Chief Engineer James Robertson

Chief Engineer James P. Robertson, Merchant Navy. He was lost at sea, aged 54, on 14th July 1942 when the S.S. “Cortona” was sunk. He was the son of John and Barbara Robertson and the husband of Mary Robertson of Greenock  and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial. The S.S. “Cortona” of 7,043 tons was torpedoed and sunk in Mid Atlantic bound for Buenos Aires. Chief Engineer Robertson survived the actual sinking and was in charge of the second lifeboat with 29 crew. This boat was regrettably not recovered. In total 33 of the 55 crew were lost. The second lifeboat under the command of the Master drifted for ten days until picked up by the destroyer H.M.S.”Pathfinder”. He was educated at the Berwickshire High School, Duns and is also commemorated on the Memorial Tablet placed in the new High School, Duns.

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