#maritime disaters

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William McMaster Murdoch was born on 28th February, 1873 at “Sunnyside”, Dalbeattie, Dumfries, he was first officer on the Titanic.

Murdoch joined the White Star after serving on sailing vessels. He served aboard the Medic and the Runic on the Australian run. Later he was transferred to the Atlantic steamers Arabic , Adriatic , Oceanic , Olympic and finally Titanic .

Murdoch was on the bridge at the time of the collision and there has been much debate about him. In two films about the Titanic, Murdoch was portrayed shooting passengers and himself during the sinking; this was based on a number of eyewitness testimonies of a shooting/suicide by an officer during the launching of the last lifeboat. However many more reputable sources say it was not Murdoch and there has been no proof that he was the officer seen taking his own life.

The fact is that Murdoch was put in charge of the starboard evacuation during which he launched ten lifeboats, containing almost 75% of the total number who survive, I would say that made him a hero in most peoples eyes, there is no real evidence he shot himself.

Lord Mersey, who oversaw the British Inquiry absolved Murdoch and other Officers saying

‘The evidence satisfies me that the officers did their work very well and without any thought of themselves,’ he said. ‘Captain Smith, the Master, Mr Wilde the chief officer, Mr Murdoch, the first officer, and Mr Moody, the sixth officer, all went down with the ship while performing their duties.’

Needless to say, the people of Dalbeattie were outraged at the filmmakers when the movie was released, and Cameron was eventually forced to issue an apology in the form of a £5,000 donation to the Murdoch Memorial Prize Fund.

Murdoch is seen in the picture of the officers on the far left. The Captain, Edward John Smith is on the far right, the second pic is First Officer Murdoch’s memorial

tablet in Dalbeattie. The inscription reads:

“THIS TABLET IS ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE HEROISM DISPLAYED BY LIEUT. WILLIAM Mc MASTER MURDOCH. R.N.R. A NATIVE OF DALBEATTIE WHEN ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE -THE R. M. S. TITANIC -OF WHICH HE WAS FIRST OFFICER COLLIDED WITH AN ICEBERG AND SANK AND 815 OF HER PASSENGER, AND 688 OF HER CREW INCLUDING LIEUTENANT MURDOCH PERISHED 14th AND 15th APRIL 1912 A MEMORIAL PRIZE IS ALSO TO BE COMPETED FOR ANNUALLY IN DALBEATTIE PUBLIC SCHOOL WHERE LIEUTENANT MURDOCH WAS EDUCATED

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Tragedy struck on July 3rd 1883, the Clyde shipyards suffered their worst accident when the SS Daphne capsized at her launch.

The SS Daphne had been built by the Glaswegian company Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, based in Linthouse. It was an ordinary ship, rather small, which should not have caused any particular difficulties. However, the vessel capsized under the eyes of the crowd moments after she was launched. The causes for this were said to be a little initial instability combined with too much loose gear and too many people on board. Indeed, since the building of the ship was not completely finished, there were over 120 workmen aboard, as well as dozens of curious people here to enjoy the thrill of the launching. When the ship sunk, many were trapped inside and drowned; only 70 people survived.

The incident attracted much attention. An official inquiry was conducted by Edward J. Reed, M.P and the national and local press devoted many articles and front pages to the sinking. Describing the scene to The Scotsman afterwards, rescue diver Thomas Fisher said the stairway leading to the cabin was blocked by the bodies of men who had perished.

He said: “The men were lying there thick together, the one crowded on top of the other. They had rushed from their tasks on board and had jammed each other in a struggle to reach the deck.”

The ship was later recovered and renamed the SS Rose.

As for those who were killed, there are memorials dedicated to them on either side of the Clyde; at Victoria Park to the north and Elder Park in the south.

124 people died including many teenage boys, it took more than a fortnight for the bodies of the dead to be recovered

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David (Davy) Blair was born on 11thNovember 1874 at Broughty Ferry.

Another post with very little detail, well nothing really on Mr Blair’s life before the events that would forever  give him his place in history.

Blair was an employee of the White Star Line and had been originally earmarked to sail on The Titanic on it’s maiden voyage to New York, indeed he was second officer on the ship during its trial voyages to test the ship’s seaworthiness and the final journey from its place of construction in Belfast to Southampton, but was told at the 11th hour he wasn’t going.

Bosses at White Star Line decided Henry Wilde, the experienced chief officer of the Titanic’s sister ship the Olympic, should be transferred instead.

As a result everybody was moved down a rank but Mr Blair was deemed too senior to take up the position of third officer and was tasked to another ship. He wrote on a postcard home at the time  

‘Am afraid I shall have to step out to make room for chief officer of the Olympic. This is a magnificent ship, I feel very disappointed I am not to make her first voyage.’

Blair having a lucky escape is not the end of the story though,  which is only one of many lucky escapes of people who sailed on the doomed liner, it is a much  more tragic tale.

