- 20th Century
Captain Charles Algernon Fryatt
Born in 1873, by 1916 Fryatt was living in Dovercourt, Essex. He was
the master of the Great Eastern Railway Company's steamship S.S Brussels
of the Mercantile Marine registered in Harwich, Essex. In World War One
its regular run was between Britain and parts of Europe where the ship
ran the gauntlet of German U33 submarines. On 28th March 1915 the S.S.
Brussels was on her way to Rotterdam when she encountered a U33 on the
surface. Captain Fryatt realised he could not outpace the submarine and
was in danger of being torpedoed so he attempted to ram it. There was
no extensive damage and the engagement was broken off.
On 22nd June 1916, during a journey back to Tilbury in Essex, the ship
was captured by a flotilla of German torpedo boats and taken to Zeebrugge.
Captain Fryatt and some of his crew were sent to Rublaben POW camp near
Berlin before being returned to Zeebrugge for interrogation and trial.
The crew were sent back to the POW camp but Captain Fryatt was shot by
the Germans on 27th July 1916, presumably for the earlier incident when
he rammed the submarine. Since he was a Merchant Seaman and not a member
of the Royal Navy his action was judged to have been illegal. His execution
caused great public disquiet and debate.
There is a commemorative tablet to him at All Saints church in Dovercourt.
Information from Family Tree Magazine, vol 17, no 9, 2001
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