Pte. Edward Andrew Jensen

Andrew Edward Jensen was born at Auckland in New Zealand in 1916 to Anders Clemmen Jensen and Ruth Jensen (nee Dunning) who had married in 1915. He worked as a labourer. During World War II Andrew served with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary force. He had served in the Western Desert (and was possibly wounded) when he was killed in action on 5 December 1941. Late that afternoon the SS Chakdina had left Tobruk Harbour in Libya, carrying around 120 crew, 100 German and Italian Prisoners of War and 380 wounded Allied soldiers away from grossly overcrowded hospitals. A number of other Allied soldiers also boarded the ship in order to be transported back to Egypt. The Chakdina had been commandeered by the Royal Navy and was acting as a hospital ship. At least 123 New Zealanders were on board the ship when it set sail. Just after 9pm an enemy plane (Italian S.79 torpedo bomber) released a torpedo, which exploded in one of the after holds of the Chakdina. The hospital ship sank within three and a half minutes. Most on board were wounded so there was little chance of escape unless one was able bodied and positioned well away from the blast. Around 400 men were drowned, 80 of them New Zealanders, and almost all were survivors of the fighting at Sidi Rezegh and Belhamed. The sinking of the Chakdina was the only major calamity in the evacuation of New Zealand wounded during World War II. At this stage it is not known whether Andrew was one of the wounded soldiers or not. He is remembered on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt. Bio by relative Debbie McCauley (31 January 2017).

• Full Name Andrew Edward Jensen
• Rank Last Held Private
• War World War II, 1939-1945
• Serial No. 63170
• Occupation before Enlistment Labourer
• Next of Kin Mrs A.E. Jensen (wife), C/o Mrs T. Beaton, 5 Victoria Road, Birkdale, Auckland, new Zealand
• Marital Status Married
• Enlistment Address Te Arai, New Zealand
• Military District Warkworth
• Body on Embarkation Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF)
• Embarkation Unit Infantry Reinforcements
• Nominal Roll Number WW2 4
• Page on Nominal Roll WW2 179
• Campaigns Western Desert
• Last Unit Served 21Infantry Battalion
• Place of Death Western Desert
• Date of Death 5 December 1941
• Age at Death 23
• Year of Death 1941
• Cause of Death Killed in action
• Memorial Name Alamein Memorial, El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt
• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories
• Memorial Reference Columns 103

Sources

• Cenotaph Record: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C...
• THE SINKING OF SS CHAKDINA http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sooty/chakdina.html