Trafford

Born during the June quarter 1910 in the Congleton R.D. - ref: 8a/297, the
son of James Alan & Mary Elizabeth Kelsall (nee Cook).

A police Constable, he first joined the Bedfordshire Police around 1932. 
Robert later joined the Cheshire Constabulary around 1938.

He married Fredricka Muriel Green during the September quarter 1933 in the
Derby R.D. - ref: 7b/1664.

Presumably he had been injured whilst serving in the RAF in the North
Africa Campaign ?

On the 12th August 1942, Robert boarded the HMS Laconia that had just
disembarked over three thousand troops, their equipment and supplies at
Port Tewfik.   The ship was overloaded with approximately three thousand
people that included seriously wounded men, Italian prisoners of war, women
& children from various service and official backgrounds and last but not
least an alleged two hundred fifth columnists and low grade spies bound for
internment camps in South Africa. The ships lifeboat and raft capacity in
no way could accommodate all those onboard having just thirty two
lifeboats, forty big rafts and various other smaller ones.

She arrived in Durban on the 28th where she was to stay for three days;
further hospital cases were landed and more service and civilian personnel
embarked including one hundred and three Polish guards for the POW's,
although heavily armed the Poles were issued no ammunition. Laconia's last
port of call was Cape Town where even more service personnel boarded
bringing her final compliment to 463 Officers and crew, 286 passengers from
all three services, 1,793 Italian POW's, 103 Polish guards, and eighty
civilians - mostly women and children.

She left Cape Town on the 1st September and by the 11th September she was
out in the Atlantic, 550 miles south of Cape Palma heading straight towards
U-Boat U-156.   As the U-Boat neared the Laconia at 1800 hrs the Captain
was able to determine that she was sailing a zigzag course on a heading of
310°, their position was fixed at 5.0° south, 11.08° west.   As night
fell at 1955 hrs U-156 edged closer and the Captain could clearly see that
some of those onboard were clearly in breach of standing orders with
regards the blackout, light was emitting from more than one porthole.    At
2007 with tubes one and three ready the Captain ordered first number one
away and then twenty seconds later number three.     1,621 died while 1,104
survived the incident 

Robert Kelsall was one of the many who went down with the ship.

I can find no trace of him in the Middle East Bomber Command Losses -
perhaps he served in Fighter Command ?

Commemorated on the Cheshire Constabulary War Memorial and in their War
Memorial Book.