John Bennett (1881-1918)
South Shields man served as a stoker in the Royal Naval Reserve
It is known that John Bennett was born in South Shields on 22 March 1881. After this time little is known of his life until he married Rachel Bennett nee Napier (1881-1921) around 1898. They had a daughter in 1900 and two sons in 1901. At the time of the 1901 census John was working as a seagoing stoker and his family lived at 9 Laygate Hill, South Shields. In 1911 they lived at 7 Pan Yard, South Shields.
During the First World War John was a member of the Royal Naval Reserve, serving as a stoker with the service number 5052/S. In January 1918 he was onboard HMS Louvain. This was originally the steamship SS Dresden in peacetime when it operated as a passenger and goods ferry between Harwich, England and Antwerp, Belgium. It was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1915 when it was renamed HMS Louvain.
HMS Louvain was based in the Aegean Sea and carried troops and supplies between the various Allied bases in the region. She left Malta on 15 January 1918 headed for Mudros, Lemnos, Greece. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine on 20 January 1918. A total of 224 people including John were lost in the sinking. Of the casualties 24 were part of Louvain’s crew the remainder were passengers. Many of them were naval ratings on their way to take up postings with other ships. John’s body was not recovered for burial and he was honoured on the Chatham Naval memorial.
John Bennett was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal for his service in World War One. His medals were claimed by one of his sons after the war ended.
Civil Parish: South Shields
Birth date: 22-Mar-1881
Death date: 20-Jan-1918
Armed force/civilian: Navy
Residence: 7 Pan Yard, South Shields (1911 census)
Family: Spouse: Rachel Bennett nee Napier (1881-1921)
Children: Lizzie Bennett (1900), George R Bennett (1901), Francis Herbert Bennett (1901)
Military service:
5053/S
Royal Naval Reserve
Stoker
Medal(s): Victory Medal
British War Medal
Memorial(s): Chatham Naval Memorial
Gender: Male
Contributed by David D, Stanley, Co Durham
