Canadian Virtual War Memorial
David Wilbourne
In memory of:
Fireman David Wilbourne
May 4, 1942
Caribbean Sea
Military Service
42
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Lady Drake (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (155050)
Additional Information
January 1, 1900
British Guiana
Husband of Alvira Alleyne from St. Michael, Barbados, Father of Cleo Wilbourne.
On 5 May 1942, at 03:05 a.m., the Lady Drake was sailing unescorted when she was torpedoed by U-106 90 miles (145 km) north of Bermuda. Six sailors and six of the 260 passengers lost their lives. The ship sank after 20 minutes, position 35°43'N/64°43'W. On the 6th, the boats containing the survivors were ignored by the RMS Queen Mary which refused to stop. They were rescued three days after the sinking by the American minesweeper USS Owl (AM-2) which took them back to Bermuda. The captain of the Lady Drake, Percy Kelly, who survived the sinking of the Lady Hawkins, was also saved after the loss of the Lady Drake. He was awarded the British Empire Medal (MBE) and the Lloyd's Medal for his heroism.
Commemorated on Page 248 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 22.
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
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