Shipwright 1st Class Alexander Carnegie

Alexander Carnegie served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Pathfinder, a scout cruiser.

He was born in Kibworth on 28th March 1880, the son of Alexander and Francis Carnegie. At the time of his death he was married to Nellie Carnegie of 50 Bath Street, Market Harborough. He attended Kibworth Grammar School.

HMS Pathfinder has the distinction of being first ship to be sunk by a torpedo fired by a submarine. Built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, HMS Pathfinder was on patrol in the Firth of Forth, on 5th September 1914, when she was sighted by German U-boat, U21. A single torpedo fired by U21 hit Pathfinder, causing explosions within the magazine that led to Pathfinder’s sinking. Out of a crew of 268, only 18 survived the sinking, and the wreck has been designated a war grave.

Alexander Carnegie was 34 years old when he was killed. He is commemorated at reference 6 on the Naval Memorial in Chatham, Kent, on the War Memorial in Market Harborough, and on the War Memorial originally displayed at Kibworth Grammar School, but now on display at Kibworth High School.