S.S. Arandora Star S.S. ARANDORA STAR - THE COLONSAY CONNECTION WAR GRAVES ON COLONSAY AND ORONSAY Any visitor to the graveyard at Kilchattan or the Priory on Oronsay could not fail to notice the presence of simple headstones marking the graves of men who died at sea during both world wars. The ships on which they served came to grief in the North Atlantic and thus their bodies, carried by tides and currents, came to rest along the western shores of the two islands which were to become their final resting place. In addition to these, there are the graves of three islanders who died whilst serving their country and whose bodies were returned to their place of birth and buried in the island graveyard at Kilchattan Gunner 196250 John Brown of the Royal Field Artillery who died on 13 April 1917 age 41. Able Seaman J/54033 Hector McMillan of the Royal Navy who died on 21 August 1918 age 30. ACW2 464634, Catherine Smith Patterson of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, who died on 17 December 1942 age 21 Another islander, who is remembered on the war memorial at Scalasaig, sadly died of ill health after demobilisation and is buried in the graveyard at Kilchattan. His grave however is unmarked. Deck Hand 2638 Angus McPhee of the Royal Naval Reserve, who died on 9 February 1920 age 26. [Left] Kilchattan graveyard, Colonsay [Alan Davis] [Right] Oronsay Priory graveyard [Alan Davis] S.S. Arandora Star Founded in 1917 by Sir Fabian Ware, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was set up by Royal Charter. The main aims of the Commission were to mark and maintain the graves of those who had died and to build memorials to those who had no known grave. The basic principles were that each of the dead should be commemorated on an individual headstone or memorial and that these should be permanent. In addition, it was decided that all headstones should be uniform and that no distinction should be made in terms of rank, race or creed. Each headstone had engraved upon it at the top, the regimental badge followed by the rank, name, unit, date of death and age of the individual, plus a religious emblem such as a cross. At the base of the headstone an additional inscription was often provided, chosen and paid for by relatives. In chronological order the war graves on Colonsay and Oronsay are as follows: HMS VIKNOR - Sunk on 13 Jan 1915. Petty Officer 170915 Royal Navy. W.H. Boland . Age 39. Kilchattan Seaman 1034/X Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve. John B. Mercer .Age 22. Kilchattan. Private PO/10910 Royal Marine Light Infantry. Edward Palmer . Age 31. Kilchattan. Engine Room Artificer 1523/EA Royal Naval Reserve. A. Fisher . Oronsay Priory. HMS TRANSYLVANIA - Sunk on 10 Aug 1940. AB P/ESD/X91 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. James Kellacher . Age 33. Kilchattan. Barkeeper, Naval Auxiliary Personnel [M.N.]. James McIntosh . Age 43. Kilchattan. Trimmer, Naval Auxiliary Personnel [M.N.]. Frank Nevin . Age 32. Kilchattan. Chief Petty Officer P/239946 Royal Navy. Fred Norgate . Age 50. Kilchattan. Donkeyman Naval Auxiliary Personnel [M.N.]. Robert Stewart . Age 28. Kilchattan. SS EMPIRE TIGER - Sunk on 27 Feb 1941. AB. D/JX 189694 Royal Navy. James Loveridge . Age 24. Kilchattan. SS BROSUND [SS CRUSADER ] - Sunk on 14 Nov 1941. Seaman, Danish Merchant Navy. Birger Oest Larsen . Found 6 Jan 1942. Kilchattan. UNKNOWN SAILORS. British Seaman - found 1 March 1915. Kilchattan Merchant Navy - Found 11 Aug 1940. Kilchattan. Petty Officer, Royal Navy - Found 19 Aug 1940. Kilchattan. Merchant Navy - Found 20 Aug 1940. Kilchattan. S.S. Arandora Star Royal Navy - Found 21 Aug 1940. Kilchattan. X2 Merchant Navy - Found Aug 1940. Kilchattan. X2 Merchant Navy - Found 26/28 Sept 1944. Kilchattan. Merchant Navy - Found 10 July 1946. Oronsay Priory. Finally, whilst most of the headstones state (where known) the name of the vessel upon which the individual served, there are two which can be found in the graveyard at Kilchattan that bear no such clues: Private 5619428 J.A Edmonds, of the Devonshire Regiment who died on 2 July 1940 age 30. Jack Alva Edmonds was born on 16 August 1909 in the district of Llandaff in Cardiff , South Wales . Walfrido Sagramati, whose body was found on 16 August 1940. All that is currently known about Wilfrido is that he was born on 19 October 1910 in Rome and had been living in London , apparently working as a sous chef at the Savoy Hotel. [Left] W Sagramati headstone [Alan Davis] [Right] J Edmonds headstone [Alan Davis] So what happened to bring these two men together, one a British soldier and the other an Italian civilian, to their final resting place on Colonsay in the summer of 1940 when the country