In his haste, the story goes, he forgot to hand over the key to his replacement so the lookouts were left without the use of binoculars.

One lookout, Fred Fleet, who survived the sinking, told the official inquiry that if they had had binoculars they would have seen the iceberg sooner. When asked how much sooner, Fleet replied: “Enough to get out of the way.”

According to legal expert Gary Slapper, though, Blair’s “forgetfulness wasn’t a material reason for the disaster” as there were other causes and in Blair’s defence it was said 'Blair would have been rushing about tidying up his loose ends before then.  In his rush it slipped his mind to hand over the key so the fate of the Titanic was in his hands in a round-about way.

'But in terms of blame then you have to look at the captain, EJ Smith. The ship was going too fast in an ice field which he had warnings about. 'There was a pair of binoculars on the bridge and a pair for the crows nest because Blair had them just days before.

'But the failure to provide the lookouts with them could have been down to not knowing where they were. He would have found them had he been able to open the locker. So in the end all the lookouts had were their own eyes.’

To me I find it incredulous that there would only be one pair of binoculars on the ship. ,ost films I have seen there is someone looking out from the bridge of a ship holding a pair, but anyway....

Blair kept the Titanic key to the box as a memento and eventually passed it on to his daughter Nancy. The key and postcard were sold at auction in 2007, fetching £90,000 and £17,000 respectively.

Davy Blair later served on  RMS Oceanic when it ran aground in 1914. As the navigator, Blair received the blame for the grounding at the resulting enquiry, he died on 10th January 1955 in Hendon, Middlesex.

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Tragedy struck on 8th December 1959 the lifeboat RNLB Mona, based at Broughty Ferry, capsize in a storm in St Andrews Bay with the loss of all eight crew.

The lifeboat had been called to assist the North Carr lightship which had broken from its mooring and was believed adrift in St Andrews Bay. The conditions when the lifeboat was launched at 3.13 a.m. were atrocious. The last radio message was received from the Mona at 4.48 a.m. As the boat rounded the headland she capsized. No matter how long ago this tragedy occurred the sacrifice of the men involved is not forgotten far and wide but especially in Broughty Ferry.

The lost crew were coxswain Ronald Grant, 28, acting second coxswain George Smith, 53, bowman George Watson, 38, motor mechanic John Grieve, 56, second mechanic James Ferrier, 43, John J Grieve, 22, Alexander Gall, 56, and David Anderson, 42.

The Mona was washed up on Carnousite beach, a body, that of John J Grieve was found nearby,  later five more bodies were found on the lifeboat, Bowman George Watson’s body was never found.

All the crew of the North Carr  were rescued.

In 11 years of operating the Mona and her crew had saved 118 lives.

According to a letter to the Dundee Evening Telegraph, in January 2006, “Among some seamen, it was believed the vessel was tainted with evil, and they resolved to exorcise the boat in a ‘viking ritual’”. The Mona was taken to Cockenzie harbour on the river Forth in the dead of night, stripped of anything of value, chained to the sea wall, and burnt. The burning was done with the knowledge and permission of Lord Saltoun, the chairman of the Scottish Lifeboat Council. Questions were however raised in the House of Commons about the destruction of a lifeboat built with public subscription, sailors are a very superstitious lot though.

Before the Mona was burnt extensive tests were carried out and no faults could be found with the engine or indeed sea worthiness of the lightboat, it was established it had merely capsized.

A service was later held at St James’ Church, the Fisherman’s Kirk at Broughty Ferry. They joined the many hundreds of people from all walks of life who went to the memorial service. The Church only seats 450 and the service was relayed to another 300 in the church Hall and to hundreds who stood in Fort Street on a cold windy, wet forenoon.  People started to queue outside the church doors an hour before the service began, but few of them were able to get in.

Soon after the service ended the first of the funerals of the seven men whose bodies have been recovered took place. Small crowds gathered outside the homes of the six Broughty Ferry men who perished. Hundreds attended the funerals of all the men.

The report of the burning of the Mona reads:

“Mona, the Broughty Ferry disaster lifeboat in which eight men died, was burned secretly on a dark beach at 4.30 a.m.  Only a handful of men saw the Lifeboat – “perfectly sound and seaworthy”, destroyed on confidential orders phoned direct from London by a senior R.N.L.I. official. Few people in the Port Seaton holiday resort on the Forth Estuary near Edinburgh knew about it. Flames crackled as families slept in a tenement only 50 yards away – unaware of the funeral pyre

They only learned about it when they saw the smoking ruin on the rocks at daybreak. After dark on Thursday night the Mona was taken across the harbour basin and moored just inside the protection wall. Then about 4 am she was moved round the sea wall secured by two chains and left to settle on the rock-strewn foreshore as the tide ebbed.

She was set alight and by daybreak all that was left was part of the stern and superstructure – twisted charred metal, still smoking. Four men stripped the last of her metal fittings in the afternoon. And inquisitive youngsters were curtly told to leave the shore. In his office overlooking the harbour. Mr Bruce Jones of the ship repair-firm, said he could not discuss the matter.

