b. 31/07/1905 Seacombe, Merseyside. d. 02/05/1942 Barents Sea.
DATE OF AM ACTION: 02/05/1942 Barents Sea.
John P Bain AM
He was born in Seacombe, Merseyside, the son of Joseph Charles and Winnifred Bain. He joined the Royal Navy as a young man, married and had a son. His body was not recovered after his death and he is commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial.
AM CITATION:
Stoker Petty Officer John Philip Bain, D/K.6i978, who was in charge of a boiler room when it was hit by a 5.i-in. shell, which damaged two main steam pipes and filled the compartment with steam. Stoker Petty Officer Bain ordered his shipmate out of the boiler room; but to save his ship and her company from disaster he stayed there to shut off the main and auxiliary feed check valves, and so prevent the water for the ship’s boilers from escaping as steam through the damaged pipes. Had this happened it would have been impossible to get the ship under way, and she would certainly have fallen victim to enemy aircraft or submarine attack. Stoker Petty Officer Bain thus saved his ship, but this selfless devotion cost him his life, for he died of his injuries.
BURIAL LOCATION: LOST AT SEA – PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL PANEL 69 COLUMN 1.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
Acknowledgements:
Allan Stanistreet – Image of John Bain AM.
Carol Pollard – Image of the Plymouth Naval Memorial.