was at war? Their lives and backgrounds had been very different; circumstances beyond their control brought them together so briefly in life, yet also so sadly in death. They were just two out of over 1600 men en route for Canada aboard the SS "Arandora Star" whose tragic loss on 2 July 1940 is still remembered with great sadness by many of the older islanders and which has become an inseparable part of Colonsay's more recent history. As a consequence, the island is now regarded by many as a symbolic focal point for the remembrance of all those who lost their lives on that terrible day, especially for families whose loved ones have no known grave. S.S. Arandora Star THE STORY OF THE SS ARANDORA STAR Built by Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. of Birkenhead , the SS "Arandora" was launched on 4 January 1927 for Blue Star Line [1920] Ltd. She was a 1st Class Cruise Liner capable of carrying up to 400 passengers and was initially employed as a fast passenger and refrigerated cargo service to South America . After a refit, she operated as a cruise liner for pleasure trips to Norway , the Mediterranean and the West Indies . Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. of Glasgow carried out the refit in 1929 and it was then that she was renamed as SS "Arandora Star" . In 1934 and 1935 she was given further refits when the mainmast was removed and the accommodation areas were extended. In 1937 she was transferred to Frederick Leyland & Co. Ltd [Blue Star Line Ltd. Managers]. With her palatial surroundings and a Louis XIV style dining room she soon became very popular with the rich and famous and earned the nickname 'chocolate box' or 'wedding cake' due to her white hull and scarlet riband. The SS 'Arandora Star' [Blue Star Line] After the outbreak of war she returned from a trans-Atlantic voyage to New York and was ordered by the Admiralty up to Liverpool . Under destroyer escort, she was initially involved in taking men and equipment to disembark in the Norwegian fjords and later assisted in the evacuation of troops and refugees from the French ports of Brest and Bayonne . Arriving in Liverpool on 29 June, her final voyage was to transport Italian and German internees plus some prisoners of war to St. John's , Newfoundland where they were destined to be held in camps for the duration of the war. In the early days of the war, the Government had decided that foreign nationals living in Britain would be assessed according to their potential threat to the nation's security. It was decided that those who were thought to pose some considerable risk were to be interned overseas and thus tribunals were set up to examine each individual case. By spring 1940 the tribunals had examined 78,000 cases of which just one percent had been classified as high risk and therefore subject to internment. By June 1940, German forces had invaded the Channel Islands and Italy had declared war on Britain - consequently Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing that an invasion was imminent, did not want to risk the presence of a fifth column of Nazi sympathisers on British soil. So ignoring the tribunal arrangements set up by the Home Office since the beginning of the war, on 10 June he issued the order, 'Collar the lot' . That night, Special Branch S.S. Arandora Star Officers arrested several hundred Italians living in London , most of whom were restaurateurs, chefs and waiters who had been living in Britain for most of their adult lives. Throughout the rest of England, Scotland and Wales, many more were arrested and taken to transit camps where they joined some 9,000 German and Austrian nationals, all destined for internment camps in Canada and Australia. In addition to these civilian internees, there were a number of Prisoners of War including for example, Captain J. H. Burfeind plus some of his officers and men from the German merchant ship Adolf Woerman which had been intercepted by the British destroyer Neptune in the South Atlantic on 22 November 1939. At 4.00 am on 1 July 1940 the SS "Arandora Star" left Liverpool under the command of her Master, Captain E.W. Moulton and headed northwards up the Irish Sea on what was to become her final voyage. In addition to her crew of 182 officers and men, she was carrying over 1,300 German and Italian nationals together with a military guard of 254 officers and men under the command of Major C. A. Bethell. As dawn broke on 2 July, the SS "Arandora Star" found herself some 75 miles north-west of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal , barely one day into her voyage to St. John's , Newfoundland , when she was spotted by lookouts aboard a German U-boat which was cruising slowly on the surface.