Personal information

Hezekiah Spurrel was born and raised in Newfoundland, but in 1923 emigrated to the USA with his wife Muriel and their young children, living in Brooklyn, NY. In May 1941 he became master of the Chepo and was lost when the ship was torpedoed in January 1942. His officers later reported that the master had refused to abandon ship when the last lifeboat was lowered and was later seen with a lighted torch going forward to the bow as the ship went down by the stern. They unsuccessfully searched the sinking area for him in difficult conditions due to bad weather and lots of wreckage that made maneuvering the lifeboat dangerous.