Daniel Thomas Griffiths
Daniel Thomas Griffiths served as a stoker aboard the destroyer HMS Belmont, and was lost at sea in January 1942 when his ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U82 South of Newfoundland.
The information on Daniel Thomas Griffiths has been compiled from a number of sources, including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, from the South Wales Voice newspaper, and the Parish Burial Register (courtesy of the Swansea Archives).
| Name | Daniel Thomas Griffiths |
| Date of Death | 31st January 1942 |
| Place of Death | At sea, South of Newfoundland |
| Age at Death | 35 |
| Unit and Regiment | Royal Navy; HMS Belmont |
| Rank | Petty Officer Stoker |
| Service Number | P⁄KX 79261 |
| Remembrance Grave | St. Johns Church, Callwen, Glyntawe. |
| Memorial | PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL (Hampshire, UK); Panel 67, Column 3. |
| Local Memorials | Ystradgynlais War Memorial |
| Notes | Son of David and Elizabeth Griffiths of Penycae, Swansea, Glamorgan |
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Daniel Thomas Griffiths To the left is Griffiths family grave in the churchyard of St John's church, Callwen. |
| The grave also records the death of Daniel Thomas Griffiths' parents:- David Griffiths Died Oct 21st 1941, Aged 67y Elizabeth Griffiths Died June 24th 1944, Aged 67y Daniel Thomas Griffiths Petty Officer Dearly loved son A rhoddodd ei fywyd ords ei wiad Jan 31st 1942 |
From the Wikipedia on the loss of HMS Belmont :-
USS Satterlee was transferred to the United Kingdom on the same day and served the Royal Navy as HMS Belmont, one of 50 old American destroyers exchanged for bases in British Colonies in the western Atlantic.
HMS Belmont was commissioned on 8 October 1940 and arrived at Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 24 October. She joined the 3d Escort Group in the Western Approaches Command and conducted escorting duty for Atlantic convoys, broken only for repairs of collision damage between March and July 1941. While under the command of Lt. Cdr. G. B. O. Harding RN on 31 January 1942, she was struck by a single torpedo south of Newfoundland in position 42º02'N, 57º18'W, and sunk with the loss of all 138 hands by a U-boat (U-82 - Lt. Cdr. Rollmann) while escorting a convoy (NA.2) of British and Canadian airmen to the United Kingdom.
The names of her crew are commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial at Southsea Common, Southsea, Hampshire, UK