F. Milthorp

Merchant Navy Radio Officers

Fred S. Milthorp, Radio Officer, 1942-49

Vichy French POW, 1940/41

R/O Fred S. Milthorp

Fred S. Milthorp was serving aboard the Danish freighter Sally Maersk (See note re ships below) when she was seized by the Vichy French at Dakar in August 1940. He had signed aboard the ship in January 1940 as a steward in Sydney, Australia, after a number of the crew had deserted ship. The position was meant to be temporary as he was waiting for his parent's written permission from Winnipeg to join the Royal Australian Air Force as he was not yet 21 years of age.

Sally Maersk in 1940

On deck of Sally Maersk

Shooting the Sun, 1940

The ship was transporting a cargo of flour to Saigon where it was loaded with rice for Dakar, French West Africa. In a letter dated 22 April, 1940, he wrote:

Have been in Dakar 17 days now, and a lot has happened in that time. After Germany had taken over Denmark, the ship was taken over by the French Government. We will be sailing in a couple of days for a town in Gold Coast.

After the Allied bombardment of Dakar Harbour in September, Fred and a number of captured Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm personnel were sent to Koulikoro Internment Camp.

Above photo was taken in Koulikoro Internment Camp (November, 1940)

In a letter dated 15 May 1941 that he sent to his family from Koulikoro Camp, Fred describes the camp conditions and the number of military and civilian prisoners being held. He writes:

On December tenth there arrived ten merchant seamen who had been kept in Rhufish, a town near Dakar. In March, came two British airmen who had crashed in a swamp in French Guinea. Two more came in April; they had landed in Dakar after being lost. Now just five days ago, we had the addition of fifty-one survivors off three different ships sunk near West Africa.

Amongst the correspondence sent to Fred Milthorp were letters from Lt. Humphrey H. Jackson, of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. Humphrey was amongst the prisoners at the Koulikoro Internment Camp with Fred. (he is wearing a beard, standing fifth from the left in the group photograph above).

Humphrey was not released with the group of civilian prisoners that included Fred. He was, however, released late in 1942, and returned to service in England after a long convalescence.

In his letter (left) he speaks of the fate of the officers and men of the S.S. Criton as there being "24 at Timbuktu and 18 at Kau Kau (including 11 blacks); all off the Criton".
http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/RollofHonour/POW/J.html

After a long letter writing campaign by his parents, Fred was released at the end of May, along with other civilian internees. They were repatriated in exchange for a number of Vichy French Naval prisoners held by the British. Upon his return to Canada, Fred qualified for his Certificate of Proficiency in Radio in May 1942.

During his Merchant Navy career, Fred served aboard the Danish vessel Sally Maersk as a steward from Sydney to
Dakar. After his release as a pow, he was on the S.S. Banfora as a steward from Freetown to Liverpool, and as an oiler on the MV Vancouver Island from Liverpool to Montreal.

MV Vancouver Island.

(See note re ships below)

Fred (on right) at sea

Dominican Victory (1949)

Fred's first job as a Radio Operator was aboard the SS Dea (June 1942-Feb. 1943). In a letter dated 25th June he described the ship as having a "fine crowd on board so I think I will enjoy the job. The equipment is modern and easy to work.... There won't be much for me to do, just listen for distress signals, take the time signals, news dispatches and keep the equipment in working order." He writes from Corpus Christi on 23 July 1942, "Sailing in the Gulf is very pleasant and we try to stay in fairly shallow water to lessen the submarine risk. On the way to Progresso we picked up the crew of a torpedoed Norwegian freighter (M/S Gundersen), twenty-five survivors of a crew of twenty-six. They were torpedoed at eleven at night, two hundred miles off Corpus Christi and we sighted their lifeboats at nine
the next morning."

During his service as a Wireless Operator/Radio Officer, his ships were the MV Dea, Yoho Park, Wascana Park, Kitsilano Park, Whiterock Park (Tantara), and Dominican Victory. His last voyage was with the S.S. Lake Winnipeg ending in New Westminster B.C., March 1949.

Many thanks to Brian Milthorp (Fred's son) for sharing his father's story and photographs, along with excerpts from private correspondence and other information. Fred passed away December 22, 1999, and did not live to see the benefit package belatedly given to Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans. The family has recently received Fred's service medals from Ottawa: the 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Pacific Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp and the War Medal 1939-45.

Note re ships:

The Danish freighter Sally Maersk had been taken over by the British after Germany captured Denmark. She was torpedoed by the U-81 on September 10, 1941. The ship was lost, but all hands were rescued.

The MV Vancouver Island was originally the Weser, a German merchant ship captured by the HMCS Prince Robert off the Mexican coast in September 1940. ). The ship was sunk on Oct. 15, 1941, with a loss of 104 lives.