First World War Able Seaman's grave rededicated in Wales

The grave of Able Seaman Frederick Dyer, of the Mercantile Marine Reserve, has finally been marked with a headstone bearing his name more than a hundred years after he was killed.

A rededication service for Able Seaman Dyer was held at St Matthew’s Church, Borth, Ceredigion on Sunday 3rd September 2023 and attended by members of the Merchant Navy Association and the Royal British Legion.

Born in Gosport, Hampshire in 1894, Frederick Dyer served aboard the Armed Naval Auxiliary vessel HM Yacht Kethailes. He died during a patrol on 11th October 1917 when the Kethailes was accidentally rammed by the troop ship Leicestershire off the coast of County Wexford. Sixteen of his fellow crew were also lost. It was assumed by locals at the time that Dyer had been serving aboard the SS Memphian, which was torpedoed by a U-Boat three days earlier but because no official record to this effect could be found his grave was left unmarked. As the result of research carried out by Aberystwyth University alumni Gordon Brown and County Archivist for Ceredigion Helen Palmer, in 2019 AB Seaman Dyer’s identity was confirmed.

The installation of new headstones and subsequent services of rededication gives the CWGC the opportunity to renew our commitment to care for fallen in perpetuity.