The Henwood Family

Phyllis Mildred Henwood

Birth: 27 January 1911, in Vryheid, Natal, South Africa

Father: Sidney Evelyn Henwood

Mother: Alice Mildred (White) Henwood

Occupation: Masseuse. Phyllis was S.C.M.M.G., L.E.T., M.E.

SS Ceramic
Phyllis died aboard the S.S. Ceramic when it was sunk in 1942
photograph from Wikipedia
Death: 7 December 1942, aboard the S.S. Ceramic when it was torpedoed west of the Azores.

The Ceramic left Liverpool on 23 November 1942, bound for South Africa and Australia, carrying both Allied troops and 378 civilian passengers. It was torpedoed by U-515 on the night of 6 December 1942 in latitude 40 deg. 30 min. N., longitude 40 deg, 20 min. W, west of the Azores in the Atlantic ocean. The Ceramic took about three hours to sink, and everyone on board was evacuated to lifeboats. The lifeboats drifted through a relatively calm night, and contact was made between some of them at daybreak, but a terrible storm descended in the morning and some of the lifeboats were swamped and capsized. Rescue vessels were forced to turn back due to the storm. Of the 656 people on board the Ceramic, only one survived - Sapper Eric Munday was pulled from the water by the U-boat for interrogation and subsequently held as a P.O.W. The complete story of the Ceramic, including interviews with Eric Munday and some of the U-boat crew has been recorded in SS Ceramic - The Untold Story (Clare Hardy, 2006)

SS Ceramic - The Untold Story (Clare Hardy, 2006)
CASUALTY LIST
...
MATHIAS PHYLLIS MILDRED S.C.M.M.G., L.E.T., M.E.
Age: 31
Occupation or Calling: Masseuse
Ticket No. 231 (Henwood)
Destination: Durban
Address in UK: Lamphey Court, Lamphey, Pembrokeshire.
Also: Highclere, Haverfordwest, Pembroke
Daughter of Alice Mildred Henwood, of Entabeni, Vryheid, Natal, South Africa, and of the late Sidney Evelyn Henwood.
Wife of Wing Comdr. Lewis Mathias, R.A.F.
*Travelling with Mabel Burgess Nicholas, ticket no. 230.
Shipping Co. note: After this vessel sailed we were informed by the High Comm. for S. Africa that this passenger booked in her maiden name (Henwood - see No.142) but married Wing Comdr Mathias at Caxton Hall on the 9th Oct. 1942.

Addresses:
1942: Lamphey Court, Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, also Highclere, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire   (SS Ceramic - The Untold Story)

Sources:

Sidney Evelyn Henwood

Birth: 14 November 1883, in Howick, Natal

Father: James Henwood

Mother: Catherine Thomas (Walsh) Henwood

Married: Alice Mildred White on 9 April 1910 in Pietermaritxburg Cathedral, Pietermaritxburg, Natal

Occupation: Lawyer

Children:
Death: 17 January 1937, in Vryheid, Natal, South Africa

Alice Mildred White and Sidney Evelyn Henwood headstone
Headstone of Sidney Evelyn Henwood and Alice Mildfred White in Main Cemetery, Vryheid
photograph by Chris and Petra Lombard at eGGSA library
Buried: Main cemetery, Vryheid, Natal, South Africa, with his wife. Their headstone reads:-

IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
SIDNEY EVELYN
HENWOOD
★ 14 . 11 . 1883
†  17 . 1 . 1937

QUIETLY HE
HELPED SO MANY
ERECTED BY A LOVED
IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
MILLY HENWOOD
(NEE ALICE MILDRED WHITE)
★ 27 . 4 . 1885
M   9 . 4 . 1910
 †  18 . 4 . 1979
GENTLY SHE LIVED
& GENTLY SHE DIED
  AND LOVING FAMILY 


Sources:
Return to Chris Gosnell's Home Page
Return to Chris Gosnell's Genealogy Page

If you have any comments, additions or modifications to the information on this page, please feel free to email me.
Created and maintained by: chris@ocotilloroad.com