THE last daughter of a hero captain from Harwich who used his ship to try to ram a German U-boat has died at the age of 102.

Dorothy Luckett was born in Dovercourt as the youngest of Captain Charles Fryatt’s six children.

She was only three when the news of her father’s death broke.

On June 22, 1916, Capt Fryatt's merchant ship, the SS Brussels, was surrounded by German destroyers and boarded before being taken to Belgium, where he was executed by firing squad.

Julian Fryatt Luckett, Dorothy’s son, said: “There’s an awful photograph after he was executed, of the grieving widow – my grandmother – and sitting on her knee is my mother Dorothy.

“The children were told never to speak about him.

As a result, my mother could never understand why people were so enamoured with him.

“I think my grandmother was worried the Germans would find out and come to get them.

My mother was proud of her father in a strange way – very surprised that people were that interested, it was a strange sort of dynamic .”

Dorothy met husband George at Harwich County High School and they remained together until he died 25 years ago. They married in 1938 and George went on to become a commander in the Navy.

“Eventually, because she was the last surviving child, all Capt Fryatt’s medals and gold watches we re passed do wn and she gave them to the Imperial War Museum,” said Julian.

“She was a very loving, gentle person with a tough core inside.”

He added: “She lived on her own and took care of herself until she was 99 and a half, when she thought it was about time she let someone else do it.

“She stayed in a lovely care home in Weymouth, where she was quite happy, up until about three months ago when she was admitted to hospital.

“She just passed away very peacefully, I think she’d just finally run out of steam."