Lives of the First World War

On 13th August 1915, SM UB-14, commanded by Oberleutnant Heino von Heimburg, attacked the unescorted Royal Edward, a Canadian ocean liner pressed into troopship duties. Royal Edward was headed from Alexandria to the Dardanelles with reinforcements for the British 29th Infantry and a small group with the Royal Army Medical Corps, all of whom were destined for Gallipoli. Von Heimburg launched one of his two torpedoes from about a mile away and hit Royal Edward in the stern; the ship sank stern-first in six minutes, with a large loss of life. 700 men were rescued but over 900 died. Other local soldiers who died along with 4440 Pte Andrew Daw, were Lancashire Fusilier, 9614 Pte William McCormick and RAMC 337 Pte Alfred Knowles of 2nd/2nd East Lancs Field Amb. William McCormick is named on the Rawtenstall Municipal War Memorial and is the only person whose circumstances of death are recorded there. In his case "Lost on the Royal Edwd." The following month SM UB-14, again commanded by Oberleutnant Heino von Heimburg, badly damaged Southland at 09:45 on the morning of the 2nd of September 1915. The attack caused fewer than 40 casualties and the ship was later able to beach on Lemnos. 2Lt. Vernon Radcliffe Stewart ASC, another Rossendale soldier and former student of Newchurch Grammar School, was on board and survived.

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