John William Baker Marjoram

A Regulating Petty Officer, John died on 29th May 1941 at the age of 32.

John was born at Lowestoft on 19 May 1909, a son of John William Baker and Ethel Alice Marjoram. He was baptised at Saint John's Church, Lowestoft, on 9 July 1909, and his family lived at 29 Selby Street. In 1911 they lived at 26 Melbourne Road. During World War One, whilst John's father was serving in the Royal Navy, his family moved to Gillingham, Kent, and in 1921 they were living at 17 Paget Row, Gillingham. By 1939 John's parents had returned to Kessingland and lived at 1 Bethel Drive. 

John was working as an errand boy when he joined the Royal Navy, as a Boy 2nd Class, on 23 October 1924. 

On 17 June 1934 John married Eleanor Rose Dredge. This was registered in the Medway district. In 1939 Eleanor lived at 41 Purbeck Road, Chatham. 

Between 1934 and 1937 John served on H.M.S. Sussex. From 1937 to 1938 he served on H.M.S. Sheffield. At some point he was on active service during the Palestine campaign of 1936-9. 

John joined H.M.S. Sheffield, for a second time, on 28 August 1939. He was involved in the Norwegian Campaign and, shortly before his death, the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck.  

John was killed in a flying accident: as a Regulating Petty Officer he was given the task of collecting the mail for the ship's crew. He was the passenger in a Walrus 1 aircraft from H.M.S. Sheffield that flew over H.M.S. Renown. The aircraft was flipped over by a hot air up-blast from the ship, stalled and crashed onto the quarterdeck of the ship before crashing into the sea. Only John's body was recovered, by the crew of the destroyer H.M.S. Wishart, and take to Gibraltar.