On the Tower Hill Memorial is the name of Junior Engineer Officer Dennis Lally serving on M.V. Oilfield (Newcastle upon Tyne), with the Merchant Navy who died 28/04/1941.

Brenda McMahon has submitted the following:-

Dennis was born in 1921 and his birth registered at Gateshead. His father was Patrick and his mother Mary (nee Robson). The couple married in 1913 and went on to have a family.

The 1939 register shows the family living at 7 Southfield Terrace, Whickham. At that time Patrick was working as a colliery lampman (heavy worker).  Although there may have been other children in 1939 others in the household were sister, Kathleen, Dennis (apprentice fitter and turner), George L. and Peter who was at school.

On the 28th April 1941 when on route from Aruba for London carrying a cargo of 11700 tons of benzene M.V. Oilfield was torpedoed by U-96 and sunk.

The attack occurred at 19:25 when U-96 launched three torpedoes against three tankers in the convoy. The first ship to be hit, a British motor tanker of 8,516 GRT, went up in flames upon being hit, all but eight of her crew of 55 perished in the attack.

On March 30th 1945 the U96 was herself sunk at Wilhelshaven by bombs during an U.S. raid.

Dennis Lally is remembered at Byermoor on B158.02, at Newcastle on NUT146, at Whickham on W86.01 and on our List of Ships’ Crews.