Billy Minter

1925 - 1943  (~ 18 years)

• Name	Billy Minter
  Birth	Sep 1925	Woolwich RD   [1]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	67445A94A19A41A69CE8109DAE84C169483E
  Death	2 Dec 1943	Bari, Italy   [2]
  Notes	Billy Minter died aged 18 on 2 Dec 1943 while serving in the Merchant Navy as an Assistant Steward on the SS Fort Athabaska (London). He is remembered on Panel 49 of the Tower Hill Memorial. The ship on which Billy Minter was serving was one of those caught in the German air raid on the Italian port of Bari. There are many accounts of this on the Web - the following is an extract from one of them. In addition to those killed as a direct result of the raid, many people died or were injured because one of the American ships in the harbour was loaded with mustard gas which was blown up and dispersed over the whole area. This particular aspect of the raid was covered up by the US and British authorities for many years after the war. "One of the less fortunate ships was the British freighter Fort Athabaska which was anchored close by the American merchant ship Joseph Wheeler. The Fort Athabaska was loaded for departure to North Africa, carrying seventy-six tons of general cargo, 238 bags of ordinary mail for Algiers, and two captured thousand-pound German rocket bombs. When the Joseph Wheeler exploded, the Fort Athabaska caught fire and, despite the heroic efforts of the British crew, the German rocket bombs stowed in number two hold be- tween decks were detonated by the extreme heat and flames, reducing the British ship to a shattered hulk. Of the total complement aboard of fifty-six, there were only ten survivors." From England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966 at Ancestry.com: Minter Billy of 26 Kings Highway Plumstead Kent died on or since 2 December 1943 at sea Administration Llandudno 28 September 1944 to Rena Minter (wife of Walter William Minter). Effects £198 13s 10d.
  Person ID	I87	Lambeth, London
  Last Modified	12 Apr 2019

  
  

  Father	Walter William Minter,   b. 28 May 1895, Greenwich, London d. Sep 1977, Sittingbourne, Kent (Age 82 years)
  Mother	Rena LITTLEFIELD,   b. Abt 1895, Poplar, London d. 6 Jun 1958, Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Road, Chelsea, London SW3 (Age ~ 63 years)
  Marriage	Sep 1922	Woolwich RD   [1]
  Family ID	F30	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - 2 Dec 1943 - Bari, Italy  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Billy Minter 1925 - 1943 Panel 1 of two panels on the Tower Hill Memorial dedicated to those who died on the SS Fort Athabaska which was caught in the German air raid on the Italian port of Bari on 2 December 1943. The memorial was photographed by Christine Small in March 2017; this version was copied from http://www.benjidog.co.uk.

  
  

• Sources

  [S5] BMD index. [S8] Commonwealth War Graves Commission.