Name: Joseph Self Rank: Petty Officer Stoker Service Number: P/KX 79756 Service: HMS Culver (Y87), Royal Navy Date of Birth: June 20, 1907 Place of Birth: Springhill, Cumberland, NS Date of Death: January 31, 1942 Age: 34 Memorial: Portsmouth Naval Memorial, England Panel 67, Column 3) Little is known about Joseph Self’s family information. There is a 1911 England census with Joseph Self in England with parents Samuel Robert and Margert which could be the Joseph Self born in Springhill, NS and who died January 31, 1942. Joseph served on HMS Culver (Y87); a Banff-Class Sloop of the Royal Navy. It was built in Quincy, Massachusetts as a as a Lake-Class Cutter – the USCG Mendota (United States Coast Guard). It was transferred to the Royal Navy under the Lend Lease Program and commissioned in the Royal Navy on April 30, 1941. At 23.31 hours on January 31, 1942, U-105 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy SL-98 and observed two hits and a large explosion. The U-boat captain thought that he had hit an ammunition freighter, but in fact it was HMS Culver (commanded by Lt. Cdr. R.T. Gordon-Duff, RN) that had blown up with the loss of the commanding officer, seven officers and 118 ratings. Of historical note, on June 2, 1943, the U-105 was itself sunk (all 53 hands lost) by the one-of-a-kind Potez-CAMS 141 flying boat aircraft, named the Antarès, built by the French. It was the aircraft’s sole success of the war before being retired and scrapped in 1944. The submarine was sunk by depth charges after a 2-hour chase.

Sources: Commonwealth War Graves Commission uboat.net