William James Sheeran

William James Sheeran from Glenwherry Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim was only 17 years old when he died on 24th March 1941 on the merchant ship Agnete Maersk.

Mess Room Boy

William James Sheeran

Mess Room Boy William James Sheeran joined the Merchant Navy aged 17 years old. He died on his 2nd voyage, less than a year later, when SS Agnete Maersk went down in the North Atlantic.

Mess Room Boy William James Sheeran served in the Merchant Navy during World War Two. Born on 12th January 1924, he was the son of William James Sheeran and Sarah Sheeran of 41 Glenwherry Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim.

William died on SS Agnete Maersk on 24th March 1941 aged 17 years old. He had joined the Merchant Navy a year earlier and this was only his 2nd voyage. Torpedoes from the Italian submarine Veniero sank the cargo ship in the North Atlantic Ocean.

All 28 crew members on board SS Agnete Maersk died in the sinking. William James Sheeran from Belfast, Co. Antrim has no known grave. His name is on Panel 3 of the Tower Hill Memorial, London.

References
  1. Ancestry
  2. Benji Dog
  3. British Newspaper Archive
  4. Commonwealth War Graves
  5. London Remembers
  6. Wikipedia

Merchant Navy