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Age-38

47, Hamilton Road, Golders Green

In February 1917, the German navy introduced their ‘sink on sight’ policy whereby their submarines attacked all merchant shipping without warning. By doing this they hoped to starve Britain and the Allies of vital supplies and force them to sue for peace. At first it was very successful and hundreds of ships were were sunk in the opening months of the campaign and at one point Britain was reduced  to just six weeks' supply of wheat. But there were dangers for Germany. Many of the ships sunk were American and this was one of the main factors why the United States entered the war in April 1917. Eventually the threat of the U-boats was weakened by the introduction of a convoy system, but not before many ships had been sunk and many lives lost.

One of the victims of this ‘sink on sight’ policy was the Steam Ship Oronsa, an 8,000 ton merchant vessel that was sunk on 28th April, 1918 by the German submarine U-91, twelve miles west from Bardsey Island in North Wales. She was sailing from New York to Liverpool with a general cargo and three of her crew, one of whom was Edwin Lanchbury, lost their lives.