| 
								Altrincham WW1  Altrincham WW2 Altrincham Memorials  | 
							
								Sale WW1  Sale WW2 Sale Memorials  | 
							
								Stretford WW1  Stretford WW2 Stretford Memorials  | 
							
								Urmston WW1  Urmston WW2 Urmston Memorials  | 
						
| Miscellaneous Memorials | |||
John Richard Owen | |||
| Rank: | Engineer Officer | ||
| Ship/Rgn/Sqn No: | Merchant Navy | ||
| Name of Rgt or Ship: | S.S. Avila Star (London) | ||
| Died: | 05/07/1942 | Age: | 20 | 
| Country of burial: | Lost at Sea | Grave Photo: | Yes | 
| Cemetery or Memorial: | Tower Hill Memorial | ||
| Town Memorial: | Hale | ||
| Extra Information: | |||
The Avila Star was built in 1927 and had a gross register tonnage of 14,443, it was 598ft long, 68ft wide and could make 16.0 knots. A passenger/refrigerated cargo vessel, she could accommodate 162 first class passengers and was operated by the Blue Star Line Ltd., 40 St. Mary Axe, London EC3. On the 05/07/42, north east of the Azores, travelling from south America to the U.K. she was torpedoed by U-201 and sank in position 38.04N 22.46W. There were 134 survivors, but 62 crew/passengers were lost. The 5th July 1942 was a particularly bad day for the Merchant Navy, as PQ-17, a Russian bound convoy was attacked by a powerful German force headed by the battleship Tirpitz. A total of 17 ships were lost from that convoy. Listed as J. Owen on St. Luke's Memorial.  | |||
| Memorials found on: | |||
| St. Mary's (Bowdon) | |||
![]()  | 
Trafford