For those who were lost, those who survived, those who came to their aid, and the families who carry their stories.
524 names are currently included, drawn from published rolls, documents and personal accounts. The register now includes named rescuers and accepts records from all seven British ships. Coverage of the rescuing ships is only beginning. Each person’s record identifies their ship and its sources. This is not a verified muster of everyone aboard on 23 October 1943. Each entry shows its evidence; absence here does not mean someone did not serve.
About the records and conflicting totals524 records · Alphabetical by surname
Shipwright 5th Class
Royal Navy
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class
Royal Navy
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class
Royal Navy
Able Seaman
Royal Navy
Stoker 2nd Class
Royal Navy
Ordinary Seaman
Royal Navy
Able Seaman
Royal Navy
Ordinary Seaman
Royal Navy
Marine
Royal Marines
Musician
Royal Marine Band
Stoker 2nd Class
Royal Navy
Able Seaman
Royal Navy
Able Seaman
Royal Navy
Ordinary Seaman
Royal Navy
Ordinary Seaman
Royal Navy
Engine Room Artificer 5th Class
Royal Navy
Signalman
Royal Navy
Private
United States Army
Surgeon Lieutenant
Royal Navy
Able Seaman
Royal Navy
Stoker 2nd Class
Royal Navy
Stoker 1st Class
Royal Navy
Leading Seaman
Royal Navy
Painter 1st Class
Royal Navy
Stoker 1st Class
Royal Navy
Petty Officer
Royal Navy
Ordinary Signalman
Royal Navy
Stoker 2nd Class
Royal Navy
Seaman
Royal Naval Reserve
Lieutenant
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Leading Writer
Royal Navy
Petty Officer Stoker
Royal Navy
Ordinary Seaman
Royal Navy
Stoker 2nd Class
Royal Navy
Able Seaman
Royal Navy
Telegraphist
Royal Navy
Each record has a place here. These profiles bring together fuller personal accounts, photographs or documents, with their sources identified.
His ship · February 1943An ordnance artificer remembered through family records, photographs and the memories of shipmates.
Read GEORGE’s storyPhotograph: IWM FL 5201 via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain ↗
Shared remembrance · Jersey, 2013A Limbourne survivor whose family continued to honour both ships at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Read Neil’s storyPhotograph: Man vyi via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain, released by the photographer ↗
His ship · 1942A Royal Marine aboard Charybdis, Eskdale survived the sinking and continued to share his memories and take part in remembrance events decades later.
Read John’s storyPhotograph: Royal Navy photograph via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain ↗
Restored family photograph · Roy PellingRoy Pelling survived the loss of HMS Limbourne on 23 October 1943 and continued his Royal Navy service. His recorded service runs from 12 January 1943 to 24 October 1946.
Read Roy’s storyPhotograph: Roy Pelling family history · Family-supplied photograph · no wider reuse licence asserted ↗Related photographJohn Eskdale recounts surviving Charybdis before continuing his wartime service in the Far East. The Veterans’ Foundation introduces his later connection with the Royal Marines and the memories he shares with a younger generation.
A retrospective interview with a Charybdis survivor. Contains recollections of drowning and loss. The photograph shows his ship, not the interview.
Veterans' Foundation / YouTube · Published 4 November 2025
The external video player loads only when selected. Some networks restrict video; the written history can be explored independently.
Many people are currently known here through a name and a service or memorial record. Further contributions can add the personal detail that a roll alone cannot preserve.
Limbourne’s crew Charybdis’s crew Meet the rescuers Contribute a recordA service record, a letter, a photograph reference or a remembered story can help fill a gap. Survivors and descendants are welcome to request a new entry or correct an existing one.
Contributions are saved privately for editorial review. Nothing submitted here appears automatically on the memorial. Contact details stay private. Please include only information you have permission to share; avoid living people’s sensitive details.
How contributions are handled