Roll of Honour

Hartlepool seafarers lost at sea

Oswald, Albert

Rank(s) : 2nd Engineer

Address : Cleveland Road Hartlepool

Town/Country of birth : West Hartlepool

Date of birth : 1886

Date of death : 1/10/1915

Albert Oswald was born in West Hartlepool in 1886, the son of Steam Engine Fitter William Oswald who had been born in Cramlington Northumberland, and his Sunderland born wife Susannah, nee Lambert. He was one of 7 children and, on the 1911 census when the family were in Arch St Hartlepool, Albert was already a Marine Engineer at 23 years of age.

William Oswald's father Henry was a coal miner born in South Shields and he moved around the north east including to Thornley, quite close to Hartlepool. William and Susannah married in Hartlepool in 1876.

There are two interesting pieces of documention found about Albert Oswald. On 9th April 1915, along with two other engineers from SS Unio, an oil tanker, he joined the Masonic Prince Alfred Lodge in Bermuda.

In a Newcastle Journal news article dated August 31st 1915, he was driving a motor bike with a sidecar and lady passenger at the Stockton Road/ Church Square junction in Hartlepool. He approached the junction 'at speed' and collided with a car. He was fined £1.5s.0d and charged with driving in a manner dangerous to the public.

Sadly, Albert Oswald met his death while serving on SS Cowrie, an oil tanker and his death is classed as a death at sea under the Merchant Shipping Act. He was killed when he fell into Smith's Dry Dock at North Shields on Oct 1st 1915 and his death is registered at Tynemouth. His address at the time was Cleveland Road Hartlepool.