Civilian David Wright was a passenger on board S.S. Athenia when it sank on 3rd September 1939. He was the son of William Wright of Kilshannagh, Co. Tyrone.
He died on 3rd September 1939 aged 63 years old. At the time of his death, records listed David as a laundry manager from the United States of America. Oberleutnant Fritz Julius Lemp in U-30 sank the British vessel 370km north-west of Inishtrahull, Donegal, Éire.
The Athenia was the first British ship sunk by the German Navy during the Second World War. With 117 passengers and crew dead, the loss was the Donaldson Line’s greatest disaster. During wartime, Germany denied sinking the Athenia but admitted responsibility in 1946. Many considered the attack a war crime.
David Wright has no known grave. His name is on the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour at St. George’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London.