On the Tower Hill Memorial is the name of Second Mate John William Clark Eadington, serving on S.S. Charles Goodanew (Plymouth) with the Mercantile Marine, who died 17/04/1917.

The son of Peter Todd and Mary Eadington and the husband of Margaret Eadington (nee Smith), of 108, Beaumont Street, Blyth. He was born at Backworth, Northumberland.

Built as the Levenwood, in 1915 she was purchased by the Plymouth Mutual Cooperative Industrial Society and renamed Charles Goodanew after the founder of the society. She was bought to transport coal from the North East of England to Plymouth, however later the same year she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and commenced war service as a supply vessel designated ‘Store Carrier No 71’.

On the 17th April 1917 the Charles Goodanew was en-route from Aberdeen to Scapa Flow with a cargo of government stores, which included three 18″ Mark VII torpedoes. At 5am when 3.5 miles off Rattray Head, she struck a mine which had been laid by UC-45, commanded by Kapitnleutnant Hubert Aust, and sank immediately. Thirteen of her crew were lost and only two survived, the 2nd engineer and a fireman who were picked up by the Admiralty drifter Sagitta

We found the wreck in 2004 however it wasn’t until the 1st September 2006 that it was dived when we positively identified her after finding the remains of the 18″ Mark VII torpedoes amongst the wreckage in the aft cargo hold.

The wreck lies 3 miles NExE from Rattray Head lighthouse at 57 38.279N 01 44.235W orientated 080/260 degrees with the stern to the east at 57 38.282N 01 44.205W and the forward end of the wreckage to the west at 57 38.276N 01 44.264W.

Source: Buchan Shipwrecks

John William Clark Eadington is remembered at Blyth on B42.24, at Cowpen on C58.01, in the Mercantile Marine  Roll of Honour 1917 and in our List of Ships’ Crews.