Ordinary Seaman Robert Joseph Shaw of Belfast died on 1st March 1941 as merchant tanker S.S. Cadillac came under attack from U-552 en route from Nova Scotia.
Ordinary Seaman
Ordinary Seaman Robert Joseph Shaw served in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War. He was the son of Robert Gordon Shaw and Elizabeth Shaw of Portaferry, Co. Down. Newspaper reports in November 1941 list his address as 150 Corporation Street in the Sailortown district of Belfast.
Shaw died on 1st March 1941 aged 18 years old while serving on S.S. Cadillac. The British merchant tanker came under attack in the north Atlantic. U-552, captained by Erich Topp fired a pair of torpedoes that ignited the 17,000-ton cargo of aviation fuel with disastrous and fatal consequences.
Ordinary Seaman Shaw has no known grave and his name is on Panel 22 of the Tower Hill Memorial, London, England.
