The S.S. Scotia was built by William Denny and Brothers Ltd in Dumbarton; launched in 1921, she was 3441 tons. She was owned by the London & North Western Railway (L. & N.W.R.) and operated as a ferry between Holyhead and Dublin with a crew predominantly from Anglesey. The Scotia was commandeered by the Admiralty during WW2 as a transport ship.
With the very experienced Captain William Henry Hughes at the helm (later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) for his actions at Dunkirk), and having already successfully carried two cargoes of troops from Dunkirk, the Scotia returned and embarked another load of troops, and began the journey to Dover.
Shortly afterwards, on the morning of the 1st of June 1940, H.M. Transport ship Scotia was targeted by Junkers 87 (Stuka) dive bombers. Of at least four bombs that hit the Scotia, one went down the funnel before exploding, and soon the ship was listing astern. The order was given to abandon ship, but enemy aircraft attacked again, killing many in the water by machine gun fire and dropping more bombs onto the ship. It was estimated that up to 330 on board the Scotia had lost their lives, 28 of them being crew.
Witnessing this, the destroyer H.M.S. Esk came to the aid of the survivors, rescuing over a thousand men and along with H.M.S. Worcester and H.M.S. Mosquito, attempted to beat off the attacking aircraft.
One of the Holyhead crew (Richard Jones – Quartermaster of the Scotia) was buried in Margate Cemetery. One can only assume that he had been wounded or injured and subsequently died, either on the journey to Margate or soon after arrival; whichever was the case, his death is recorded as the 2nd of June, 1940.
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