The Oakgrove was a cargo steamer built in 1906 by Osbourne Graham & Company of Sunderland. She was launched on Nov. 11, 1905 and managed to survive the Great War unscathed. However early in the Second World War on January 9, 1940 she was bombed and sunk off Cromer by German aircraft of Fliegerkorps X.

Two aircraft came in low in the haze, one raked the ship with machine gunfire and the other dropped more than a dozen bombs scoring several hits on the ship. The First Mate, Thomas Ward, organized the crew, got the boats away and took charge of the survivors after the ship sank. The master and two others were taken down with the ship, two of them came to the surface, but the master was lost.

Ward led the survivors in two boats to safety, holding a sheet they used for a sail for the six hour voyage to land, for his leadership and coolness he was awarded an O.B.E.