Cabin Boy, Merchant Navy. S.S. Mill Hill, 30 August 1940.
Remembered with Honour: Tower Hill Memorial, London.
Lost at Sea, North Atlantic aged 18
Eric Henry Clark, Cabin Boy, Merchant Navy. Eric was born in Narberth in 1922 the son of Robert Charles Clark and Clara Elizabeth Elderton Clark. Eric was educated at Greenhill School, before joining the Merchant Navy and served aboard S.S. Mill Hill, a Newcastle-on-Tyne registered cargo vessel.
On 16 August 1940 Mill Hill left Halifax, Nova Scotia as a member of Convoy HX-66A laden with pig iron and scrap steel, bound for Middleborough. Early in the morning of 30 August 1940, she was 58 miles off Cape Wrath to the north of Scotland, when she was torpedoed by the German Submarine U-32, sinking within a few minutes with the loss of all hands. Eric was just 18 years old when he died that day and is commemorated alongside his fellow crew members at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.
30 August 1940 – S.S. Mill Hill
U.32 on attacks on convoy HX.66 A, escorted by British escort vessel JASON and corvette HIBISCUS, sank British steamers MILL HILL (4318grt) in 58‑48N, 06‑49E and CHELSEA (4804grt) in 59‑45N, 07‑00W and Norwegian steamer NORNE (3971grt) in 58‑48N, 06‑49W.
Between 02.20 and 02.48 hours on 30 Aug 1940, U-32 attacked the convoy HX-66A 58 miles west-northwest of Cape Wrath and sank the Mill Hill, Chelsea and Norne and missed a fourth ship.
Twenty-four crew from steamer CHELSEA were missing in the loss of the steamer.
There were no survivors, thirty-four crew, from MILL HILL.
Convoy HX.66 departed Halifax escorted by Canadian destroyers ASSINIBOINE and OTTAWA at 1523. The destroyers were detached on the 17th.
Convoy BHX.66 departed Bermuda on the 15th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser ALAUNIA. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.66 on the 20th and the armed merchant cruiser was detached.
Destroyer HIGHLANDER, escort ship JASON and Corvette HIBISCUS joined on the 27th. The destroyer was detached later that day. The other two escorts arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on the 31st.
At 02.20 hours, the Mill Hill (Master Robert Du Buisson) was hit in the stern by one torpedo and sank with a heavy list in a few minutes. The master and 33 crew members were lost.
Ships hit by U-32 during this patrol
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Aug 1940 | U-32 | Hans Jenisch | Mill Hill | 4,318 | Brit | HX-66A | |
| 30 Aug 1940 | U-32 | Hans Jenisch | Chelsea | 4,804 | Brit | HX-66A | |
| 30 Aug 1940 | U-32 | Hans Jenisch | Norne | 3,971 | Nor | HX-66A |
https://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_234.html
On 1st. June 1940 he had lost his brother-in-law, Samuel Snell Lewis, who was killed off Dunkirk when HMT Argyllshire was torpedoed and sunk by Schnellboot E34. His elder brother Lionel Elderton Clark was to die on 5 November 1940 when HMS Jervis Bay was sunk by the Pocket Battleship, Admiral Scheer.
