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In memory of:

Fireman George Albert Thomas

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Merchant Navy emblem

Military service

Age: 32
Rank: Fireman
Force: Merchant Navy
Unit/Regiment: Canadian Merchant Navy
Division: S.S. Caribou (St. John's, Newfoundland) (151660)
Birth: June 27, 1910 Channel, Newfoundland & Labrador
Death: October 14, 1942

Burial/memorial information

Grave reference: Panel 22.
Additional information
Son of William Thomas and Mary White of Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Husband of Clara Jane Foote from Port aux Basques. Father of William Thomas. Brother of Arthur Thomas, who also perished in the sinking of the S.S. Caribou.

On 14 October, 1942, at 3:21 a.m., the ferry Caribou was hit by a torpedo launched by U-69 25 miles (40 km) from Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. She sank in the Cabot Strait in 1,600 feet (488 m) of water with 136 people (crew, passengers and military) in position 47°19'N/59°29'W. The 101 survivors were recovered by the escort ship HMCS Grand-Mère (J258) and landed in North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This sinking would be Canada's worst maritime tragedy in terms of human lives during the Second World War.

In the Books of Remembrance

Commemorated on:

Page 239 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance.
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