Perils Faced by Merchant Seamen in Wartime Ports

The heroism of merchant seamen during the Atlantic campaigns is often told in stories through the lens of storms, U boat attacks, and the relentless danger of open water. Yet the perils they faced did not end when their ships reached safe harbour. Ports, bustling, chaotic, and essential to the war effort, held their own hazards. Loading volatile cargo, repairing damaged vessels, and preparing for the next voyage demanded constant labour under unforgiving conditions. Halifax, one of the most vital wartime ports in the North Atlantic, witnessed its share of tragedy. Name: Thomas Henry Michael Pett Rank: Ordinary Seaman Service: MV Asbjord Date of Birth: February 13, 1926 Place of Birth: Oldham, Lancashire, England Residence: 342 Rees Road, in Oldham, England Height: 5 feet, 8 Inches Eye Colour: Blue Hair Colour: Brown Date of Death: January 4, 1943 (Halifax, NS) Age at Death: 16 Cemetery: St. Johns Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia Commemorated on Page 210 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 27, September 24, and November 29 Thomas Henry Michael Pett was was the son of Henry Weymouth Pett (1888-1980) and Kate Elizabeth Caroline (Greenop) Pett (1898-1985). He was the brother of Peggy Edith Kate Pett (1924-1990). His father was an electrical engineer. The family was living at 342 Rees Road, in Oldham when Thomas joined the Merchant Navy in September of 1942. Thomas Pett served as an Ordinary Seaman on the MV Asbjord, a Danish cargo ship that served under Canadian government control during WWII. The Asbjord had crossed the Atlantic in Convoy HX 206, which departed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 6, 1942, and arrived in Liverpool, UK, on September 18, 1942. Thomas, known as “Tommy” joined the ship on the return voyage to Halifax in late 1942. On January 4, Thomas was working under the instructions of the 2nd Officer, picking up electrical clusters, (electrical cables) on the MV Asbjord, anchored in Halifax Harbour for a week, when he fell from between decks to the lower hold. He was transported to the Halifax Infirmary, and the cause of his death was certified by Dr. Woodbury as a facture of the cervical spine (broken neck). The NS Certificate of Registration of Death lists his death as occurring on a Canadian National Ship and the date of burial as January 6, 1943, in the St. Johns Cemetery. Name: Joseph Rio Rank: Boatswain Service: MV Saintonge Date of Birth: March 6, 1908 Place of Birth: Le Croisic, Département de la Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France Residence: Madrague-Ville, Marseille, France Martial Status: Married Antoinette Rio (Wife) Marseille, France Date of Death: October 8, 1943 (Bedford Basin, Halifax, NS) Age at Death: 35 Cemetery: Gate of Heaven Cemetery Lower Sackville, Halifax Co Plot: 04, G, 37A Joseph Rio served as a Boatswain on the Saintonge, originally a French vessel (managed by Compagnie Auxiliaire de Navigation) that was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport. Many French sailors chose to continue serving on these ships under British management to support the Allied cause. On October 8, 1943, while working aboard the Saintouge, anchored in Bedford Basin, he was struck by a falling derrick boom, suffering a fatal skull fracture. Joseph Rio was buried in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery on October 12, 1943. Name: Abdul (Abdulla) Malik Rank: Seaman Service: SS Sembilangan Date of Birth: 1896 Place of Birth: Calcutta, India Address: Shipping Master, Calcutta, India Martial Status: Married Date of Death: May 29, 1942 Age at Death: 46 Cemetery: Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax, NS Plot: Coloured Sec. D.W. I Abdul (Abdulla) Malik was a Seaman serving on the SS Sembilanganin. On May 29, 1942 when the ship was docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax, he fell from the mast of the SS Sembilangan and was taken to the Halifax Infirmary where he succumbed to his wounds. He was buried on May 30, 1942 in Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax, NS. These men are not alone. Merchant seamen with no direct ties to Nova Scotia lie buried in cemeteries in Halifax, Lockport, Sydney, and Yarmouth, their graves a quiet testament to the global nature of the merchant service. Their causes of death reflect the harsh realities of the era: heart failure, pneumonia, diabetic coma, tuberculosis, drowning, diphtheria, and a host of work related accidents. Their resting places along the Nova Scotian coast remind us that the Battle of the Atlantic was fought not only at sea but also in the ports that kept the convoys moving. Non-Nova Scotian Merchant Seaman casualties of WWII buried in cemeteries in Nova Scotia

Sources: Province of Nova Scotia - Registrations of Death Records of Death of Merchant Seaman findagrave records Canadian Virtual War Memorial