Annual Buxton and Ocracoke Ceremonies honoring WWII sailors in photos

Two annual ceremonies were held recently held to honor the World War II British and Canadian sailors who lost their lives off the Outer Banks 83 years ago.

On May 8 and May 9, representatives of the United States Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Navy, British Royal Navy, German Navy, The American Legion, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Dare and Hyde County Schools, Royal Naval Patrol Service Association, and the National Park Service came together at the British cemeteries on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands to honor the 63 foreign sailors who perished while protecting our coast.

The Buxton ceremony honors the service of the men who lost their lives in April of 1942 when the British-armed tanker San Delfino was sunk by a German submarine, U-203, just off the shoreline of Pea Island. Two of the men are buried at the British Cemetery in Buxton: Fourth Engineer Officer Michael Cairns of the Royal Merchant Navy from the San Delfino, and an unknown sailor.

The Ocracoke ceremony honors the sailors from HMS Bedfordshire, which was sunk in May of 1942 by the German U-558, near the island. Sub-Lieutenant Cunningham and Ordinary Telegraphist Second Class Craig are buried at the Ocracoke site. Two bodies were also found in the ocean north of Ocracoke, and although never identified, they were assumed to have come from Bedfordshire, and were interred alongside their shipmates.

Both the Ocracoke and Buxton British Cemeteries are open to the public daily for those who would like to pay their respects, but who were unable to attend the May ceremonies. The Buxton British Cemetery is located on Lighthouse Road in Buxton, just past the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, while the Ocracoke British Cemetery is located on British Cemetery Road off of N.C. Highway 12 near Silver Lake Harbor.

Photos of the May events, courtesy of Many Haage Fuller and Stacy Huggins of Iconic Ocracoke, are below.