On Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France is the name of 15859 Private James Ferrie serving with the 115 Company Auxiliary Military, Pioneer Corps who died 17/06/1940.
He was the son of Daniel and Mary Ferrie.
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
James Ferrie was one of 3 children of whom only 2 survived, offspring of coal miner Daniel Ferrie and Ellen Brennan.
His father Daniel Ferrie was born at Felling, Gateshead, historically in County Durham, August 15th 1875 and married in 1901 to Ellen Brennan, native of Jarrow. Newly married Daniel and Ellen occupied 7, Stewart Terrace, Felling. they had also taken into their home draper’s assistant Catherine Brennan (17), Daniel was employed as a stone-man/coal miner below ground at the colliery. Their son James was born at Felling in 1901. Ellen Ferrie nee Brennan died during the 4th quarter (Oct/Nov/Dec) 1903 either giving birth to their son Michael or soon after of postpartum complications.
Daniel Ferrie remarried November 25th 1917 to war widow Mary Ann Greener nee Hickey. Her husband Sapper William Greener Royal Engineers had been killed in action on the Somme in 1915 leaving her with 2 sons under the age of 3, James and Joseph William.
Daniel Ferrie and Mary Ann had 3 children born at Felling, Gateshead, Mary Jane Ferrie, March 2nd 1919, Daniel Peter, August 21st 1920 and Theresa, October 16th 1925. In 1939, with the exception of Daniel Peter, who had joined the Merchant Navy, they were living at 138, Prince Edward Road East, South Shields, historically in County Durham.
Britain for the second time was at war with Germany after the declaration of September 3rd 1939. James Ferrie enlisted and was assigned as Private 15957 to the 115 Company Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps and served in France and Belgium. The 115th were amongst 28 companies of the Pioneer Corps which fought as infantry, engaged in mine clearance, guarding bases, undertaking logistical operations and laying prefabricated track on beaches. During the retreat to Dunkirk the corps were making their way to St. Nazaire in order to be evacuated.
The Lancastria was an ocean going liner, originally named Tyrrhenia, she had been built on the Clyde for the Anchor Line a subsidiary of Cunard but renamed after a refit in 1924 as Lancastria. Until 1932 she sailed between Liverpool and New York, and was then used as a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Upon the outbreak of war she was requisitioned as a troopship by the UK Government and underwent a refit in New York where all unnecessary fittings were removed, she was repainted battleship grey, her portholes were blackened out and 4 inch guns were installed. The Lancastria was first used to evacuate troops from Norway in April 1940 and bombed on her way home. After carrying troops to Iceland the Lancastria returned to Glasgow but was then ordered to Liverpool.
Within hours of her arrival in Liverpool she was urgently recalled to sea. Her crew were ashore going on leave but an announcement made at the main railway station successfully brought nearly all of them back on board.
Setting sail to France she firstly evacuated troops during Operation Aerial who had been cut off by the German advance before being sent to St. Nazaire. The Lancastria arrived at the mouth of the Loire estuary, June 16th 1940 waiting for the tide with some 30 other vessels of various sizes.
The Lancastria could take circa 3,000 troops but the Captain was told to take as many troops as he could and to ignore the limits of International Law such was the urgency to evacuate as many troops from the beaches as humanly possible. Amongst those ferried out to the Lancastria was Private James Ferrie who must have considered himself fortunate as not all of the men made it on board.
At 13:50 hours the Germans began bombing and several ships nearby were hit. The captain of the destroyer HMS Havelock advised the Lancastria to set sail without an escort but her captain decided to wait.
At 15:50 Junkers Ju 88 bombers began another raid. Lancastria still at anchor was a sitting duck and hit by at least 3 possibly 4 bombs ripping her apart and in the process rupturing her fuel tanks. The ship listed to starboard and the men on deck were ordered to the port side in an attempt to stabilise the ship but this caused a list to port. The order was given to abandon ship but most of the 16 lifeboats had been damaged. The first to make it over the side was filled with women and children and as the catastrophe continued many of the men threw themselves over the side. All this took place in 22 minutes as at 16:12 the Lancastria capsized.
Without life jackets many of those in the water drowned or died from hypothermia or were chocked by fuel oil and according to some survivors the German aircraft attacked repeatedly, flying low over the sea mercilessly firing at those in the water.
Amongst those who perished June 17th 1940 was Private 15957 James Ferrie Pioneer Corps. He was 37 years of age and single. His sacrifice is recorded as one of 4,509 names inscribed on the Dunkirk Memorial which stands at the entrance to Dunkirk Town Cemetery, Nord, France commemorating casualties of the British Expeditionary Force of 1939-1940, those who died in captivity during the campaign and those who have no known grave.
James’ step brother James Greener served with the Merchant Navy, Joseph William Greener with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, a Merchant Navy organisation made up of civilian crews, his half sibling Steward Daniel Peter Ferrie perished at sea in 1942 as did his first cousin James Ferrie in 1942.
Mary Ann Ferris-Greener nee Hickey died in the district of South Shields in 1941 having borne the loss of her first husband in 1915 and stepson James Ferrie but neither she or her husband Daniel Ferrie, who died during the 1st quarter (Jan/Feb/Mar) 1942, lived to know of the fate that befell their only son Daniel Peter.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
