On the Chatham Naval Memorial is the name of C/JX 206122 Ordinary Seaman James Richardson serving on H.M.S. Registan with the Royal Navy who died 27/05/1941.

Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-
James Richardson was born on 1st December 1917 in West Auckland, as were all his siblings.   The son of coal miner James and Edith (nee Barker) Richardson who had married in 1911, their first child Thomas was born that year, followed by Maud (b.1912), George (b.1914), Harry (b.1916), James, Fred (b.1920), Ivy (b.1922), Alan (b.1929) and Kenneth (b.1932).

The 1921 census shows the family living at 4 Oakley Terrace, West Auckland along with James’ brother George, also a miner who worked at Newton Cap Colliery.

In 1939, James and Edith Richardson lived at 18 Oakley Street, West Auckland with George, James, Ivy, Alan and Kenneth.  George was a bus driver, James a welder and Ivy worked a tailoring factory worker [presumably West Auckland Clothing Company], Alan and Kenneth were still at school.

Kevin Richardson has provided the following information:

The service details of Ordinary Seaman James Richardson have not been researched.

Originally a merchant ship, Registan was requisitioned by the Royal Navy on 13th September 1940 and converted to an ocean boarding vessel, HMS Registan.  Ocean boarding vessels were used to enforce wartime blockades by intercepting and boarding foreign vessels.

On 27th May 1941 HMS Registan was bombed by German aircraft off Cape Cornwall and caught fire, 63 crew members were lost including OS James Richardson.  The survivors were rescued by HMS Wivern, HMS Vansittart and HMS Wild Swan and landed at Milford Haven.  The badly damaged ship was towed to Falmouth by rescue tug HMS Goliath, where she was rebuilt as a merchant and returned to the owner in November 1941.

James Richardson is remembered at West Auckland on W108.03, at St. Helen Auckland on S145.05 and on our List of Ships’ Crews.