On the Plymouth Naval Memorial is the name of D/KX 82188 Petty Officer Stoker Walter Watson serving on H.M.S. Mahratta with the Royal Navy who died 25/02/1944.
He was the husband of Betty Watson, of Keyham, Devonport.
Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-
Walter Watson was born on 12th April 1913 in Evenwood, the son of Welshman William Watson and his wife Mary Ann and brother to Fred, William, Mary Ann and Robert. William Watson was a publican, running the Queen’s Head in the Centre, Evenwood. Following William’s death in 1920, Mary continued to run the pub which was the family home and where Walter grew up. Mary Watson eventually moved to 53 Gordon Lane, Ramshaw.
At the start of 1940, having enlisted in the Royal Navy, Walter married Betty Hackworthy in Plymouth and was the father to a daughter, Beryl, born after his death. Betty Watson lived at Keyham, Devonport.
Kevin Richardson has provided the following information:
The Service Record of D/KX 82188 Petty Officer Walter Watson has not been researched and the following details are from various sources.
The Arctic Convoys
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and the United States to the northern ports of the Soviet Union, Archangel and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945. About 1400 merchant ships delivered vital supplies to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and the U.S. Navy. Eighty-five merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships were lost.
The convoys assembled and sailed from Loch Ewe in Scotland. The route was around occupied Norway to the Soviet ports and was particularly dangerous due to the proximity of German air, submarine and surface forces. The likelihood of severe weather, drift ice and the constant darkness and daily attacks made the voyages extremely dangerous.
20 February 1944: JW57 convoy left Loch Ewe, 42 ships strong.
23 February: the convoy is sighted by the German air reconnaissance.
25 February: One U-boat hit and another sunk. A third, U-990 launched two torpedoes and hit the escort ship HMS Mahratta about 280 miles from North Cape. She exploded and sank with only 16 survivors from a crew of 236 rescued from the freezing water by H.M.S. Impulsive.
Walter Watson is remembered at Evenwood on E69.01 and E69.04 and on our List of Ships’ Crews.
