1898 to 1917
BUR00037
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James Burnett was
born in or about 1899 in Frockheim, Angus.
1917
James Burnett was a wireless operator during
the First World War.
This is an AI
reproduced image, recreating James’ courage as a wireless operator on SS
Hollington in 1917
Wireless Officer James Burnett, SS Hollington,
18 years of old age, was the eldest son of the Rev George Burnett, Rockcliff UF
Church, Glasgow, formerly of Friockheim., and of his
wife Margaret Howie. He was in the service of the Marconi Company for a year,
during which time he made voyages to South America, Australia and the West
Indies. He sailed as sole wireless officer on the SS Hollington, a ship of
11,000 tons, which was carrying munitions of war to Archangel. North of the
Shetland Islands, the Hollington was attacked on the 2nd of June 1917 by a
German submarine, and after a fight of one and a half hours was torpedoed, and
sank so suddenly that only two of her crew managed to escape. One of the two
survivors, said: Wireless Officer Burnett had sent out the SOS, and come out of
his cabin to give some message to the captain. Then he went back to wait for an
answer to his call, and must have gone down with his ship standing by the
instrument just like the brave boy he was, true to the last.
The British cargo ship SS Hollington
was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine SM U-95 commanded by Athalwin Prinz, on its first patrol, on 2 June 1917,
approximately 14 nautical miles south of the Faroe Islands. The attack occurred
as part of Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare during World War
I. While
some records show the sinking on 2 June 1917, the official date is often
recorded as 3 June 1917. The Hollington was a 4,221-gross register tonnage, defensively
armed merchant steamship built in 1912. The ship was en
route from Liverpool to the White Sea carrying a cargo of tin, small arms, and
ammunition. The
U-95 torpedoed the Hollington without warning. The practice of sinking merchant
ships without warning was a major factor in the United States entering the war.
Thirty people
were lost in the sinking, including the Master of the ship. There were only two
survivors.
The wreck of the SS Hollington lay at a depth
of 894 feet and was the subject of a salvage operation between 1970 and 1972,
during which 680 tons of tin were recovered.
The commander of the U-95, Athalwin
Prinz, was one of the war's successful German U-boat commanders, sinking 14 ships
during his 6 patrols before his submarine was sunk by a mine in June 1918 with
the entire crew lost.
James Burnett died at sea on 2 June 2017.