuel Otto Anderson was the third child and second son of his parents, and was described as 5 feet 4 inches high, Weight 154lbs, with Blue eyes and Fair hair with a fair complexion.

His first crew assignment was a fireman on the 30th May 1927, on the "Bulysses" ship number 149818, then from the 15th December 1928, "Scotch Standard" ship number 146137, 16th July 1929, he is a crew member of SS "Shirak" ship number 148742, leaving Barry for the United States onboard as a Fireman arriving on the 6th August 1929, [by this time he had already spent 2 and a half years at sea], then from the 7th September 1929, he sails from the Fall river at Massachusetts to the Dutch west Indies arriving on the 28th October 1929, then for the Shell Oil Company he is Fireman again aboard the Shirak again leaving on the 11th November 1929 arriving at Boyntown Beach and Woodbridge, New Jersey on the 19th November 1929, 30th June 1932, "British Reliance" ship number 160357, 17th August 1933 "British Freedom" built at Hebburn-on-Tyne, ship number 160493, 2nd August 1935, "Marakash" ship number 162683, 22nd June 1926, "British Renown" ship number 160397, then the 5th March 1938 "White Foam" ship number 165039. On the 10th January 1939 "British Genius" ship number 167160 as a pumpman, and on the 19th September 1940 "Weirbank" ship number 148873. On 6th March 1941, he signed on the "MV Prestige" ship number 162553, at Sunderland. He sailed from Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the 29th October 1941 aboard the "Empire Pearl" as a pumpman arriving at New York on the 26th November 1941.

He served on a lot of tankers, either for the Anglo Saxon Petroleum Company or the British Trading Company which mostly operated tankers. Owner Eagle Oil & Shipping Co. Ltd., Eagle Tanker Co. Eagle Oil and Shipping Co. was merged into Shell International Petroleum Company in 1959. In 1960 the Eagle funnel colours were replaced by those of Shell Tankers Ltd.

In 1940 he was residing at 46 Francis Street, in 1939 17 Thornton Avenue.

Samuel Otto Anderson got married to Isabella Race born 17th August 1908, died 1983, in January 1929, at South Shields and in 1939 were residing at 17 Thornton Street South Shields and they had three children.

One of the children was Samuel Oscar Anderson 'Sam', born in South Shields in 1932 and died in 2001 in Australia. Married on the 14th February 1955, a Beth Ailsa Anderson nee Greer, [daughter of Percival William Joseph Greer and his wife Doris May nee Alloway], born 7th October 1936, died 25th May 2014, and had four children, [emigrated to Australia in 1954], Alice M Anderson born 1935, married a James S Hogg born 1935 and Georgina V Anderson born 1938, who married a Thomas Goodwin.

On the 22nd May 1940 he was employed as a Greaser on the Cunard White line "Samaria" ship number 145943, from Liverpool to New York arriving on the 1st June 1940.

Samuel Otto Anderson was a pumpman onboard the motor tanker M. V. "San Victorio", Captain Sidney Perry, left Aruba on the 15th May 1942, for Freetown and the U.K. with 12,000 tons of benzine and paraffin. At 02.17 hours on the 17th May, 1942, the unescorted San Victorio, [Eagle Oil & Shipping Company], on her maiden voyage, was hit by two torpedoes from U Boat U-155 commanded by Korvettenkapitän Adolf Cornelius Piening at position 11’ 40 N 62’30 and sank southwest of Grenada. The tanker had been spotted at 00.33 hours and missed by a first torpedo at 01.14 hours. The U-boat had to crash dive 10 minutes after the hits because a flying boat was sighted.

The master, 43 crew members, seven gunners and one passenger were lost. The sole survivor, gunner Anthony Ryan, was picked up by the American patrol yacht USS Turquoise (PY 18) and landed at Trinidad. Brand new and fully laden with a cargo of benzine and paraffin on her maiden voyage, the San Victorio blew sky-high almost as soon as the torpedoes struck her. The effect was volcanic. All hands perished in the appalling holocaust except for a Gunner from the Maritime Regiment who was blown violently over the stern in the first pre-explosion wave and was thrown far enough away from the doomed ship to survive the cataclysmic explosion that followed and which vaporised everyone else on board.

For 16 hours this man survived in the sea without a life jacket, in waters infested with sharks and barracuda.

Of all the oil tanker losses throughout the war, this was one of the most horrendous.

In 1939, Alice Anderson was looking after 4 children at 3 St Mary's Terrace. Catherine, Stanley, George and Alice who worked in a Confectionery and Tobacco shop

Research : Cynthia Kent/James Pasby

Samuel Otto Anderson is remembered at Westoe in W101.08 page 6, and in our List of Ship's crew.

Eagle Oil Company History
The CWGC entry for Pumpman Anderson