In Memory Of

VAN WYK, NORMAN LESLIE

Service Details
Age:
 17
Date of Birth:
 1925-11-02
Rank:
 Boy
Unit:
 S.S. Breiviken (Norway)
Regiment:
 Merchant Navy
Date of Death:
 1943-07-07
Cause of Death:
 DS BREVIKEN (Norway) was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-178 off Portuguese East Africa on 4 July 1943, when on a voyage from Louren?o Marques and Durban to Mombasa with a cargo of 3812 tons coal, having departed Durban alone on 1 July 1943. The torpedo hit on the starboard side between # 1 and 2 holds, causing her to list to starboard and sink in a couple of minutes, so there was no time to launch the lifeboats. Most of the crew went over the rail and down the port side of the ship; some were able to get onto debris and 2 rafts that floated up. 20 men were taken aboard the U-boat, where the captain was questioned by an officer who spoke very good Norwegian. They were then placed on the rafts. They reached the coast of Portuguese East Africa on 7 July 1943. Out of a crew of 34 and 2 gunners, 3 crew had drowned.
Commemoration
Cemetery:
 DIED AT SEA
Country:
 Lost at Sea
Additional Information
Citations:
 ***Not yet accepted for War Grave Status by CWGC, need service file
Son of James Edwin and Maria Olive Elizabeth (nee Lyne) van Wyk. Born Pietermaritzburg. Commemorated on Merchant Navy WWII Memorial in St. John with St. Raphael Anglican Church, Sydenham, Durban.