Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Paul Henzell HEMY and Margaret Isabelle nee STRAUGHAN

Aged 15, Claude joined the merchant navy as a cabin boy on SS Siljan, a Norwegian ship which sailed from Fremantle to Falmouth, England. In England he was apprenticed to the West Hartleford Steamship Navigation Co. and as a cadet travelled on a large cargo ship to North and South America. In December 1938 Claude married Jean Sharp (1914 - 1982) and they had one child pre war. He had secured a job with a large power station suppyling Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Served with the RAF Volunteer Reserve as a Navigator. At the time of his death, he was a member of No. 51 Squadron RAF, a part of Coastal Command, based at RAF Station Chivenor in Devon . Their primary role was to carry out anti submarine patrols of the Bay of Biscay. On 3 Aug 1942 Claude's crew of six members of the RAF were in Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley Serial Number Z9119, MH-G. They were presumed to have been shot down By 2 Arado 196s About 130 Miles Southwest of Lands End, Cornwall during an Anti Submarine Warfare Patrol, as a large explosion was seen by other aircraft.

Claude's uncle, Mr Vincent Weir Hemy served in the British Merchant Navy aboard SS Wellpark as a 4th Engineer during WW2 and had died as a Prisoner of the Japanese on 15 Aug 1942, aged 55.