Tuesday, April 8, 2014

First World War Centenary. 4: John Stafford


Boatswain John Stafford



John Stafford was born in the townland of Brandane (Cill Bhréanainn) in the parish of Bannow (Banú) [1], County Wexford, Ireland on the 25th of April in 1875. He was the son of William Stafford and Mary (née Colfer) Stafford, and one of nine children.[2]  The 1901 census shows John's mother, Mary, and two of his brothers, Laurence and Andrew living in Bannow More [sic]. His father, having died on the 9th of January 1888 at the age of 55, left the continuation of the family's poultry farm to his widow and their two sons.  They were still on the Bannow Moor farm in 1911.
Townlands of the Bannow Area

 







Mary Colfer Stafford

taken circa 1908-1916 [3]








John Stafford









Mary's two eldest sons, William and John, went to sea to earn their living as merchant mariners. A transcription of the family headstone in Bannow states that William became a ship's captain, and shows that John lost his life during the First World War.








Source: RootsWeb





John Stafford married Mary Anglin, who died on the 29th of December 1908 from tuberculosis. They had a son, William Patrick Stafford, born on the 24th of October 1908.  The family lived at 12 Mount Sion Avenue in Waterford. After the death of his mother, William was reared by his aunt, Ellen Stafford Walsh, at 5 Mount Sion Avenue. John later married Mary 'Molly' Dwyer on 17 March 1913 at Trinity (Without) in Waterford. They had three children: Annie (1914-1965) ; John (1915-1982) ; 1916-1999).





Unrestricted Submarine Warfare







On 4 February 1915, Germany issued the following communiqué: 



All the waters surrounding Great Britain and Ireland, including the whole of the English Channel, are hereby declared to be a war zone. From February 18 onwards every enemy merchant vessel found within this war zone will be destroyed without it always being possible to avoid danger to the crews and passengers. 







Since the operation of Germany's surface fleet was severely restricted by the might of the Royal Navy, it relied on the submarine as the principle means of engaging in naval and economic warfare.   However, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a U-Boat off the Old Head of Kinsale on  the 17th of
 May 1915, with the ensuing loss of 1,201 civilians, of which 128 were Americans, caused outrage in the United States, which was a neutral country.  In response, Germany moderated its activities, but, over time, losses of merchant ships steadily increased, and by February 1917, unrestricted submarine warfare resumed.








U-49





While patrolling the western approaches to the English Channel, the German submarine, U-49, under the command of  Kapitänleutnant Richard Hartmann encountered a lone cargo ship. It was the SS Lorca, with a crew of 32 and a cargo of timber.[4] The steamship was bound for Calais, having picked up its cargo at Gulfport, Mississippi, the third largest timber-producing state in America. En route it stopped at Norfolk, Virgina, probably Lambert's Point, to replenish its coal supplies before undertaking the trans-Atlantic portion of its voyage.  About 200 miles west [270°] of Ushant the U-49 torpedoed the SS Lorca, sinking her with all hands lost.  The ship was reported missing on 29 October 1916, and declared lost on 15 November 1916.








SS Lorca (1910)







Crew of the SS Lorca (1910)























































Remembrance





John Stafford's name is recorded on the Tower Hill Memorial, London and by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. See also: Find-a-Grave. His name is to be found on the new Waterford Memorial. [5]. See also London Remembers . Everyone Remembered . Wrecksite



































































A widow's penny or the Memorial Plaque
Issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war (Courtesy of Karol Stafford).







Notes





[1] Located in the Barony of Bargy



[2] Alice (1870-1956) ; William (1872-1951) ; Ellen (1873-1958) ; Laurence (1877-1878) ; Laurence (1879-1955) ; Mary (1883-1958) ; Andrew (1884-1963) ; James (1886-1888).




    

  • Mary Colfer, daughter of Laurence Colfer and Alice Curran, was born abt 1819-50 in Brandane Townland, and died on 23 March 1922 at the age of 72.  
    • 

  •  William Stafford was born on 27 December 1833 in Vernegly Towland, County Wexford, Ireland.
    • 



[3] George James Hughes, photographer, was born in London in abt. 1882. The 1901 census shows he was living in Waterford as a 19-year old photographer, and by 1911, he had established George J. Hughes & Co., with a studio at No. 8 The Mall, Waterford and at Park Terrace, Dungarvan. Hughes & Co. produced many postcards of Waterford city and county, which are usually embossed with the company's name. The business appears in the phone book for 1913.  Hughes & Co. advertised in the short-lived Irish periodical, Banba, in 1921, but in 1922, probably in response to the Civil War, Hughes moved to Bridge of Allan, Scotland (British Journal of Photography v.69 (1922:56).



[4] A huge amount of timber was consumed on the Western Front. 










St. Louis Lumberman v. 58

1 Nov 1916, p. 14










St. Louis Lumberman v.58

1 Nov 1916, p. 32


















Congressional Serial Set.

64th Congress. House Documents

Dec. 4, 1916-March 4, 1917, p. 17










[5] The 1,100 Fallen From Waterford (see Locals Lost at Sea)
















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2 comments:








  1. UnknownNovember 18, 2018 at 1:09 AM
    John Stafford is my Great Uncle. R.I.P.
    ReplyDelete
  2. Karol StaffordMay 19, 2021 at 2:10 AM
    John Stafford is my great grandfather, very interesting article, may he rest in peace, posted by Karol John Stafford his great grandson. 
    ReplyDelete




























        

      









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