Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Robert Raymond GORDON was born on 13 Aug 1919 in Ipswich, Qld. Australia. He died on 7th Mar 1944 in the Arabian Sea during 2nd World War when he was stationed at H.M.S. Stag, which was a military shore base at Port Said at the most northerly end of the Suez Canal.
It seems a lot of military personnel were preparing for "Operation Husky" which was the invasion of Sicily.
Military Service: Able Seaman Service No. B2883. He was one of 3 killed when ship was hit by torpedos.
On 7 Mar, 1944, the unescorted Tarifa which was a Norwegian Merchant Ship (Master Hans Bjønness) was hit between #3 and #4 holds and near #5 hold by two torpedos from U-510 about 250 miles east of Socotra. The ship had joined a convoy on 3 March, but continued alone on a zigzag course three days later near Ras al Hadd. The explosions destroyed the radio station and a lifeboat, so the master, 46 crew members,101 military personnel from Australia and New Zealand (Capt A.I.F.S.R. Dawson) and one passenger on board abandoned ship in five lifeboats within 5 minutes and a few minutes before the ship sank. An Australian soldier and a gunner had been killed and another gunner fatally injured who was later buried at sea. The survivors were distributed between the boats that each took a raft in tow and then set sail for landfall at the RAF base on Socotra in the evening on 12 March. The next day, aircraft were sent out and located the remaining survivors within an hour. They were picked up by HMS Avon (K 97) (LtCdr P.G.A. King, DSC, RD, RNR) on 14 March and landed at Aden.
One of Robert Raymond's ship mates conveyed the story to the family that Robert never had a chance of survival as he was in one part of the ship that was hit directly by one of the torpedos.