William Henry Carlow was born on 10 February 1923, the second child of William James Carlow (1894-1931) and Mary Jane Carlow née Skeggs. Both his and his sister's, Mary R. Carlow (1921-1980), births were registered in the Bethnal Green registration district.
Electoral registers for 1930 show his parents listed at 37 Mansford Street, Bethnal Green.
He joined the Royal Navy, service number D/KX162101, and was a Stoker 2nd Class when he died, aged 20 years, on 23 October 1943 whilst serving aboard HMS Charybdis.
HMS Charybdis was a Dido class cruiser and together with six destroyers was tasked to intercept a German blockade running ship, the Munsterland, that was carrying a cargo of latex and strategic metals, and was being escorted by five Type 39 torpedo boats. At 1.38am German torpedo boat T23, under the command of Frederick-Karl Paul spotted HMS Charybdis in the English Channel off the north coast of Brittany, France, The ship was hit on the port side by two torpedoes out of a salvo of six fired by T23 and T27. HMS Charybdis sank within half an hour with the loss of over 400 men. Only four officers and 103 ratings survived.
21 bodies were washed ashore in Guernsey but as his body was never found he is commemorated in column 2 of Panel 82 on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, The Hoe, Plymouth, Devon.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
