Able Seaman Norman Cole of Portadown, Co. Armagh died on 20th April 1945 as a result of illness having served on H.M.S. Renown during the Second World War.
Able Seaman
D/JX 6302541
Able Seaman Norman Cole (D/JX 302541) served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was the son of William Cole and Lucinda Cole, and the foster-son of Teresa Symington of Ballynagowan, Portadown, Co. Armagh.
In civilian life, Norman attended Drumgoose Public Elementary School and was a regular at his his local church and Sunday School. As a teenager, he worked for Messrs. Thomas Hyde and Sons in Mandeville Street, Portadown, Co. Armagh before enlisting in the Royal Navy in September 1941 at the age of 18 years old.
Able Seaman Cole died on 20th April 1945 aged 22 years old at Armagh Hospital, Tower Hill, Armagh, Co. Armagh. While serving on H.M.S. Renown, he contracted an illness and was discharged on medical grounds in July 1943.
He bore his final illness with great patience and was very cheerful up till the last week of his death.
Able Seaman Cole’s grave is in Section E, Grave 13 of Seagoe Cemetery, Portadown, Co. Armagh. Reverend T.P. Reilly conducted a funeral service on 21st April 1945. In 2018, Norman’s name was a new addition to the Portadown War Memorial, Portadown, Co. Armagh. His headstone bears the inscription:
In silence he suffered till God called him home to suffer no more.
