The Sinking of the SS Kyno On the evening of August 28, 1940, the Atlantic Ocean bore witness to yet another wartime tragedy. The British steam merchant vessel SS Kyno, enroute from New York to Hull via Halifax, was struck by a torpedo fired by German submarine U-28. The attack occurred at 8:57 p.m., approximately 30 miles north-northeast of Rockall, Ireland, in the North Atlantic. The Kyno, a 3,946-ton cargo ship built in 1924 by Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co. Ltd., was part of Convoy HX-66, transporting over 4,400 tons of general cargo, including steel. Despite being in the convoy, the ship was vulnerable to the prowling U-boats that haunted Allied shipping lanes during the early years of the Second World War. Among the 37 crew members aboard was 26-year-old Douglas Baker, a Fireman and Trimmer. When the torpedo struck, five crew members, including Douglas Baker, lost their lives in the explosion and chaos that followed. The remaining 33 survivors, including the ship’s captain, were rescued by the SS Queen Maud and landed safely in Methil, Scotland. Henry Winfield Douglas Baker was born on September 24, 1913 in Marie Joseph, Guysborough Co., Nova Scotia. He was the son of Charles Henry Baker (1880-1946) and Marion Louise (Douglas) Baker (1892-1962). He was the husband of Nellie Alice (Croft) Baker (1916-2002). Commemorated on Page 90 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on February 25 and July 25 His name is listed on the Halifax Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and on a family grave stone in the Fancys Point Cemetery, Marie Joseph, Guysborough Co., Nova Scotia.

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial findagrave u-boat.net Record UK Merchant Seaman Deaths