BISHOP John

Appears in the Worcester/Worcestershire Roll of Honour Book for navy casualties located in Worcester Cathedral.

Viknor was an Armed Merchant Cruiser (1888, 5386 tons), a merchantman formerly known as the ‘Viking’ and the ‘Ataro’ and owned by the Viking Cruising Company and taken over by the Navy in 1914. At the time of her loss on 13th January 1915 she was in the 10th Cruiser Squadron under the command of Ernest Offord Ballantyne. She had a complement of 22 officers and 273 ratings, and was lost in rough weather off Tory Island on the north-west coast of Donegal. All of her crew perished, with large quantities of wreckage and some bodies being washed ashore along the north coast of Ireland. The Admiralty could not find a reason for the loss, but apparently she was in the area of a recently sown German minefield.

Further information: HMS Viknor’s last reported position was approximately 11 miles West of Tory Island, Co. Donegal, Ireland. The ship was on patrol in heavy seas when she sank without any distress call. It is believed that she hit a recently laid German mine and sank with the loss of all crew. A number of bodies were washed up on Irish and British shores following the ships loss.

John Bishop has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Portsmouth Naval Memorial.