HER HVILER (Here rests)
NORSK SJOMANN (Norwegian sailor)
EIVIND EDVARDSEN
11-10-1884 - 7-9-1941
FOR NORGE (For Norway)
1935 - 1945
Eivind Andreas Edvardsen was born on 11th. October 1884 in the town of Svelvik in Vestfold county, Norway. He was the son of Hjalmar Henrik Masilius, (b.1853) and Iverine Othilie Henderiette (née Foyn) Edvardsen nee Foyn, (b. 1854), and the husband of Maren Foss (b.1892).
Eivind was the maskinmester (chief engineer) on the Norwegian steam cargo ship SS Eikhaug.
The ship was completed as the D/S Brio by the shipyard of Nylands of Verksted, Oslo in August 1903 for A/S Bonheur (Fred. Olsen) of Oslo. The ship was purchased by A/S Eikhaug (Ditlef Rasmussen) of Haugesund, in January 1930 and renamed Eikhaug. The ship was taken over by O. A. Knutsen in May 1935, and from 1938 the manager became Knut Knutsen O.A.S.
At 0600 GMT on 6th. September 1941, Eikhaug, under the command of Captain Gudmund Nygaard, left Southend on the Thames estuary bound for Grangemouth in Scotland with a cargo of 1,745 tons of cement, loaded the previous day at Cliffe in Kent, as part of convoy EC-70. The convoy was in two columns and Eikhaug was the third ship in the port column. During the afternoon of the 6th. two German planes attacked the convoy for about an hour and dropped bombs, but no ships sustained any damage.
At 0230 GMT on the 7th. September, the sea was slightly choppy sea, there was light wind, fine weather and good visibility. It was overcast, but the nearly full moon came through now and again.
Eikhaug was making 7 knots on a north-westerly course. Then in position 52 57N 01 17 30E, 10 miles north/northeast of Cromer, the convoy was attacked by German fast attack boats, known as S-boats (schnellboot), from the 4th. Flotilla. The escorting destroyer Versatile saw a fast vessel approaching the convoy, but hesitated to take action for fear of attacking friendly forces, since the boat was seen passing only 400 m from a patrol boat, which showed no signs of alarm. By the time Versatile had determined it was an enemy vessel it was already too late, and 4 torpedoes were observed. Immediately afterwards, Eikhaug was hit by torpedoes from S-52, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Karl Müller, and the British ship, Duncarron was hit by torpedoes from another S-boat, the S-50, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Erhard Karcher.
There was an explosion in Eikhaug's stern and the ship rapidly sank, about 30 to 40 seconds after the explosion. Four men, Able Seaman Olaf Henrik Lagerstedt, Stokers Alf Glastad and Odd Skagen and British mess boy Douglas Foster, were asleep in their cabins. Awoken by the explosion, they ran to the deck to find the stern of the ship was then under water. Faced with a wall of water they all jumped overboard and when they came to the surface their ship was gone. They managed to cling to the remains of floating hatches, until they were picked up 15 minutes later, Lagerstedt, Glastad and Foster by one destroyer, while Skagen was rescued by a different destroyer. The survivors were landed at Lowestoft in Suffolk, where Skagen was admitted to a hospital, having received minor injuries. The survivors thought they had heard cries from others in the water, but no crewmen could be found.
The crew numbered 19 + 2 military gunners, of which 12 Norwegians, including captain Nygaard and Eivind, 2 British, 1 Spaniard and the 2 gunners died. 10 of the crew had signed on in London a little over a week before the sinking.
Eivind's, died aged 56. His body was washed ashore and he was buried in Section G, Grave 6 in the churchyard of St. Andrew's in Bacton on the North Norfolk coast. He rests beside his crewmate, Norwegian steward Lars Ditmandsen, aged 30.
Name: Eikhaug
Vessel type: Cargo vessel
Home port: Haugesund ?
Flag: Norway
Call sign: LDOD
Crew: 19 + 2 military gunners
Length: 231 ft 7 in. (70.58 m)
Beam: 32 ft.1 in. (9.77 m)
Draught: 20 ft. 11 in. (6.37 m
Gross tonnage: 1,436 ton
Net tonnage: 842 ton
Deadweight 2,000 ton
Engine: Nyland triple expansion steam engine
Engine output: 109 hp (80.16 kW)
Armament: 4 x machine guns.
