British Cemetery

Much activity took place off the shores of Ocracoke Island during World War II. In May of 1942, the H. M. S. Bedfordshire, one of the armed British trawlers on loan to the United States, sailed out of Morehead City along with her sister escort, the H. M. S. Zeno, and joined a convoy of merchant ships to escort them to safe anchorage at Hatteras, some 60 miles away. Exactly what happened next is uncertain, but the last communication from the Bedfordshire was on May 11. It is thought that the Bedfordshire was torpedoed and sunk. On May 14, the bodies of two of her crew were spotted in the surf off Ocracoke Island. The bodies were subsequently identified as sublieutenant Thomas Cunningham, Royal Navy Reserve, and Ordinary Telegraphist Stanley Craig, Royal Navy. They were buried in a small plot of ground adjacent to Alice Wahab Williams family cemetery on Ocracoke. A week later, two more bodies were found, but not identified, and were lain to rest next to Cunningham and Craig. The small cemetery, its grounds kept beautifully landscaped and manicured by the U. S. Coast Guard, perpetually flies a British flag provided each year by the Queen of England. The cemetery is open to the public with no admission charge. This site is one of 10 historic sites on the Hyde County Talking Houses and Historic Places driving tour. These sites are equipped with am radio transmitters which you can tune to from the convenience of your car to learn the history of the area.