Person    | Male  Born 2/12/1871  Died 27/7/1916

Captain Charles Algernon Fryatt

Categories: Commerce, Execution

War dead, WW1 i

Commemorated on a memorial as having died in WW1.

Master mariner. Born Southampton. From Hellfire Corner : Captain of the Great Eastern Railway Company's steamer Brussels, he in utter defiance of the Germans continued to work the Rotterdam-British East Coast route after war was declared. On two occasions in March 1915, though, The Brussels was attacked by U-Boats. The second attempt to sink the vessel seeing Captain Fryatt steer his ship towards the surfaced and torpedo-aiming-submarine forcing it to dive. 'You could have easily hung your hat on the periscope as she lay along side us', he later recalled. But on 23rd June 1916 a German patrol stopped The Brussels and its twice honoured (once by the GERC, once by the Admiralty) Master was taken first to Zeebrugge then on to Brugge where he was tried on 27th July for attempting to ram the U-Boat over a year previous. Although strongly denied by Captain Fryatt and the British Government - 'he was simply trying to avoid an attack and was only interested in saving the lives of his passengers and crew '- he was non-the-less found guilty and subsequently executed.

2022: The Brussels Times: "You have to search to find the little memorial park in Bruges next to the law courts. A gate leads into a secret spot once known as the Jardin de l’Aurore. A line of identical pillars commemorates 13 civilians executed in this park by the German army during World War One. The bullet holes have been left in the brick wall as a permanent memorial to the victims. Twelve of the civilians were locals. But one was a British man." Fryatt. 

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Captain Charles Algernon Fryatt

Commemorated ati

Fryatt at Liverpool Street Station

{Incised in the marble below the medallion:} To the memory of Captain Charles...

Read More

WW1 at Liverpool Street Station

An error in one of the names (Cleathers / Cleathero) has been pointed out to ...

Read More

Other Subjects

Prince Michael Duke of Kent

Prince Michael Duke of Kent

Grandson of King George V and son of George, Duke of Kent. Born Michael George Charles Franklin at Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire. Married to Princess Michael. He helps out with some royal duties, ...

Person, Commerce, Royalty

5 memorials
Barclays Bank

Barclays Bank

The bank's origins go back to the goldsmith bankers John Freame and Thomas Gould. James Barclay joined the business in 1736. After various name permutations, it became Barclay and Co. in 1896. As o...

Group, Commerce

3 memorials
Lee Valley Estates

Lee Valley Estates

A company which provides workspace throughout the Lee Valley and which helps small and medium sized enterprises to prosper and grow.

Group, Commerce

1 memorial
National Bank

National Bank

Founded as the National Bank of Ireland, becoming The National Bank Limited in 1859. By 1884 it was a member of the Bankers Clearing House. In 1966 the branches in England and Wales were acquired b...

Group, Commerce, Ireland

3 memorials
The Three Cripples public house

The Three Cripples public house

Pub in Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist".

Fiction, Commerce, Fictional, Food & Drink

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Tony Hancock - NW11

Tony Hancock - NW11

NW11, Grey Close, 10

Tony Hancock, 1924 - 1968, comedian, lived here, 1947 - 1948. The Dead Comics Society

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Co-op Bank - bombs 7/7

Co-op Bank - bombs 7/7

N1, Islington High Street, 1, Co-op Bank

The BBC reported 20 July 2005 that Shahara A. Islam worked as a cashier at the Co-operative Bank at Angel, Islington and that police beli...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Stanley Lupino

Stanley Lupino

Actor, dancer and singer. Born as Stanley Richard Lupino Hook, he was the father of actor and director Ida Lupino. He made his first stage appearance at the age of six and subsequently performed in...

Person, Cinema, Dance, Music / songs, Theatre, USA

1 memorial
Rebecca Goossen

Rebecca Goossen

Trainee architect, 29, died after she was caught on the inside of a left-turning cement mixer as she cycled to work at Metropolitan Workshop in Cowcross Street. She was living in Bethnal Green but ...

Person, Cyclist, Tragedy, Germany

1 memorial
Janet Johnson

Janet Johnson

Welfare worker. All we can find out about her is contained in her plaque in Redcross Street where she lived. She was the manager of the Central London School for Orphans and Destitute Children at H...

Person, Community / Clubs, Education

1 memorial