John O’Handley

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission u-boat.net Merchant Seamen Deaths, 1939 -1953

Name: John O’Handley Rank: Fireman and Trimmer Service: SS Gandia Canadian Merchant Navy Date of Birth: January 1, 1920 Place of Birth: Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Permanent Address: Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Marital Status: Single Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Ronald Hugh O’Handley (Father) Glace Bay, NS Date of Death: January 22, 1942 Age at Death: 22 Memorial: Halifax Memorial, Halifax, NS Grave Reference: Panel 22 Commemorated on Page 203 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 22, September 19, November 25 John O’Handley was the son of Ronald Hugh O’Handley (1886-1972) and Mary Margaret (McMullin) O’Handley (1891-1931) of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. John was the tenth of twelve children. John O’Handley served as a Fireman and Trimmer on the SS Gandia. On January 22, 1942, the ship was enroute from Liverpool, UK, to St. John, New Brunswick. The crew totalled 69, including the captain and nine DEMS (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) gunners. The Gandia carried 500 tons of potash as ballast. The ship departed Liverpool on January 12th with convoy ON-56; however, dispersed from the convoy during a storm on January 16. Sailing unescorted in rough seas, on January 22 the ship was hit at the stern by two torpedoes from U-135 at 22.21 hours and the ship sank within ten minutes 420 miles east of Cape Race in the North Atlantic. An order was given to abandon ship and the master, 69 crew members and nine gunners tried to abandon the ship in four lifeboats, but two of them were destroyed by rough seas while the remaining boats were only partially filled. Some of the men swimming in the water were picked up by the boats, including the master, but 30 men were lost in the sinking. One of the lifeboats saw 21 occupants die of exposure and only eight crew members and two gunners were still alive when USS Bernadou rescued them on February 5 and took the survivors to Reykjavik. The other lifeboat had been launched with 21 occupants and picked up seven others from the water after the sinking. 24 would die of exposure and only four men were rescued by the Portuguese motor trawler João Corte Real i17 February 17 and landed at Oporto on February 26. From the crew of 79 only 14 survived. John O’Handley was lost at the sinking on January 22, 1942. His name is commemorated on the Halifax Memorial.