Ocracoke Honors Crew of Bedfordshire
The Bedfordshire was sent to the U.S. East Coast along with twenty-three other Royal Navy vessels to patrol and transport supplies for the Allied cause during World War Two, and contributed to that effort for about two months before it was sunk off the coast from Cape Lookout. On May 14, 1942, two bodies of sailors from the Bedforshire washed ashore on Ocracoke Island, and two more were discovered in the days following. They were buried in Ocracoke Village by residents, where they have been cared for and remembered for the past 73 years.
Tropical Storm Ana was forecast to bring high winds and substantial amounts of rain to the Outer Banks starting Thursday night and lasting through Monday, much to the disappointment of residents and travelers alike. Rain did fall on Ocracoke Thursday night into Friday, but by 8 o'clock Friday morning the rain clouds had cleared, allowing the sun to shine through a few fluffy clouds, exposing the bright blue sky. A little after 9 o'clock that morning, while I was out running errands for work, I could hear the unique sound of a bagpipe coming from the direction of the British Cemetery. After playing a verse of "Skye Boat Song," several more bagpipers joined in to harmonize, filling the pretty – and unexpectidely nice – morning with a tune and sounds we don't typically hear around Ocracoke.
By the time I arrived at the British Cemetery for the ceremony, the grassy area between Teeter's Campground and the cemetery was was filled with residents and guests. Folding chairs had been placed under a portable awning, allowing a large number of guests to sit in the shade. Trees on either side of the awning provided shade for those in the standing-room-only areas, and with the slight breeze and sunshine, the morning was serene.
Musicians of the United States Coast Guard Pipe Band and Coast Guard Auxillery began the processional towards the British Cemetery promptly at 11 o'clock. Members of the United States Coast Guard Honor Guard were next, followed by Ocracoke Boy Scout Troop 290 and Ocracoke Girl Scout Cadette Troop 2829. U.S.C.G. Sector North Carolina Logistics Department Head CDR Kerrie Trebbe opened the ceremony and introduced each of the distinguished speakers present. It was during this time the audience learned about a sailor named John Sweeney. Last year Sweeney's nephew and his nephew's wife learned he was on HMT Bedfordshire when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk, and came this year to pay their respects.
Next the Invocation was spoken by U.S.C.G Chaplain LT John Mabus, followed by moving speeches delivered by Captain Sean Murtagh, Commander Sector North Carolina; CDR David Trudeau, Canadian Naval Attache; Commodore Richard Allen, British Royal Navy Attache; and Daniel C. Couch, President Friends of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. Each officer spoke of the unity between Canada, Great Britain, and the United States during World War Two and the decades since, but Commodore Richard Allen of the British Royal Navy also said the following:
"It's especially poignant for me to speak today as I am a submariner, my wife Suzanne is half-German, and her recently deceased uncle was a surviving U-boat submariner. So today, on V-E Day, perhaps we should also recognize the reconciliation that has built between the protagonists of World War Two."
Ocracoke School senior Samantha Styron read a self-written history of HMT Bedfordshire and the crew before senior Katie O'Neal read the names of the thirty-seven sailors killed on May 11, 1942, in front of a quiet, moved audience. The following moments were also silent as Captain Sean Murtagh, CDR David Trudeau, and Commodore Richard Allen saluted wreaths, placed in front of the gravesites, to honor each country and the sailors who served on HMT Bedfordshire. A Twenty-one Gun Salute was performed by the U.S.C.G Honor Guard, which was immediately followed by the sounding of Taps, performed by Ocracoke resident Howard Bennink. The U.S.C.G. Pipe Band and C.G. Auxillery played again, and as they bagpipers marched away from the cemetery, CDR Kerrie Trebbe closed the emotional, solemn ceremony.
Each year on the Friday closest to May 11th, a ceremony is conducted to honor and remember the sailors who were killed while serving on HMT Bedfordshire.
