Full name Foster Moverley McRae Batting style Right-handed | Name Peter McRae | |
Died 25 February 1944(1944-02-25) (aged 28)Barentz Sea (aboard HMS Mahratta), England Last First-class 30 August 1939 Somerset v Northamptonshire | ||
Foster Moverley McRae, commonly known as Peter McRae (12 February 1916 – 25 February 1944) was an English cricketer who played 25 first-class matches for Somerset County Cricket Club between 1936 and 1939. He died during the Second World War, when the HMS Mahratta, which he served on as Surgeon Lieutenant, was torpedoed and sunk in the Barentz Sea.
Military career
During the Second World War, McRae served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was Surgeon Lieutenant on the HMS Mahratta when it was torpedoed by U-990.
In 1941–1945 The Arctic Lookout, Noel Simon recounts a story he was told of McRae's actions after the sinking:
Having managed to climb onto one of the few Carley floats to have come through the sinking, he set about hauling the others aboard. The float soon became overcrowded. Remarking almost casually; "There's not enough room for us all" the doctor slipped over the side into the sea and was never seen again.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.