Civilian Margaret Lennon was a passenger on board S.S. Athenia when it sank on 3rd September 1939. She was the daughter of Thomas Gunning and Eliza Ann Gunning of Donaghadee, Co. Down, and husband of William Lennon of 2028 Davenport Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
She died on 3rd September 1939 aged 57 years old. At the time of her death, records listed the last address for Margaret as Newall Terrace, Dumfries, Scotland. 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.
Margaret Lennon has no known grave. Her name is on the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour at St. George’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London.