In Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan is the Commonwealth War Grave of:

T.A. Anderson
Petty Officer Telegraphist
C/JX 144913
Royal Navy
29th October 1942   age 28

He was the son of William and Phyllis Anderson, of Murton, Co. Durham.

Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-
Thomas Albert Anderson was born on 11th December 1919 in Murton the son of coal miner William Anderson and his wife Phyllis (nee Moorhead) who had married in South Shields in 1909.  Other children in the family were Lewis (b.1913), Ruby (b.1918) and Mary (b.1921).

In 1941 Thomas was part of the crew of H.M.S. Tamar, the Royal Navy’s base ship in Hong Kong.  On 8th December 1941 during the Battle of Hong Kong she was towed out to a buoy and scuttled four days later once it was clear that the advance could not be arrested and to avoid being used by the invading Japanese forces.

Thomas Anderson was captured by the Japanese on Christmas Day 1941 and originally held at Shamshuipo Prisoner of War Camp in Hong Kong, he died of dysentery on board the Lisbon Maru on 29th October 1942 whilst being transferred to a POW camp in Japan.

Thomas Albert Anderson is remembered at Murton on M47.01 and M47.07, and on our List of Ships’ Crews.