More about Patrick Cavanagh

Patrick Cavanagh was the son of Mr John and Mrs Mary Cavanagh and was born in County Mayo in Ireland. He joined the Royal Navy in March 1905 and served in many ships before the war. He was serving onboard the old cruiser HMS Eclipse at the outbreak of war and his ship was engaged in patrolling the western end of the English Channel. In March he left the Eclipse and spent a few weeks in HMS Vivid, the Naval Barracks in Devonport. In May 1915 he joined the destroyer HMS Lively which was tender to HMS Leander, a very old warship used as a depot ship for destroyers operating at Scapa Flow. Patrick Cavanagh’s Service Record states that he was accidently drowned at Dundee on 25 June 1915. He is buried in the Dundee Eastern Necropolis. He is recorded in the Dundee Seamen’s Roll of Honour because Dundee is his last resting place and in the hope that Dundee men and women who died and or are buried elsewhere will be similarly recognized. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which maintains his grave, records that his ship was HMS Crescent, another old cruiser, acting as Guard Ship at Hoy, Scapa Flow.