Feeling a little maudlin last night after toasting my Mum's birthday (she would have been 94) I thought I would share this poignant tale.
On the evening of 15th February 1941, SS Alnmoor a merchant vessel built in 1922 of 6,573 GRT was sunk by U boat U-123 400 miles off Rockall whilst on passage to Glasgow. She was carrying a cargo of flour and steel loaded in New York and Halifax. She had been part of convoy SC21 but was straggling behind. On board were variously documented 42 or 55 souls including 23 year old Alan Humphrey Foster having already made second officer, my Mothers brother. His death is acknowledged on the Tower Hill memorial.
![[Linked Image]](https://i.imgur.com/aDxa5Mv.jpg)
My grandparents never discovered the fate of their son, they were simply told he had been lost at sea as so many I imagine. That was all my Mum and her siblings knew until these details were discovered on the Internet from mainly German records around ten years ago. I was so pleased to pass this info on to the family and finally give my now late Mum some closure, she being the only remaining sibling.
U-123 had an infamous record during WW2 sinking 42 ships totalling 218,813 GRT between 1939 and 1944 when it was laid up in the Lorient pens. During February 1941 it was commanded by Karl-Heinz Moehle, later described as a U-boat ace having the previous November sunk five ships in five hours.
