Arthur's Story.
Weaverham St. Mary's “Roll of Honour” records five Shallcross lad’s, A. Shallcross, W. Shallcross, J.T. Shallcross, J. Shallcross and S. Shallcross. The “Fallen Memorial names J. (Joseph) Shallcross Pte., and A. (Arthur) Shallcross Mercantile Marine.
Arthur Shallcross “Lost at Sea” is named on the Acton Bridge Methodist Church Memorial.
C.W.G.C. Remember Arthur Shallcross with Honour at the Tower Hill Memorial, London. Arthur Shallcross, was Chief Cook on S.S. “Reventazon” (Manchester) died 5th Oct 1918 aged 28, son of Frederick Shallcross, of Acton Bridge, Station and the late Annie Shallcross. Arthur Shallcross was born at Winsford.
From Wikipedia; S.S. Reventazon was a cargo ship, 4,050grt and was defensively armed, she was torpedoed, without warning, and sunk in the Gulf of Salonica, 14 nautical miles (26 km) west by south of Kassandra Point, Greece, with the loss of fifteen of her crew.
Arthur Shallcross looks like an extra on the Methodist Church Memorial to the original lads listed. This was likely to be due to the vessel being mercantile rather than naval shipping and its fate not being available through the military systems. It would be interesting to find out when it was realised the vessel was lost and the crew known to have been killed.
Acton Wesleyan Sunday school - Minutes of Teachers Meetings. (Chester Records Office Ref. EMS 310/3/1.) Meeting 11th Dec. 1919, Item 10 – The name of Arthur Shallcross having been inadvertently omitted from the memorial tablet, it was decided that the sum of £1 6s 8d left over from the memorial fund should be handed to Mr. Edgerley who kindly promise to make the necessary arrangements for the alteration of the tablet.
[The National Archive, Kew makes reference to document ADM 137/3568, extracted from ADM/137/1597 loss of S.S. Reventazon but major research is required to locate the relevant information through the other associated documents. This has not been completed; contact The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU if you wish to progress this.]
S.S. “Reventazon” was sunk by U-boat UC 23, type UCII, the commander was Hans Georg Lubbe, on the 5th Oct. 1918. The U-boat was launched on the 29th Feb. 1916, operating most of this time in the Constantinople Flotilla, she sank 45 ships, on the 25th Nov. 1918 she surrendered at Sevastopol becoming a French prize, she was final broken up at Bizerta in August 1921. SS Reventazon was a steamer of GRT 4,050tons, built in 1906 in Belfast by Workman Clarke & Co. and was operated by Elders & Fyffes, Ltd. Manchester, she was 14 miles W. x S. of Kassandra Point, Gulf of Salonica when sunk on route for Salonica, Port Said, she was in ballast. Casualties 15, it understood no one survived. (uboat.net)
Research Bob Heaton
Research Bob Heaton