Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

"Apapa" was defensively-armed and on 28 November 1917, 3 miles N by E from Lynas Point, near Amlwch, Anglesey, she was torpedoed without warning and sunk by a German submarine. 77 lives were lost and there were 64 survivors. Apapa was sunk by the German submarine U-96 while the steamer was on a voyage from Lagos for Liverpool carrying passengers and general cargo.

Detail :

Arthur is noted to have arrived in Britain on 18th March 1916 from Africa, landing in Liverpool aboard the Apapa, African Steamship Company Ltd.

Probate: PREST, Arthur Henry Skelton of Greenbank, Prospect Road, Prenton, Cheshire, died 24 April 1917 at sea. Probate, London 13 July to Joan Atkinson Whitehead, agent and Gwendoline Hurry Prest, widow. Effects £6035 2s. 1d.

The theory is that Arthur, as a trader, was travelling to and from West Africa regularly. He had Lodges in the UK as well as Africa. There are cargo ships which have been noted to have sunk on the path to West Africa on the 24th, but no positive match yet. He may have been an unfortunate civilian victim of the war.

Masonic :

Arthur is noted in the contribution records to have "Died at Sea April 1917". He was initiated into Gordon Lodge, where noted to be a trader and resident in West Africa. He joined Calabar Lodge No. 3434. 14th May 1910.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley