WW1 Mercantile Marine Pair. K.I.A. U55 in Casuality

WW1 Mercantile Marine Pair. British War Medal 1914-20, Mercantile Marine 1914-18. Humphrey Isaac Roberts. SS Yola. Medals are in good condition. Humphry Isaac Roberts was born in 1879 at Porthmadoc. He was living in Poplar, London in 1906. A mercantile Seaman by occupation, and a 2nd Mate in 1901. He later married Phoebe Roberts of 58 Claribel Street, Liverpool and was ‘Killed In Action’ on the 7th Febuary 1917.(official records state 28th January 1917, but are wrong ). His Mercantile index card is marked DECEASED. Serving on SS Yula. SS Yula was a British Passenger/Cargo Ship. Built in 1898 by Sunderland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd and owned by Elder Dempster Lines Ltd, Captain Hugh Owen. It was carrying a cargo of grain when lost. At the time no official cause was given as to the loss of SS Yula. But new evidence has come to light regarding U-Boat action in the area. SS Yola was torpedoed twice and sunk by U55 on 7th Febuary 1917 West of Ushant. U55 observed the ship sink but was unable to obtain name of the vessel however the U55 described her as a grain steamer on a southeasterly course. It was not until after the wars end that details of the U Boats KTB was mapped onto the SS Yola. Kapitanleutnant Wilhelm Werner of U55 sunk 65 ships and was accused of a number of atrocities, some of which included machine-gunning survivors from sunk ships and taking survivors onto the submarine casing only to submerge on three occasions. He also torpedoed a hospital ship and never appeared before the war crimes court, having fled to Brazil. He was also responsible for sinking the Carpathia 17th July 1918, (which took 705 survivors off the Titanic in 1912, saving them from the freezing waters) In WW2 Werner became a prominant member of the SS. 6,500 merchant vessels were sunk by Submarines during 1914-1918.