Remembering World War II

George Irel Goving

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial Centre for the History of Seafarers at War uboat.net findagrave (Middleton, Annapolis Co., NS) findagrave (Halifax Memorial)

George Irel Goving Able-Bodied Seaman Canadian Merchant Navy (Service 1939-1943) SS West Portal February 27, 1915 Eureka, Pictou County, Nova Scotia 5 feet, 8 inches Fair Brown Brown Single February 5, 1943 27 Halifax Memorial, Nova Scotia Panel 23 Commemorated on Page 145 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on March 24 and August 21 George Irel Goving was born in Eureka, Pictou County, Nova Scotia. He was the foster son of William John Betts (1896- 1954) and Fanny Betts (1879-1958) of Port George, Annapolis Co., Nova Scotia. William and Fanny Betts were born in England and immigrated to Canada in 1914 with a daughter, Margaret. William was a farmer farmed for 40 years retiring in 1952. George Goving began service with the Merchant Navy in 1939. Existing records confirm he served on the SS Cameronia as a fireman and sailed from Glasgow, Scotland to New York arriving on July 29, 1940. He listed his residence as London, England and his next of kin as William John Betts, Annapolis Co., NS. He sailed from London, England, on December 24, 1941 arriving in New York on January 2, 1942 on M/T Morgenen serving as a Mess Boy. This record indicates he had served in the Merchant Navy for four years. On November 24, 1942 he signed on in Halifax as a Seaman with the SS West Portal when the ship docked in Halifax en route from Belfast, Ireland, to New York. The SS West Portal departed Halifax November 25, 1942 and arrived in New York on November 30, 1942. SS West Portal departed New York City 24 January 24, 1943 en route to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Liverpool, England as part of Convoy SC-118 consisting of 61 ships. The ship carried general cargo, army stores and mail with a crew of 77. On February 5, 1942, the SS West Portal had fallen behind the convoy and encountered U-413 in the early afternoon. The u-boat fired torpedoes and hit the ship in the stern. The U-boat crew observed how some of the eight officers, 32 crewmen, 12 passengers and 25 armed guards abandoned ship in lifeboats. HMS Vanessa received a distress signal from the ship and left the convoy to search for survivors. No position had been reported and the search proved to be fruitless. All 77 aboard the SS West Portal including Seaman George Irel Goving were lost. George Irel Goving, names is listed on the Halifax Memorial and remembered on the gravestone of William and Fanny Betts in the Pine Grove Cemetery, Middleton, Nova Scotia.