Henry Halsey served in the 14th Light Anti Aircraft unit which arrived in Notrh Africa in mid-1941. He died in the tragic sinking of an unmarked hospital ship.
The Sinking of the Chakdina
Of the many sequels to the Corridor battle which ended the main New Zealand part in the offensive, the unhappiest by far concerned the evacuation of wounded from Tobruk. Hospitals in the fortress area were grossly overcrowded as a consequence of the unexpectedly long and bitter fighting, and it was a matter of the greatest urgency in the first few days of December to get wounded back to less congested hospitals where they could get proper attention. There was no knowing at that stage how long it would be before the land route eastwards was opened and too few hospital ships were available for the task. The little s.s. Chakdina when it sailed in the afternoon of 5 December on its return voyage to Alexandria therefore carried 600 men (including 120 New Zealanders) of whom 380 were wounded, 97 of them New Zealanders and among these over 30 gunners. Just after 9 p.m. an aerial torpedo struck and exploded in an after hold and in three and a half minutes the crowded little ship sank in a strong swell. Some 400 men were drowned, 80 of them New Zealanders and almost all of these survivors of the fighting at Sidi Rezegh and Belhamed. Thirty gunners were lost in this disaster. -Official History of the 2nd NZ Divisional Artillery.
Henry Halsey was reported wounded on December 17. The following month he was "missing, believed drowned."
Gren Island Memorial Rose Garden.
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