Sister Annie Mary Gardner (218360) served in Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service during World War Two. Born on 9th April 1916, she was the daughter of William James Gardner and the late Elizabeth "Lizzie" Gardner (née Killough) of Stranocum, Co. Antrim.
Annie received her commission as a Sister on 25th June 1942. She died on 7th December 1942 aged 26 years old on board SS Ceramic. The passenger steamship was part of Convoy ON-149 en route from Liverpool, England to Cape Town, South Africa. On board were 264 crew members, 14 gunners, and 244 military and naval passengers including the nurses, and 133 fare-paying passengers.
At around midnight on 7th December 1942, U-515 struck SS Ceramic with 3 torpedoes around 420 miles west-north-west of The Azores. The engines stopped but the ship remained afloat for 3 hours. The crew launched lifeboats but in cold weather, darkness, and strong winds, many were lost. When Captain Werner Henke of U-515 returned to the scene, the sight upset him. Other seafarers in the area at the time commented on the ferocity of the storms that night.
Annie Mary Gardner has no known grave. Her name is on Panel 22, Column 2 of the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Surrey.