Don Mahon 07.05.12 - 09.02.41
Don was the 4th child of Joseph Senior and the 2nd of Minnie Montague. He followed his older brother Jim into the Merchant Navy as a Radio Officer and travelled the world. However, as WW2 began he became part of the war effort in the Atlantic Convoys bringing supplies through the U-Boat blockade to the UK and Ireland. After many successful trips his ship The Estrallano left Oporto, Portugal carrying mainly canned fish. On this occasion the convoy was attacked and Don's ship was sunk in the early hours of 9th February 1941. Survivors were picked up from the sea, but Don was trapped at his radio post by sliding sandbags. He continued to send SOS messages as the ship went down and his Captain wrote to his family to tell them the details. Don's last letter arrived 2 weeks later in which he wrote of his last days and told his family that he had been to confession and mass which gave some comfort to his grieving parents. A link to a recording in his memory by his brother Malachy is below.