Abdiel, was sunk by mines in Taranto harbour, Italy on 10 September 1943, during Operation Slapstick. The mines had been laid just a few hours earlier by two German torpedo boats (S-54 and S-61), as they left the harbour. Abdiel, carrying troops of the British 1st Airborne Division (6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion and 204 (Oban) Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery), took the berth which had been declined earlier by the captain of the US cruiser USS Boise. Shortly after midnight, two mines detonated beneath Abdiel and the minelayer sank in three minutes, with great loss of life among both sailors and soldiers. The 1st Airborne Division lost 58 dead and around 150 injured, the Derbyshire Yeomanry lost 1 member of Popski's private army Lt.McGillavray and 48 crew were lost. There is a rumour that the ship's degaussing equipment had been turned off to reduce noise and to allow troops to sleep better. Commander F Ashe Lincoln QC RNVR gives a different cause in his book "Secret Naval Investigator" (Wm Kimber London 1961, and pp132–3 of the 2017 reprint). A naval mine clearance expert, he found in the Germans' Taranto magazine a number of large wooden wheels fitted with depth charges, with a timing clock and explosive charge in the centre. He says that one of these devices had been sunk next to the mooring buoy Abdiel used when the Germans evacuated the previous night.
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SURNAME
Binns
FORENAME
John
UNIT
6 Bn
RANK
Private
NUMBER
4867887
DATE OF DEATH
10th September 1943
AGE
20
GRAVESITE
Bari War Cemetery,Italy Coll. grave VI.E.20-29
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Yorkshire
son of William H. and Margaret Alice Binns,Harrogate,Yorkshire...
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SURNAME
Bevan
FORENAME
Samuel
UNIT
6 Bn
RANK
Corporal
NUMBER
4081095
DATE OF DEATH
10th September 1943
AGE
30
GRAVESITE
Bari War Cemetery, Italy Coll. grave VI.C.34-40
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Monmouthshire
resided Monmouthshire
son of Thomas and Emily Bevan...
-
SURNAME
Bennett
FORENAME
William Henry
UNIT
6 Bn
RANK
Private
NUMBER
4202308
DATE OF DEATH
10th September 1943
AGE
29
GRAVESITE
Brookwood Memorial,Surrey Panel 15 Column 1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Newport,Monmouthshire
resided Newport,Monmouthshire
sinking of HMS...
-
SURNAME
Bell
FORENAME
Harold
UNIT
6 Bn
RANK
Private
NUMBER
3965894
DATE OF DEATH
10th September 1943
AGE
GRAVESITE
Brookwood Memorial,Surrey Panel 15 Column 1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Lincolnshire
resided Lincolnshire
sinking of HMS Abdiel,Taranto Harbour
-
SURNAME
Astley
FORENAME
David Oswald
UNIT
6 Bn
RANK
Lance Corporal
NUMBER
4195021
DATE OF DEATH
10th September 1943
AGE
27
GRAVESITE
Cassino Memorial,Italy Panel 12
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Montgomeryshire
son of Joseph Garfield and Mary Astley,Llanfair...
-
SURNAME
MacGillivray
FORENAME
Duncan Baxter
UNIT
PPA HQ
RANK
Lieutenant
NUMBER
217958
DATE OF DEATH
10th September 1943
AGE
32
GRAVESITE
Cassino Memorial,Italy Panel 1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
parent unit 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry,R.A.C.
born 31.7.1911 Paddington,London...