THE family of a Scottish serviceman who was killed during a German U-boat attack during the Second World War have paid an emotional first visit to his grave.
John Lee, originally from Glasgow, served with the Maritime Regiment of the Royal Artillery.
The 22-year-old gunner was killed aboard troop transporter the President Doumer as it travelled from Sierra Leone to Liverpool in October 1942.
His body was buried after washing up on a beach at Playa de las Goteras in La Palma in March 1943.
His relatives, including niece Mary Hastie, got the chance to visit his graveside after being reunited by officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Mary, 75, from Bearsden said: “I found it very emotional, as I have found everything that I have got to know about my uncle’s story.
“I wasn’t born till after the war and it was not something that was spoken about in my home.
“Both my parents died comparatively young and I thought that I would never find out the real story or anything about which island John was buried on.
“So, it was a surprise when I when I was contacted by a distant and unknown relative telling me the Consul’s office in Spain and was looking for me.”
On the day of his death, German U-boats sank or damaged seven ships in the SL 125 convoy, killing 344 people.
Lee’s grave is officially considered “British soil” after the corner where his body lays was acquired by the British Consulate for 100 pesetas in 1951.
His niece added: “The local historian knows so much about John and has an eyewitness account of what happened the day the ship was torpedoed.
“He told me that John was a hero, having refused to get into the lifeboats until everyone else was in, and then misjudged the distance when he jumped and was crushed between the lifeboat and the ship.”
Lee was one of more than 72,000 seamen who lost their lives during the Battle of the Atlantic which was the longest continuous military campaign of the Second World War.
There have been several tributes paid to the soldier over the years including in 2018 to mark the 75th anniversary of the discovery of his body.
Historian Oscar Fumero played a key role in unravelling the historical events that led to John Lee’s death and he worked with the British Consulate to track down Lee’s family.
The historian said: “I wanted to put a face on John, to know what ship he was on, to meet his family, so I kept looking.
“It was hours, days, months of searching, until I found in a forum of fallen soldiers, the family tombstone that John’s father erected in his memory.”
