On 8 June 1944 Petty Officer Alfred Crawford was killed in action when HMS Minster struck a mine and sank during support of the Normandy landings.
HMS Minster leaft Torquay on the evening of 5th June 1944. In command of the ship was Lieutenant Commander Jackson. On the 8th June she was acting as escort for the Mulberry units heading for Omaha beach. At about mid-day she was in the Seine Bay near the Cardonnet Bank when she struck a mine. As most of the crew were below decks at mess the majority of the crew were lost.
HMS Minster was an auxilliary netlayer built in 1924 and requisitioned by the Royal Navy in August 1940.
Petty Officer Alfred Crawford is commemorated at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, panel 81, column 2.
London Gazette
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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