I have found information that may be useful to you.
STEEL TRAVELER left New York on October 25, 1944, in eastbound convoy number HX-316, one of about 40 ships. The convoy's ultimate destination was Liverpool but many of the ships in the convoy went to other destinations, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the case of STEEL TRAVELER. Her arrival date there was not noted in the information available to me but would have been approximately November 9, 1944.
STEEL TRAVELER left Belfast on November 21, 1944, and sailed independently (i.e., not in convoy and without warship escort) to Barry, Wales, located near Cardiff, Wales. The distance from Belfast to Cardiff is about 290 miles so I estimate the ship would have arrived in Barry 24-36 hours after leaving Belfast. Her exact arrival date was again not available. There was little in the way of German U-boat operations in the Irish Sea by that date so unescorted voyages, while still hazardous, were not unusual.
On November 23, 1944, STEEL TRAVELER left Barry in convoy BEC-46, destination St. Helen's Roads, or the area near Portsmouth, England, on the southern coastline of England. With just four ships, the convoy reached St. Helen's Roads on November 26.
The ship sailed from St. Helen's Roads on November 28, 1944, in convoy MTC-50, with a destination of Southend, near the mouth of the Thames River, well downstream from London. The eight ships in the convoy reached Southend on November 29.
STEEL TRAVELER, left Southend on November 30, 1944, in convoy TACA-61, bound for Antwerp, Belgium, arriving there on December 1. There were 11 ships in the convoy.
On December 18, 1944, STEEL TRAVELER sailed in the eight-ship convoy ATM-16 from Antwerp, Belgium, returning to Southend. The ships proceeded down the Schelde River in single file. At 5 PM, while steaming at a speed of 6 knots, the ship struck a mine. The explosion occurred under the #3 hold on the starboard side.
Immediately the ship broke in half, splitting between the #3 hatch and the boiler room. The ship began to flood and sink rapidly. Most of the 72 persons on board escaped in two lifeboats and two rafts. The ship sank in minutes. The French destroyer LA COMBATTANTE, escorting the convoy, rescued the survivors from the boats and rafts. One merchant marine officer (William C. Weldon) and one merchant seaman (Joaquin M. Iglesias) died.
I have been able to find some information on William Weldon by searching the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com). This website is more commonly used for genealogical research but includes databases of the names of crew members on ships that arrived in certain U.S. ports of entry following a foreign voyage. Information on the port of New York is extensive.
I found records of ten voyages in which William C. Weldon (listed as William Cuddeback Weldon in one record) participated, all aboard STEEL TRAVELER, between October 1942 and October 1944. (The ship's final voyage, which began in late October 1944, is not included. Since the ship was lost during that voyage, there is of course no record of her return to New York and thus no record of her crew on that voyage. However, other sources indicate the deaths of William Weldon and Joaquin Iglesias in the loss of STEEL TRAVELER so there is no doubt about their presence on the ship's final voyage.)
William Weldon served successively as third mate, second mate and chief mate (i.e., first mate) aboard STEEL TRAVELER on at least these ten voyages. Some of the records indicate that his merchant marine career may have begun as early as 1937 or 1938 but I could find no record prior to October 1942 at Ancestry.com. He may have returned to ports for which Ancestry.com does not have extensive records, or he may not have made any foreign voyages prior to 1942, and thus does not appear earlier in Ancestry.com.
Most of his voyages were from New York to northern Europe and return; the destinations included Liverpool and Southampton, England; Cardiff and Swansea, Wales; Gourock, Leith and Loch Ewe, Scotland; and Cherbourg, France. There was one voyage that began in New Orleans, went to Havana, Cuba, and returned to New York.
I believe William Weldon was born on December 5, 1919, in Los Angeles County, California, according to other Ancestry.com records. His mother's maiden name was recorded as Cuddeback, the same as his middle name, which is the crucial bit of information leading to his birth record. He was born to Arthur Weldon, born in England, and Margery (or Marjorie) Cuddeback Weldon, born in California.
The family appears in both the 1920 and 1930 United States Federal Censuses (also found at Ancestry.com), living in the town of Tehachapi, Kern County, California, northwest of Los Angeles. Neither census indicates that William had any siblings. Arthur Weldon was 37 in 1920 (therefore a birth year of 1882 or 1883) and Margery Weldon was age 30 (therefore a birth year of 1889 or 1890).
Also at Ancestry.com is a death record for a Margie (or Marjorie) Cuddeback Weldon, born November 15, 1889, died February 20, 1940, in Kern County, California. I have been unable to locate birth or death records for Arthur Weldon.
You or your mother, if she is still living, may be able to obtain the maritime service record of William C. Weldon. Please see this page from the website I manage: http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html. In particular, see section A.2. Records of Individuals - Merchant Marine. Since William Weldon was a merchant mariner killed during World War II, his records would be found at the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408,
e-mail: archives1reference@nara.gov. One would have to provide as much identifying information as possible, as noted in section A.2. If your mother is still living, it might be better for her to make the request for information on William Weldon, since she is his next-of-kin. (Whether her subsequent remarriage would invalidate her next-of-kin status I do not know.) But someone who is not next-of-kin to William Weldon, such as yourself, may not be able to obtain as much information about his record as your mother. Whatever the case, go ahead and make a request for information: nothing ventured, nothing gained. William Weldon's merchant marine service record may contain additional useful information that is not otherwise available online.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
Responses
« Back to index | View thread »