Military History

Theatre of War	Medals	Commonwealth War Grave of Memorial
At sea off the coast of Ireland	British War & Victory Medals	Plymouth Naval Memorial
Arrived in Theatre	Medal Citation (if app)	SWFHS Area Memorials
16 Oct 1917	~	Fenny Compton
Action, Battle or Other Reason Killed	Date and Place Enlisted Date	Other War Memorials
Killed in accidental collision	29 May 1917 at Bristol	~
Place of Death	Previous Regiments or Units
Celtic Sea - SW of Cornwall (see below)	~

Circumstances Leading to Death (Normally from War Diary)           

On the day he was killed, 19 Mar 1918, Fred was aboard the armed merchant cruiser HMS Motagua when it was involved in a collision when the stern of US destroyer Manley hit the Motagua’s counter causing the Manley’s depth charges to detonate. A heavy explosion followed completely wrecking Motagua’s poop and stern and causing extensive damage to the whole upperworks of Motagua including wireless cabin and aerial. The explosion killed 28 crew members and wounded another 33. A total of 34 men of the Manley were also killed or wounded.

HMS Motagua	Collision Location	Collision Damage