Stoker 2nd Class D/KX 128463 Richard Kenneth Kitts

BMD details:
Marriage of Richard K Kitts to Lilian Dootson reg Q3 1938 St Helens. Vol 8b page 1761

Family details:
Son of Richard and Cecelia Kitts; husband of Lilian Kitts, of Sutton, Lancashire.

Census details:
1939 Register. 24 years old Richard K Kitts born 28/10/1915 a Precipitated Lime Works Labourer -Whiting (Heavy Worker) is living at 15 Thames Road, Sutton, St Helens. One member of the household is redacted, probably wife Lilian.

Notes:
[url=lmem.php?lmem=1]Remembered on All Saints War Memorial, Sutton, St Helens[/url] Picture courtesy of [url=http://www.suttonbeauty.org.uk/]Stephen Wainwright[/url])

HMS [i]Neptune[/i] (20) - Leander Class - Light Cruiser. (9,740 Tons) Neptune was launched on 31 January 1933, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 12 February 1934. During World War II, [i]Neptune[/i] operated with a crew drawn largely from the New Zealand Divison of the Royal Navy. Force K was sent out on 18 December 1941, to intercept a convoy bound for Tripoli, right after the brief fleet engagement known as the First Battle of Sirte. On the night of 19 December-20 December, Neptune, leading the line, struck two Mines, part of a newly laid Italian minefield. The other cruisers present, Aurora and Penelope, also struck mines.While reversing out of the minefield, Neptune struck a third mine, which took off her propellers and left her dead in the water. Aurora was unable to render assistance as she was already down to 10 knots (19 km/h) and needed to turn back to Malta. Penelope was also unable to assist. The destroyers Kandahar and Lively were sent into the minefield to attempt a tow. The former struck a mine and began drifting. Neptune then signalled for Lively to keep clear. (Kandahar was later evacuated and torpedoed by the destroyer Jaguar, to prevent her capture.) Neptune hit a fourth mine amidships and quickly capsized. Only 30 seamen, out of her complement of 767, initially survived the sinking, and only one was still alive when their lifeboat was picked up five days later by the Italian torpedo boat Achille Papa. New Zealand lost 150 sailors in the disaster and viewed the incident as a national tradgedy. [pic]http://www.hmsneptune.com/media/simonstown.jpg[/pic] [caption](Picture and Research by Jeff Keenan)[/caption]