| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
David Macdonald Caird was born in Arbroath, Scotland the 25 Dec 1865, he joined the Merchant Navy as a marine engineer, moving down to Hull and working at sea from there. In 1901 he married Elizabeth Margaret Crowe at Speeton, St Leonard’s Church, Elizabeth was born in Flamborough in 1871 they moved to Beverley to 41 Wilbert Lane
They had three children, twins, David Alexander, and Robert born Christmas Day 1901 and Mildred, born in 1903. David would attend Beverley Grammar School in 1916-17.
David was promoted to First Engineer and continued to serve during the war. On 10 Apr 1917 his ship, the S.S. Salmo was sunk whilst en route with general cargo from Oporto in Portugal to Liverpool. The Salmo owned by the Ellerman Wilson Line and registered in Hull, was attacked by a German U-Boat (U60) 210 miles off Fastnet in Ireland. All but two members of the crew managed to evacuate the burning ship; one of those who did not was First Engineer David Caird. A fireman perished on the ship and another died from exposure in a lifeboat.
The Beverley Guardian of 17 Apr 1917 stated that David “ had died in hospital in Ireland as a result of scalds and exposure in an open boat”. This is not correct as his body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London. He was awarded the Mercantile Marine War Medal. He is commemorated on the Hengate Memorial and on the East Riding Memorial in the Beverley Minster.
After the war his family moved to Hull where his wife died in 1954. |