Born in Carrickfergus 1920, lost at sea 8th June 1944 aged 24. Andrew was the son of Frank and Annabella Rankin of Carrickfergus.
Andrew's body was never recovered and he is forever remember on the Plymouth Naval Memorial Panel 88.
Seaman Rankin was one of 37 crew killed on board H.M.S Lawford on the 8th June 1944, 2 days after the D-Day landings. HMS Lawford (K514) was a Royal Navy converted Captain class frigate, built in the US in 1944. She was converted into a Head Quarters ship for the Normandy landings. On 8 June 1944, whilst operating off Juno Beach, she was hit by enemy fire during an air attack and sunk. The Royal Navy's damage summary report states that the ship was hit by an "aerial torpedo", which has been taken to mean a torpedo dropped from an aircraft. However, a survey of the ship undertaken as part of the Channel 4 TV series "Wreck Detectives"found evidence that the vessel was broken up and sunk by an internal explosion, indicating a hit from one or more bombs or from an early guided missile.
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| H.M.S Lawford |
I am a Canadian. My wife and I bought enamelled poppies from the British Legion to commemorate the D-Day landing. My poppy is dedicated to the memory of Seaman Andrew Haggan Rankin. Lest We Forget.
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