Article 12 - The Tragic Death of Captain Fryatt - SS Brussels

Accompanying this article is a Belgian produced postcard commemorating the memorial to the capture of the British merchant mariner Captain Fryatt of the Great Eastern Railway Company Shipping Line who was executed by the Germans. He was the Master of the 'SS Brussels'.

Charles Algernon Fryatt (1872 – 1916) was executed by the Germans for attempting to ram a U-boat (U-33), in 1915. When his ship, the 'SS Brussels', was later captured off the Netherlands in 1916, he was court-martialed and sentenced to death, on the order of the Kaiser, although he was a civilian non-combatant. International outrage followed his execution near Bruges, Belgium. In 1919, his body was reburied with full honours in the United Kingdom. He is commemorated with a memorial at Liverpool Street Station, London.

The commemorative enamel memorial medallion or fob which accompanies this article is a fitting memorial to the memory of Captain Fryatt. It is 27mm in diameter, and is of a truly stunning quality and a very emotive item; even to this day. Captain Fryatt's murder was one of the three best known German atrocities of the First World War, the others being the sinking of the 'RMS Lusitania' and the execution of Nurse Edith Cavell. The author would be interested to know if similar items were produced by the "Lest We Forget League " for either the 'SS Lusitania', or Nurse Edith Cavell.

The 'SS Brussels' was a passenger ferry originally built in 1902, for the British Great Eastern Railway. Following its capture in 1916, the "Brussels" was renamed "Brugge" and used as a depot ship at Zeebrugge, Belgium. In October 1918, the 'Brugge' was scuttled by the Germans when they evacuated the port. The ship was raised by the Belgian Government and presented to the British Admiralty in 1920. She was repaired and later renamed 'Lady Brussels' and employed as an Irish Sea ferry, serving until scrapped in 1929.

Please note the three items used to illustrate this article have now been sold.

Research compiled by Mike Finchen

Code: 68373