Able Seaman P/JX392506 Cyril William Thomas Woodgate HMS President III, S.S Fort Athabasca...

...was born on 18th August 1924 at Brockham, Surrey, the son of Thomas William Woodgate, a carter on a farm, and Bertha nee Huggett.

In 1942 the family moved to 1 Broughton Cottage Heaverham, Kemsing,

Kent Cyril joined the Royal Navy on the 27th September 1942 and trained in Pwllheli, N. Wales. Following which, he was posted to the shore station HMS President III.

HMS President III was the administration base for Defensive Equipped Merchant Ships (D.E.M.S). These were merchant ships armed with guns that were manned by Royal Navy Gunners to give additional protection to convoys and Cyril trained as a gunner for this role.

Posted to the 7,150 ton S.S Fort Athabasca, he was one of five gunners on the ship. In 1943 the ship sailed in a large convoy of tankers, ammunition and supply ships to Bari in Italy, where on the the 2nd of December, the ship was in harbour loading seventy six tons of cargo, mail and two captured German 1,000lb rocket bombs ready for its return journey.

On the night of the 2nd of December the Luftwaffe launched a surprise attack on the town, carried out by Ju88s of Luftlotte 2. Although after dark, the harbour lights had not been extinguished and the bombers had no problem in finding the target which was subjected to heavy bombing. An ammunition ship ship next to Athabasca blew up setting fire to the Athabasca, which was itself hit by bombs. The fire caused the two German bombs to explode, killing forty six out of the crew complement of fifty six. Cyril was one of those who died.

He has no known grave and is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and on the Kemsing War Memorial. (http://www.kemsingheritagecentre.org.uk/wordpress/kemsing-war-memorial/) 

Note:

The explosion of the ammunition ship caused a domino effect and the effect was devastating. Twenty eight allied ships were sunk for the loss of one of the attackers. But by far, the most serious consequence was the destruction of the Liberty ship USS John Harvey with its cargo of liquid mustard gas bombs, - loaded on board in case the enemy resorted to chemical warfare. Bari was engulfed with the ensuing gas cloud causing many casualties and the effect was covered up by the British and U.S governments. The death toll was at least 1,000 military personnel and a similar number of civilians, with many more injured. The harbour was all but destroyed and out of action for many months.