Laing, Second Radio Officer Andrew Jordan

Service highlights

  • Rank: Second Radio Officer
  • Born: 1916,
  • Family: Son of the Reverend and Mrs. Andrew Laing of Woodham
  • Education: Attended St. Marys Collegiate Institute
  • Radio training: 1938 in Toronto, likely with the Radio College of Canada
  • Civilian war service: Worked for Marconi International Marine as a Second Radio Officer on merchant ships
  • Service at sea: Served in danger zones almost continuously from 1940 onward
  • Survived sinkings:
    • Aboard SS Northern Prince when it was sunk off Greece on 10 April 1941, rescued
    • Aboard another ship sunk about four weeks later off Crete, rescued
  • Missing and presumed killed: 20 September 1941,
  • No known grave: Commemorated on the Halifax Memorial and on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall

A Life and Service Remembered

Andrew Jordan Laing was born in 1916 and came to the St. Marys area as a boy when his father was appointed minister to the Woodham and Zion United Churches. He attended St. Marys Collegiate Institute, and in 1938 he went to Toronto to train in radio, a skill that would place him right at the nerve center of a ship at sea.

He later worked as a Second Radio Officer with Marconi International Marine, serving on a variety of merchant ships. From 1940 onward, his work kept him in danger zones almost continuously. The merchant service did not wear the same uniform as the armed forces, but it carried the same strain, long watches, constant risk, and the knowledge that a normal voyage could turn in minutes.

On April 10 1941 he was aboard the SS Northern Prince when it was sunk off Greece. He survived. About four weeks later, he survived the sinking of another ship off Crete. To make it through that twice and return to sea says a great deal about his steadiness and sense of duty.

In September 1941 he was serving as Second Radio Officer aboard the SS Cingalese Prince, bound on a long route carrying general cargo. The ship was not being escorted, making it especially vulnerable. On 20 September 1941, it was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-111 off the west coast of Africa. 20 Survivors were rescued and taken to Spain, but the remainder of the crew, including Jordan Laing, were missing and presumed killed.

He has no known grave. His name is carried on the Halifax Memorial, and here at home he is remembered on the St. Marys Town Hall World War II plaque, where he is listed as Jordan Lang. He was survived by his parents, Andrew and Lenore Laing, and by his brother Russell and sister Marjorie, all of Woodham.

Major battles and operations

  • Battle of the Atlantic, merchant service (1940 to 1941): Continuous duty in danger zones as a radio officer on merchant ships
  • SS Northern Prince sinking (10 April 1941): Sunk off Greece, rescued
  • Second sinking (about four weeks later): Another ship sunk off Crete, rescued
  • SS Cingalese Prince loss (20 September 1941): Torpedoed and sunk off the west coast of Africa by U-111, missing and presumed killed

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