Owen McAleer was the son of Mary McAleer (nee Donaghy). He was born on 3rd December 1888 in Dungannon. His father died when he was young and his mother worked as a house keeper. Owen became a blacksmith. He later moved to Belfast and married. He had two daughters. Owen McAleer found work as a trimmer on the S.S. Hunsdon. The Hunsdon was torpedoed by a German submarine on 18th October and sunk at the mouth of Strangford Lough. Trimmer Owen McAleer was the only man to lose his life.
The Tower Hill Memorial commemorates men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who died in both World Wars and who have no known grave. It stands on the south side of the garden of Trinity Square, London, close to The Tower of London.
