Cape Verde 1941

These photos from WW2 were tucked away in a Players cigarette tin amongst papers in my mother's box of souvenirs. They were taken in 1941 in the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa. The exact location was unknown but thanks to the power of Google search, the distinctive profile of Monte Verde proved the location was Mindelo, Sao Vicente Island. The photographer had captured the images of survivors arriving in whale boats from the recently torpedoed Clan MacDougall. Enlarging the photo produced a big surprise. Under the brown stain of the 80+ year old photo is the familiar face of my father, Reg Dodsworth, with his beaming smile.

My father was a member of the Merchant Navy, sailing with the Scottish Clan Line. The British Merchant Navy moved cargoes of ore, food, equipment and ammunition to and from the UK. It is estimated that Britain would have starved by 1941 without the assistance of the Merchant Navy.

He joined MV Sterlingshire (formerly Clan MacDonald) in Sydney, Australia in 1940 when they were short of an electrician. That ship was torpedoed in the North Atlantic a few weeks later when travelling from Halifax Canada to Liverpool UK. He spent time in the UK before boarding a second ship, the Clan MacDougall that was destined for Cape Town. In May 1941 it was torpedoed near the Cape Verde Islands.

During the two world wars the Clan Line lost half their ships. Mariners in the Merchant Navy were at higher risk than any other military branch. With a casualty rate over 25%, the men who sailed in the Merchant Navy were the unsung heroes of the war. It took many years after the war for them to receive recognition for their service.