Apprentice Donald Owen Clarke (5 March 1923 – 9 August 1942) of the Merchant Navy was posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

for his heroism on 8 August 1942. Sailing alone, his motor tanker, the San Emiliano, was torpedoed and sunk by U.155 in the central Atlantic, south east of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. The ship was engulfed in flames but despite being so badly burned that he died the next day of his wounds, he helped save other severely burned victims by rowing a lifeboat clear of the stricken tanker. He rowed the lifeboat, the only one to survive the sinking, for two hours despite his hands being so badly burned they had to be cut away from the oars as his flesh had stuck to them. Lying at the bottom of the boat, as they waited for rescue, he sang to keep up the spirits of the other men. Notice of his award appeared in the

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

of 20 July 1943. The citation ended thus "By his supreme effort, undertaken without thought of self and in spite of terrible agony, Apprentice Clarke ensured the safety of his comrades in the boat. His great heroism and selfless devotion were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Merchant Navy."

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Accounts of the Loss
1942 deaths British recipients of the George Cross British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II 1923 births British civilians killed in World War II {{England-bio-stub