Emanuel Benstock

Cook, S.S. Atland
Died 25 Mar 1943
Commemorated at East Ham (Marlow Road) Jewish Cemetery & the Tower Hill Memorial
Age 35


Emanuel was born on 7 Dec 1906 in Mile End Old Town, London to Morris and Susan nee Isaacs and he was one of twelve children. Their father worked as a costermonger in Stepney.

Emanuel married May Middleton in July 1938 in East Ham, Essex. The following year he was listed in the 1939 Register living at 30 East India Dock Road, London with May and working as a ship’s cook on the S.S. Llanstephan Castle.

Swedish owned cargo ship S.S. Atland, had been sailing in a sixty-five ship convoy SC-122, which departed New York on the 5th March 1943. The convoy was to be involved in one of the major convoy battles of the war when it was attacked in mid Atlantic by more than 30 U-boats from three wolfpacks. Eight ships were lost but the Atland survived and reached Loch Ewe on 23rd March. She then joined a smaller coastal convoy WN407 of 18 ships heading for Methil in Fife. Unfortunately, despite surviving this mammoth voyage and the attentions of the German U-boats the Atland was in collision with the S. S. Carso, another ship in the convoy, off Peterhead. The Carso survived the collision and was taken in tow by the Empire Tana but the Atland eventually sank. Five crew were killed including Emanuel.

Courtesy Geoffrey Gillon
Tower Hill Memorial