Crew documents for the MANDASOR, 1940
Papers relating to Voyage 62 of the MANDASOR (1920): Brocklebank Line forms with details of the crew of the MANDASOR, shore wages drawn at Glasgow and cash advanced at Calcutta, September 1940 to December 1940 (5 sheets).
Administrative / biographical background
Alfred (Alf) Hill was born at Stockton-on-Tees in 1896. He first went to sea as an apprentice in 1911 and qualified as master (certificate number 009935) in 1924. He was master of the MANDASOR (1920) of Liverpool, Brocklebank Line, attacked by a German raider in the Indian Ocean on 24 January 1941. His courage in refusing to abandon the MANDASOR until the ship was sinking was recognised by the award of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea. Hill and the other surviving crew members were held in POW camps at Sandbostel and Westertimke in Germany. During captivity, Hill was a confidence officer representing the interests of Merchant Navy personnel and later had a role in the running of the theatre at Milag Nord. Meanwhile, his wife Catherine and teenage son lived in Aysgarth Road in Wallasey, Cheshire. After the war, Hill returned to seagoing employment and later became commodore of the Brocklebank Line fleet. He had been in the company’s service for 43 years on his retirement in 1960. An account of his wartime experiences was published in ‘Voyage 62: Some Experiences of SS Mandasor and Her Crew during the World War’, 1947.
Administrative / biographical background
Alfred (Alf) Hill was born at Stockton-on-Tees in 1896. He first went to sea as an apprentice in 1911 and qualified as master (certificate number 009935) in 1924. He was master of the MANDASOR (1920) of Liverpool, Brocklebank Line, attacked by a German raider in the Indian Ocean on 24 January 1941. His courage in refusing to abandon the MANDASOR until the ship was sinking was recognised by the award of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea. Hill and the other surviving crew members were held in POW camps at Sandbostel and Westertimke in Germany. During captivity, Hill was a confidence officer representing the interests of Merchant Navy personnel and later had a role in the running of the theatre at Milag Nord. Meanwhile, his wife Catherine and teenage son lived in Aysgarth Road in Wallasey, Cheshire. After the war, Hill returned to seagoing employment and later became commodore of the Brocklebank Line fleet. He had been in the company’s service for 43 years on his retirement in 1960. An account of his wartime experiences was published in ‘Voyage 62: Some Experiences of SS Mandasor and Her Crew during the World War’, 1947.
Record details
| Item reference: | REG25/000075.1 |
|---|---|
| Level: | ITEM |
| Extent: | 1 folder |
| Date made: | 1940 |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |