On Tower Hill Memorial, Trinity Square, London is the name of Senior Second Engineer Officer Henry Norman Talbott serving on M.V. Athelsultan (Liverpool) with the Merchant Navy who died 22/09/1943.
Christine Davison has submitted the following:-
Henry Norman Talbot/Talbott also know as Harry, was the son of Henry Bendall and Isabella Talbott nee Reay, and the husband of Lily nee Wilkie.
The Commonwealth War Graves spell his surname with only one T.
Harry was born in Sunderland in late 1894. He was one of seven children. His parents married in April 1894 at the Royalty Congregational Church, Sunderland.
His father, who was born in Weymouth, Dorset, was a shipping engineer. He seemed to have travelled about with his job, and the 1921 census is the first one he is listed in Sunderland, where they were living at Greta Terrace.
Harry qualified as a second-class Engineer in May 1919 at the Marine College in South Shields.
Harry married Lilian/Lily Wilkie in 1921; they had one daughter, Margaret.
He served in the Merchant Navy during the First World War and then returned to his Engineering studies. He seems to have travelled quite extensively while working as an engineer. In 1939, the family were living at 7 Beckenham Avenue, East Boldon, with Isabella’s mother and sister.
In 1942, Harry was First Engineer on board M.V. Athelsultan, they were part of the Atlantic Convoy and was also the Convoy Commodore’s ship.
In September 1942, the ship was travelling in Convoy en route from Port Everglades and Halifax, carrying 13,000 tons of Molasses, used in gunpowder and 250 tons of alcohol.
The convoy had scattered due to bad weather, and taking advantage of the weather, the convoy was attacked by U-boats. M.V. Athelsultan was torpedoed at 00.19 on 22nd of September 1942 by U 167, she sank in under a minute and a half. Out of a crew of 61, only 10 survived.
Harry’s daughter married Wilf Duffett and remained in East Boldon until her death.
Henry Norman Talbott is remembered at East Boldon on E46.01 and in our List of Ships’ Crews.
