Ordinary Seaman Bayne W. Gammon—Perished at Sea September 22, 1940

 Bayne W. Gammon was born at New Harbour, Guysborough County, in 1921. His father Garfield was a native of Tor Bay, the son of Edward and Sarah (Barss) Gammon. Bayne’s mother Lila Belle was the daughter of Joseph and Roseanne Slater, Roachvale. The couple married at Roachvale on November 27, 1912, and welcomed two daughters—Viola Rosanna (DOB September 26, 1913) and Evelyn Melinda (DOB March 9, 1916)—into their home before Bayne joined the family. 

Left to right: Viola, Bayne & Evelyn Gammon

 

On January 31, 1938, Garfield unexpectedly passed away at home. Sometime after his father’s death, Bayne left home and travelled to Hampton, Prince Edward Island, where he found employment as a farm labourer. On June 3, 1939, he wrote a letter to his mother Lila, providing her with an update on his circumstances:

“I have been getting your letters all right[,] but when I am done work in the evening, I feel like dropping in my tracks wherever I may be….[My employer] is a driver…, a pretty hard man to work for, although I like him and his sister pretty good…. I was using the single and gang ploughs this afternoon and I had to drive the three horses and hold the ploughs [at] the same time. Boy, it was hard work and a warm day at that…. It certainly brought the sweat out onto me. I was some hungry and tired when supper time came….

“I don’t have much time to myself, only when I go to bed and on Sundays, but I always have to milk the cows and feed the calves and do all the barn work up before I can go to church, both in the morning and at night. So don’t worry if you don’t hear from me… often, because I am so tired when I am through work that I don’t feel like writing or anything else."

 

Bayne Gammon (school photo)

 

The demands of farm labour may explain why Bayne contemplated finding another line of work. Having been born and raised in a coastal community, it is perhaps not surprising that he decided to pursue a career at sea. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted with the merchant marine and was assigned to the crew of SS Frederick S. Fales with the entry rating of “Ordinary Seaman.”

Bayne Gammon (c. 1939)

 

The 10,525-ton merchant marine tanker was built for Oriental Tankers Ltd., Hong Kong at Monfalcone, Italy. Launched in 1939, the ship transported vital fuel supplies from South America to the United Kingdom after the outbreak of war in Europe. In late summer 1940, the Frederick S. Fales loaded its cargo—14,000 tons of fuel oil—at Curaçao, Venezuela, and set sail for Halifax, NS.

Upon reaching its destination, the vessel was assigned to Convoy HX-72, which consisted of 41merchant ships, and spent several days in port before departing for Glasgow, Scotland. On the eve of the vessel’s departure, Bayne sent a postcard with a brief note to his mother Lila, postmarked 11:30 pm September 3: “Dear Mamma, I am leaving on an oil tanker for England in a little while, like it good. Have to go on board again at midnight…. will be gone for a little while.”

Convoy HX-72 departed for the United Kingdom shortly afterward. On September 20, the German submarine U-47 first sighted the convoy as it approached the British Isles and broadcast its location to other U-boats. On the night of September 20/21, German submarines sank three vessels and claimed a fourth victim shortly after daybreak. The losses continued throughout the evening of September 21 as other submarines arrived in the area. One U-boat—U-100—managed to sink an astonishing seven vessels over a 48-hour span.

Among U-100’s victims was the Frederick S. Fales, targeted at 01.52 hours September 22, 1940, while located 340 miles west of Bloody Foreland, Ireland. Struck on its port side by two torpedoes, the Frederick S. Fales’ stern went under in less than five minutes. While HMS La Malouine rescued 28 crew members later that day, the vessel’s Master Frank Ramsay, 19 crew members, and one gunner perished in the sinking. Most of the losses occurred when the sinking ship capsized to its starboard side, striking one of its lifeboats.

Ordinary Seaman Bayne Gammon was one of 19 crew members who lost their lives in the sinking. His name is engraved on the Halifax Memorial, Point Pleasant Park, erected in memory of Canadian military and merchant marine personnel who perished at sea during both world wars.

Halifax Memorial, Point Pleasant Park

Several months after Bayne’s death, an unidentified crew mate—a resident of Musquodoboit Harbour, Halifax, County—wrote a letter to his grieving mother Lila, dated December 1, 1940:

“Dear Madam:

I am a survivor of the Frederick S. Fales [on] which your dear son had lost his life. As I was one of the last to join the ship, I did not know Bayne very well but I knew he was a[n] ordinary seaman and was on duty at the time my ship [sank]. John [“Jack”] Beanland [Montreal, QC] was with him and told Bayne if anything happened to come [to] where he was, and he did. He never said a word and when the boat was going down they lowered a life boat and Bayne was in it…. [T]he bow of the ship struck the boat which Bayne was in and it was the last his ship mate seen [sic] him. As I was a wiper in the engine room, I never seen [sic] much of them on the deck. The ship was torpedoed two times at about 11 o’clock at night. We was [sic] off the Irish coast about 500 miles…. I know it must be sad for those loved ones to realize that their only boy is gone, but he died for his country. If there is anything I could do to help you, I would wish you would let me know….”

Altogether, Convoy HX-72 lost 11 ships, while three other vessels suffered damage. The number represents the greatest losses to that point in the war—a total of six vessels were lost in August 1940. The sinkings increased in subsequent months—German U-boats claimed another 32 vessels in November 1940—and continued at a frightening pace throughout the next three years. It was not until 1944 that Germany’s ability to wage war at sea declined significantly as Allied forces applied increasing military pressure on enemy forces in Europe.

Gammon family photographs and letters courtesy of Gary Sponagle, Dartmouth, NS.