Raymond Steed
Encyclopedia
Raymond Victor Steed was the second youngest British services
recruit to die during the Second World War. He was just 14 years and 207 days old when the ship on which he was a galley boy, SS Empire Morn
, was blown up after it hit a U-boat
mine on 26 April 1943. He was previously described by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
as "the youngest known British services death," but this was revised in February 2010, when it was confirmed Reginald Earnshaw
was actually younger, at 14 years and 152 days.
, Monmouthshire
. He was one of nine children. The family later moved to Christchurch Road, Newport
, near Cardiff
.
Steed signed up to the British Merchant Navy Reserve Pool on 29 December 1942, two months after his 14th birthday. He joined his first ship, the former Royal Mail
Line SS Atlantis, on the same day. Steed served as a steward's boy on the Atlantis, which had been converted into a hospital ship. He was awarded the Africa Star
with clasp during Operation Torch
, when Allied troops landed on the beaches of North Africa
. Steed left the ship three months later, in March 1943, to join the SS Empire Morn.
built by Barrow-in-Furness
-based Vickers-Armstrong Ltd in 1941, started on 4 April 1943. The ship sailed from Milford Haven
on that day, loaded with military equipment destined for Casablanca
and Gibraltar
. She arrived at Casablanca on 25 April, and then set off for Gibraltar. At 9:45 p.m. on 26 April 1943, the ship hit a U-boat mine off Rabat
, Morocco
at 34°08′N 07°58′W. A secondary explosion damaged the stern and blew out much of the crew accommodation. German records later revealed the Morn had detonated a mine laid on 10 April 1943, by U-boat 117. When the order was given to abandon ship, a head count of crew found 21 men missing. Steed was among this number.
Towed back into Casablanca, the damaged ship was expected to be declared a "total constructive loss", however it was refloated and towed to Gibraltar, by the tugs Lorient and Schelde, eventually arriving on 1 September 1943. Steed's body was not discovered until two days after the tragedy, on 28 April 1943. The remains of another crewman, 18-year-old Ordinary Seaman John Gardener, were found at the same time. Both had been killed instantly in the explosions. The bodies of the remaining 19 missing sailors were never found. Steed was posthumously awarded the 1939 War Medal
, the Atlantic Star
and the 1939-1945 Star.
Steed and Gardener were laid to rest at Ben M'Sik European Cemetery in Casablanca, Morocco
, on 29 April with full military honours. The captain of the Empire Morn attended the ceremony, as did his officers and members of the crew. The Empire Morn survived the war, serving as a storage hulk
in Gibraltar. It was sold in 1947 to F M Pereda, of Spain
, and renamed San Antonio. The ship was towed to Cadiz
, arriving on 12 March 1947 and again renamed, this time as Rio Pas. A new stern section was added during repairs. Morn was sold on again in 1962, to Maritima Colonial y de Comercio SA, of Spain. It was finally scrapped in 1973 in Santander
, Spain.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
has described Steed as "the youngest known Second World War service death." However, it was confirmed in February 2010 that Reginald Earnshaw
was actually younger.
and Uskmouth Power Community Chest.
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
recruit to die during the Second World War. He was just 14 years and 207 days old when the ship on which he was a galley boy, SS Empire Morn
SS Empire Morn
SS Empire Morn was a 7,092 ton CAM ship which was built in 1941. She saw service on a number of trade routes during the Second World War, making several crossings of the North Atlantic as well as voyages to Russia and Africa. She was badly damaged after hitting a mine in 1943, and spent the rest of...
, was blown up after it hit a U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
mine on 26 April 1943. He was previously described by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
as "the youngest known British services death," but this was revised in February 2010, when it was confirmed Reginald Earnshaw
Reginald Earnshaw
Reginald Hamilton Earnshaw , known as Reggie Earnshaw, is believed to have been the youngest person in the British services to die in World War II. He was just old when he died under enemy fire on the off the coast of Norfolk on 6 July 1941.Earnshaw was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, to...
was actually younger, at 14 years and 152 days.
