City of Guildford
British Steam merchant
Photo courtesy of State Library of New South Wales
| Name | City of Guildford | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,157 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - W. Gray & Co (1918) Ltd, West Hartlepool | ||
| Owner | Ellerman Lines Ltd, London | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 27 Mar 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-593 (Gerd Kelbling) | ||
| Position | 33° 00'N, 22° 50'E - Grid CO 5811 | ||
| Complement | 142 (129 dead and 13 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | XT-7 | ||
| Route | Alexandria (25 Mar) - Tripoli | ||
| Cargo | 9000 tons of general cargo, including cased octane spirit and ammunition | ||
| History | Laid down as War Midge for The Shipping Controller, completed in June 1919 as Romeo for Ellerman’s Hall Line, Liverpool. 1928 renamed City of Guildford for Ellerman Lines Ltd, London. | ||
| Notes on event | At 15.24 hours on 27 March 1943, U-593 fired a spread of four torpedoes at convoy XT-7 off Derna and heard three detonations after 3 minutes 40 seconds followed by loud sinking noises. Kelbling thought that he had scored hits on two ships, but in fact only the City of Guildford (Master Clifford Collard) was hit and sunk. 70 crew members, 11 gunners and 48 army personnel were lost. The master, six crew members, one gunner and five army personnel were picked up by HMS Exmoor (L 08) (Lt D.T. McBarnet, RN) and landed at Benghazi. | ||
| On board | We have details of 79 people who were on board. | ||
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