No.C/JX 139808, Leading Seaman, Douglas Rowland CHARLES
Aged 23
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Douglas Rowland Charles was born on 16th October 1917 in Burwell (Newmarket Q4-1917 3B:598), baptised in Burwell on 9th December 1917, the son of Sidney Harold and Edith Lilian CHARLES (née DYSON) of Burwell. His father was a farm bailiff.
Two of his uncles died in WW1, Charles CHARLES in 1918 in Belgium and William DYSON who was buried in Burwell in 1919. Both are named on the war memorial. In the 1939 register his parents, father [23/1/1888] an iron foundry worker now, and mother [17/1/1890] were living at Mandeville, Church Lane, Burwell. With them was Mrs Elsie PORTER and there are four closed records. |
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On 13 Sep 1940, the Steam Merchant Ship, "Registan" (5886 tons) of F.C. Strick & Co Ltd, London was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and converted to the
ocean boarding vessel (OBV) HMS "Registan" ( pennant F 106).
On 27th May 1941, the ship was bombed by German aircraft off Cape Cornwall. The ship caught fire and 63 crew members were lost. The survivors were rescued by HMS Wivern (D 66), HMS Vansittart (D 64) and HMS Wild Swan (D 62) and landed at Milford Haven. The badly damaged ship was towed to Falmouth by the British tug Goliath, where she was rebuilt to a merchant and was returned to the owner in November 1941. Another local man was killed on the Registan with Douglas, he was Lieutenant, Dudley Jack Barnato JOEL from Moulton. At 01.12 hours on 29th September 1942 the unescorted 'Registan' was torpedoed and sunk by U-332(Johannes Liebe) about 140 miles east of Barbados. Eleven crew members and five gunners were lost. The master, 34 crew members and 3 gunners were picked up on 30th September by the Argentinian merchantman 'Rio Neuqueen' and landed at Pernambuco.
In Falmouth Cemetery are five headstones commemorating the remains of 26 seaman recovered from HMS Registan photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
