24479: Murdo Finlayson

Murdigan Aonghais Alasdair

Murdo (1913-1944) was a son of Angus Finlayson and Christina Morrison, 10 Calbost.

On February 2, 1933, he enrolled in the Royal Naval Reserve, Service Number AX16795 and re-enrolled under BX104457. His records indicate that he was 5ft 2¼ in tall with brown hair, greenish-grey eyes and a pale complexion. Murdo was a fisherman on Buckie and  Stornoway registered fishing boats, including Proceed I, Proceed II  and Maggie Macdonald, from 1933-1936.  He then joined the Merchant Navy and made four trips to the River Plate on SS Duquesa, travelled to  Buenos Aires on the SS Affric Star and to the Kara Sea on the SS Eskdene

Murdo was Mobilised on September 29, 1938 and served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War for two years. He was declared Physically Unfit for Naval Service in April 1940.

He served in the Merchant Navy for the rest of the War.  Murdo was killed on 1 February, 1944 when his ship the SS Caleb Sprague was sunk by enemy action at Newhaven.

Murdo is buried in Gravir Cemetery and his name is commemorated on the Pairc War Memorial, the Lewis War Memorial in Stornoway and is mentioned in  Roll of Honour: Pairc, Second World War.