Early life
Raymond Steed, the son of steelworker Wilfred and his wife Olive (née Bright), was born on 1 October 1928, at Rimperley Terrace, St MellonsSt Mellons
St Mellons is a district and suburb of eastern Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.-History:St Mellons began as a small commercial centre in the historic county of Monmouthshire, relying heavily on rural agriculture, farming and travel...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
. He was one of nine children. The family later moved to Christchurch Road, Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, near Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Steed signed up to the British Merchant Navy Reserve Pool on 29 December 1942, two months after his 14th birthday. He joined his first ship, the former Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
Line SS Atlantis, on the same day. Steed served as a steward's boy on the Atlantis, which had been converted into a hospital ship. He was awarded the Africa Star
Africa Star
The Africa Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in the Second World War.The Star was awarded for a minimum of one day service in an operational area of North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943...
with clasp during Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
, when Allied troops landed on the beaches of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. Steed left the ship three months later, in March 1943, to join the SS Empire Morn.
Death
Steed's service aboard Empire Morn, a 7,092 GRT catapult aircraft merchant shipCAM ship
CAM ships were World War II-era British merchant ships used in convoys as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient escort carriers became available. CAM is an acronym for catapult aircraft merchantman. A CAM ship was equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Sea Hurricane,...
built by Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
-based Vickers-Armstrong Ltd in 1941, started on 4 April 1943. The ship sailed from Milford Haven
Milford Haven
Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
on that day, loaded with military equipment destined for Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
and Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. She arrived at Casablanca on 25 April, and then set off for Gibraltar. At 9:45 p.m. on 26 April 1943, the ship hit a U-boat mine off Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
at 34°08′N 07°58′W. A secondary explosion damaged the stern and blew out much of the crew accommodation. German records later revealed the Morn had detonated a mine laid on 10 April 1943, by U-boat 117. When the order was given to abandon ship, a head count of crew found 21 men missing. Steed was among this number.
Towed back into Casablanca, the damaged ship was expected to be declared a "total constructive loss", however it was refloated and towed to Gibraltar, by the tugs Lorient and Schelde, eventually arriving on 1 September 1943. Steed's body was not discovered until two days after the tragedy, on 28 April 1943. The remains of another crewman, 18-year-old Ordinary Seaman John Gardener, were found at the same time. Both had been killed instantly in the explosions. The bodies of the remaining 19 missing sailors were never found. Steed was posthumously awarded the 1939 War Medal
War Medal 1939–1945
The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea...
, the Atlantic Star
Atlantic Star
The Atlantic Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The star was awarded for six months service afloat, in the Atlantic or in Home Waters, within the period 3 September 1939 to 8 May 1945...
and the 1939-1945 Star.
Steed and Gardener were laid to rest at Ben M'Sik European Cemetery in Casablanca, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, on 29 April with full military honours. The captain of the Empire Morn attended the ceremony, as did his officers and members of the crew. The Empire Morn survived the war, serving as a storage hulk
Hulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
in Gibraltar. It was sold in 1947 to F M Pereda, of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and renamed San Antonio. The ship was towed to Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, arriving on 12 March 1947 and again renamed, this time as Rio Pas. A new stern section was added during repairs. Morn was sold on again in 1962, to Maritima Colonial y de Comercio SA, of Spain. It was finally scrapped in 1973 in Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
, Spain.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
has described Steed as "the youngest known Second World War service death." However, it was confirmed in February 2010 that Reginald Earnshaw
Reginald Earnshaw
Reginald Hamilton Earnshaw , known as Reggie Earnshaw, is believed to have been the youngest person in the British services to die in World War II. He was just old when he died under enemy fire on the off the coast of Norfolk on 6 July 1941.Earnshaw was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, to...
was actually younger.
Memorial appeal
A fund-raising appeal was launched to pay for a memorial statue for Steed in his home city of Newport in 2007. The appeal has been supported by the Merchant Navy Association, the city councilNewport City Council
Newport City Council is the governing body for the city of Newport, one of the subdivisions of Wales within the United Kingdom. It consists of 50 councillors, representing the city's 20 wards. Since the 2008 election, the council has been controlled jointly by the Conservatives and Liberal...
and Uskmouth Power Community Chest.
External links
- Catalogue description for record piece BT 382/3280, The National Archives. This document contains Steed's Merchant Navy service record.