BLACKMAN, John William

LT/JX 228148, Seaman, Royal Naval Patrol Service, H.M.E.S.V. Sedulous

Born 16/06/1912 in Scarborough

Died 01/09/1941, 50 Preston Road, North Shields (address of hospital)

Buried 06/09/1941

Baptised 18/07/1912 Scarborough St Paul. Address at time, 14a Cook’s Row, Scarborough

Son of John William Blackman (1889-1953) and Betsy Blackman (nee Flounders, 1888-1957). He is the eldest of five children. Siblings were Gladys (b 1914), Bessie (1920-1921), James R (1925-1999) and Joan (1927-1996). All children were born in Scarborough, except Joan, who was born in Grimsby.

Address at time of death - 11 Freeston Street, Cleethorpes. On the 1939 register, Betsy is living at this address with the two youngest children James and Joan. Local directory shows J.W. Blackman Sr., a skipper, at this address in 1935.

A marriage is recorded in 1939 in Cleethorpes between John W Blackman and Kathleen Tregunno.

John Sr., Betsy, James and Joan had returned to Scarborough by the late 1940s.

There were heavy bombing raids on 1st September 1941 in the area where John died, so it may be he was a victim of the raids.

Gravestone gives vessel as Sedulous, but www.naval-history.net  gives vessel name as the Elfin. As the Sedulous, an Examination Service Vessel, was based at Blyth, Northumberland around the time of John's death, it seems more likely that the information on the gravestone is correct.