View source for Gregory Charles Kitchener Sapper 3061766

{{Personnel
|id=782
|Surname and forenames=Gregory Charles Kitchener
|Army number=3061766
|Rank=Sapper
|Age=27 at the time of his death.
|Unit=Joined the Royal Scots (no enlistment date as yet).  Transferred to the Black Watch 25/9/1940, reference BW358/4/89.  Posted to the 1st Tyneside Scottish.  Served Iceland.  Transferred to the Royal Engineers 22/9/42, Authority:- Part II Order 1st TS 90/42.  Posted to the 990 Port Maintenance Company.   
Served in North Africa.  KILLED at sea due to Enemy Action 17/6/43.
|Died/Killed in action=Date of death 17-Jun-43
|Home address=Son of Charles Kendal Gregory and Fanny Gregory, husband of Edith Gregory of Sheffield.  Commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial.
|Source table=1TS
|Image Name=Ssyoma.jpg
|Image Title=The converted liner SS Yoma on which Sapper Kitchener was killed.
}}

On 13th November 2020 a message was received from Mr Andy Drinkell, who had been researching the death of his grandfather, and which contained the following text:-

"990 Port Maintenance Company left Sfax as part of a convoy  (GTX2) of fourteen ships after service with the 1st Army in North Africa. They were billeted on the SS Yoma, a former steam liner (built on the Clyde in 1928) and headed west along the coast toward Tripoli, on to Alexandria and Port Said and finally home. 

At 0733 hours on June 17th 1943 the Yoma was hit by one of two torpedoes from U81 and sank northwest of Derna with the loss of 484 lives, including the troops who were at that time breakfasting in number 2 mess deck. An old friend, sadly now deceased, of my grandfather - who was also on the ship - survived. He told how my grandfather and the others of 990 PM Coy were breakfasting when the torpedo hit, lifting the ship. As they climbed the ladders to reach the deck, the bulkhead collapsed. The ladders fell and he saw  my grandfather torn from the ladder by the swirling water as the ship slowly went down by the stern.  A great number of the lads were down there, probably including Mr Kitchener, who might well have known my grandfather. Sadly, there was no way out and at this point probably most were already drowned or killed by the water before the ship finally went down".

We are most appreciative of Mr Drinkell sharing the results of his research.

To read the Wikipedia article on the ship and its loss, please click[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Yoma] here.

To read a further account on the BBC Peoples' War Website, please click [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/04/a8401204.shtml] here.