Daily Event for April 12


April 12, 1917 the Ellerman-Wilson Lines SS Toro was torpedoed and sunk by the SMS U-55. Many or most
of the crew got off the ship before she sank and were taken aboard the U-55. The captain and a gunner were
taken prisoner while the remaining crewmen were left on the casing of the U-boat.

As he had done before, Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Werner, submerged the boat leaving the survivors to
die in the Atlantic. He was charged with several counts of war crimes, but was never tried for the deaths of
the fourteen men he killed from the Toro.

© 2009 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com



Roll of Honour
In memory of those who lost their lives in SS Toro
"As long as we embrace them in our memory, their spirit will always be with us"

Name
Rate
Andersson, Charles
Able Seaman
Bateman, Leonard A.
Assistant Steward
Crockett, John M.
3rd Engineer
*
Hardy, James W.
Fireman
*
Hardy, Joseph E.
Fireman
Harwood, Samuel W.
Chief Engineer
Lloyd, A.
Fireman
Moorehouse, Elijah
Cadet
Olsson, Erik H.
Able Seaman
Oxendale, Alfred
Assistant Cook
Sharpe, William H.
Steward
Slade, Arthur E.
Sailor
Spencer, William
Able Seaman
Tether, Douglas M.
2nd Mate
*
Brothers


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