Jan Pille

In memoriam

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden J. Pille Stuurmansleerling K.V. 26.1.1919 27.4.1941 Stuurmansleering = Apprentice Mate ∼ Apprentice Helmsman, Netherlands Merchant Navy, DSS Slamat. On 27th April 1941, during the Battle of Greece, the Dutch troopship Slamat and the Royal Navy destroyers HMS Diamond and HMS Wryneck sank as a result of air attacks by Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. The three ships sank off the east coast of the Peloponnese during Operation Demon, which was the evacuation of British, Australian and New Zealand troops from Greece after their defeat by invading German and Italian forces. The loss of the three ships caused an estimated 983 deaths. Only 66 men survived. The bodies of three of Slamat's crew washed ashore far from the wreck: apprentice helmsman J Pille on the Greek island of Stamperia, Second Officer G van der Woude at Alexandria in Egypt, and lamp trimmer J van der Brugge at Gaza in Palestine.

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