The 5^th of September History Calendar

On this day 110 years ago in 1914 Stoker 1st Class William Smith, RN, of HMS Pathfinder, was killed when the ship was sunk by German U-Boat U-21. Pathfinder was the first ship sunk by a U-Boat in WWI, causing the loss of around 270 lives. The 33 year old William was the son of George and Emily Smith of Burton Stather.

Three years later in 1917, 107 years ago today, German U-Boats struck again. The Stather built schooner Florence Muspratt was captured and sunk with gunfire by UC-50 in the English Channel. One sailor died as a result of the attack, the mate, Swedish born August Leonard Johansson.