‘We were sailing through floating bodies’ Kenneth Cummins, the Royal Navy Reserve, remembering the sinking of HMHS Llandovery Castle Merchant shipping was a target for German submarines, with the aim of cutting food supplies to Britain. Merchant ships taken over by the military were also targets. Thomas Summerill from Kingswood served on City Line ships during the war, carrying goods and passengers between Britain and the USA. Two of his ships, the Bristol City and the Boston City, were sunk by enemy action. William Davey from Hotwells was a crew member of the Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle. It was sunk by a German submarine on a return voyage from Canada, and most of the crew and medical staff drowned or were shot in the water. Robert White from Knowle was purser on the RMS Royal Edward, a passenger ship converted to a troop ship. The ship sailed from Avonmouth in 1915 for Gallipoli, carrying 1,367 Commonwealth troops. On Friday 13th August, a German submarine sank the Royal Edward. 935 men drowned.