Fifth Engineer Officer John James Waters

Census details:
1939 Register. Unfortunately John J and one other member of the household are redacted. Father John J Waters born 05 Nov 1886 an Inpector Oiler Machine Glassworks (Heavy Worker), mother Ann (Annie) Waters born 07 Jan 1890 an Unpaid Domestic are living at 53 Crab Street, St Helens. Also at the address is Jane Gilheeney born 18 Dec 1889 a Machine Blocker - Glass Worker.

[pic]imgs/WW2_misc/JohnJamesWaters.jpg[/pic][caption]UK, Merchant Seamen Deaths, 1939 -1953[/caption] MV Sultej was a British Cargo Motor Vessel of 5,187 tons built in 1940 by Charles Connell & Company, Scotstoun, Yard No 428 for the Nourse Line Ltd. She was powered by a oil engine built by by Barclay Curle, Doxford and was capable of a maximum speed of 11 Knots. On the 26th February 1944 she was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-37 in Indian Ocean whilst on passage from Aden to Freemantle. At least 41 of her crew perished including her Captain, Dennis Gough Jones. During this war patrol, Cdr. Nakagawa of the I-37 commited the most cruel war crimes against crew of merchant ships, using the deck gun to kill the surviving crew and sinking lifeboats. The victims where: [i]British Chivalry [/i](13 machine gunned), Sutlej[b] [/b](50 machine-gunned) and [i]Ascot[/i] (45 machine gunned). In January 1947, Cdr Nakagawa pleaded guilty for his wartime crimes before the International Military Tribunal in Tokyo. He was sentenced to 8 years of hard labor. Nakagawa actually served six years and was released on probation after the end of the Allied Occupation. In 1978, historical research found him responsible for having sunk the Australian hospital ship HMAS Centaur, while he was commander of I-177 (268 killed).