Ship Query

[seaweed]

Yes. Seen that site and others of a similar nature. It is a classic case of people accepting unsubstantiated information from the Internet.
You will note from that Merseyside website
"Purdy, mercantile fleet auxiliary, type not known, described as accompanying SS Hollington.
The fact is PURDY is not listed as MFA  or any other service. Anywhere. Lloyds, Mercantile Navy list, Navy list you name it she is not there. unless  of course I am missing something
If you can direct me to a reference that would explain who or what PURDY was/ is that would be great.

[Flattybasher9]

It certainly is a weird one.
A trawler built in Aberdeen was the Judith Purdy, renamed from the Strathrannoch. There was Purdy Trawlers in North Shields. There was the Lynne Purdy renamed from the Star Of The Waves.
Name: William Purdy Type: Trawler Launched: 20/08/1914 Completed: 10/1914
It wasn't the Purley, as it was scrapped in 1933.
None of the above fit the lifespan in regarding to the reported sinking.
Interestingly enough, the wreck of the SS Hollington was dived between 1970 and 1972 and Captain Ross from the Droxford recovered 680 tons of tin from the Hollington. There was no mention of the Purdy.

Regards

Malky

[leighton]

This is an intriguing puzzle. 

Just a long shot.

There was a ship called the PERLA (Official Number 139046) torpedoed and sunk a week later on the 10 June 1917 in the Barents Sea on its way to Archangel. Could Perla be misread as Purdy?

Also, newspapers at the time printed lists of casualties, did they also include names of seamen lost at sea?

leighton

[seaweed]

Thanks for the input Leighton,
It's worth checking out. Thomas Heron was lost with HOLLINGTON on 2/June/1917 and for some reason is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, not Tower Hill.
As far as I can tell PURDY is not listed as a MFA vessel. Attached pages from the Navy List 1916 and 1917. Maybe I missed something.

http://www.godfreydykes.info/WW1%20MERCHANT%20SHIPS%20COMMISSIONED%20AS%20HM%20SHIPS.pdf

https://archive.org/stream/navylistoct1916grea#page/1896/mode/2up

 Was PURDY some kind of shore establishment? No mention in Ben Warlows book. I must admit this one has me stumped, but I will get to the bottom of it.
Malky
Thank you for your continued interest. I checked out the Purdy Trawlers and came to the same conclusion as you.
Incidentally. PURLEY official number 135229 was sunk by U 46  48.08N/11.35W 25.7.17 Barry-Malta, coal & general

http://www.uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/4962.html

The vessel scrapped in 1933 was O/N 123641. Name change in 1913 to AZUMASAN MARU. Broken up at Taketoyo