Master

John Nathan Beighton

Conflict: 
WW2
References:
  • WW2 RoH
NZ WAR GRAVES

Biographical Notes:

 

At 06.15 hours on 31 Aug 1940 the S.S. Har Zion (Master John N. Beighton), a straggler from convoy OB-205, was hit amidships by one of two G7e torpedoes from U-38 and sank by the stern northwest of Bloody Foreland (north of Ireland). The master, 34 crew members and one gunner were lost. The sole survivor was seaman Osman Adem, who was picked up by the ORP Blyskawica (LtCdr S. Hryniewiecki, ORP) the next day.

[https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/503.html, retrieved 5/12/22]

"CAPTAIN BEIGHTON'S DEATH The death of a former New Zealand master mariner, Captain John Beighton, R.N.R., has now been officially confirmed. Captain Beighton and his crew were lost when his vessel was destroyed by enemy action in the Atlantic about August 31, 1940. Captain Beighton, who was the only son of the late Mr. John Beighton, a pioneer of Central Otago, served his apprenticeship on the barque Onyx and joined the Union Steam Ship Company. He was chief officer of the steamers Atua and Tofua, in the Island trade, before becoming master of the Squall and later of the Taviuni. In 1913 he joined the Sydney pilot service and during the Great War was commander of Australian troopships. Following the war he was master of the Largs Bay and also of the Shaw Savill and Albion steamer Ferndale." [AUCKLAND STAR, VOLUME LXXII, ISSUE 201, 26 AUGUST 1941, PAGE 8]

Public Contributions:

There are no public contributions written for this casualty

Personal Tributes:

Casualty

Name:
John Nathan Beighton
Rank: 
Master
Date of Birth:
14 January 1877
Next of Kin: 
Son of John Beighton of Roxburgh, Central Otago
Date of Enlistment:
Not known
Unit:
S.S. Har Zion

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:
Not known
Date of Death:
31 August 1940
Day of Death:
Saturday
Conflict: 
WW2

Embarkation Details

Text in italics supplied by Cenotaph Online, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cemetery

Cemetery Reference: 
Panel 55
Cemetery Location: 
United Kingdom
John Nathan Beighton
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