The R.N.L.I. officials in London did not want it publicised. I got all my instructions verbally. I must honour the request. Was it really a funeral pyre “well it is not uncommon for this to happen after a disaster” said the senior Lifeboat official in London, “It would be rather unpleasant to put a new crew in a disaster”

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On January 11th 2000 The Kirkcudbright based fishing vessel Solway Harvester sank off the coast of the Isle of Man with the loss of her seven crew.

On board were Skipper Andrew Mills (known as Craig), 29, his brother Robin Mills, 33, their cousin David Mills, 17, Martin Milligan, 26, John Murphy, 22, David Lyons, 18, and Wesley Jolly, 17.

The men were all from the Isle of Whithorn area of Dumfries and Galloway. In 2005, there was a manslaughter trial of the dredger’s owner Richard Gidney. He collapsed after the judge ruled there was no case to answer.

The Solway Harvester was an automated scallop dredger. This fairly unusual type of vessel has sections along the sides which rotate out and upwards to deposit the catch on the deck. Launched in 1992, she was 21m (70ft) long and had accommodation for eight on board, plus a workshop, ice machine and storage.

But a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on the sinking in 2003 found that there were maintenance issues - especially a flood alarm that did not work and a missing hatch cover.

The dredger sailed from Kirkcudbright in the early hours of 10 January 2000 and headed to the queen scallop grounds of the Irish Sea.

By the next morning, the crew had filled 150 bags of scallops. They hauled gear that afternoon, ready for home.

But the weather worsened and skipper Craig Mills headed for shelter at Ramsey Bay.

Nothing more was heard from the vessel until a satellite picked up an emergency position radio beacon. A rescue mission was scrambled but it was called off on 12th January after two unopened life rafts were found.

The wreck of the Solway Harvester was found on 15th January lying on her starboard side in 35m of water. The bodies of all seven crew were on board. According to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, the vessel capsized because her fish room flooded, making her unstable.

Water drained unnoticed into the fish room through scuttles (hatches) on the deck which did not have their covers on. The pump was blocked, and an alarm which warns when the bilges (the lowest inner parts of the ship’s hull) are filling with water was broken. So the skipper had no warning the room was flooding. In the rough sea the unstable Solway Harvester rolled sideways to 30-40 degrees. This meant more water poured in through the open scuttle; tonnes of fish and gear shifted to starboard and water became trapped on the main deck. Although her buoyancy would have allowed her to roll back to 20-25 degrees she never regained her stability and she gradually rolled onto her side. It was then just a matter of time before she sank.

The Solway Harvester was towed to Douglas Harbour kept afloat until it was scrapped 13 years later, the reason for this was the need to preserve evidence in case there was litigation from the crews families.

There are three memorials that honour those lost that day, two at Isle of Whithorn, and a third at Douglas Head, Douglas, Isle of Man which signifies the close bond between Scotland, the Isle of Man and all the fishing communities around the Irish Sea.“

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On 21st January 1970, while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat Duchess of Kent capsized with the loss of five lives.

The Duchess of Kent was a Watson class lifeboat built by Groves and Guttridge in 1954, and stationed at Fraserburgh. 

While in service with the RNLI,  the lifeboat launched 23 times and saved 13 lives. On 27 October 1959, she launched to the assistance of two fishing boats, rescuing two men and earning RNLI Gold Medals for Gallantry for acting Coxswain Alexander John Duthie and Mechanic Frederick Alexander Kirkness.

while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat capsized – resulting in the loss of five of her six-person crew. The five men who lost their lives were Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and crew members William Hadden, James R.S. Buchan and James Buchan. Assistant Mechanic John (Jackson) Buchan was flung clear and saved by a Russian trawler. 

13,000 people attended the joint funeral of the crew members. 

Following the capsize The Duchess of Kent was broken up at Herd and McKenzie’s boatyard. It was the third loss of a Fraserburgh lifeboat in the 20th century, following Lady Rothes in 1919 and John and Charles Kennedy in 1953.

The names of the crew of The Duchess of Kent are listed on the RNLI Memorial Sculpture outside the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset.

In 2010 the memorial to all who died was unveiled, as seen in the pics.

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On October 9th 1921 tragedy struck when the SS Rowan sank off the Rhinns of Galloway with 34 deaths.

A number of them were members of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra (SSO), a jazz band described as the "pop stars" of their day. They had just finished their tour of Scotland in Glasgow and were on their way on board the SS Rowan to perform in Ireland when disaster struck.

The Clyde built ship has been described as a fast and beautiful ship cruising at 16 knots on routes on the west coast until, with the outbreak of World War One, she was requisitioned by the army and converted to an armed boarding vessel. She survived the dangers of the war at sea and returned to her owners soon after the conclusion of the conflict and returned to her normal service.

The audience at the Lyric Theatre, Glasgow on the afternoon of 8th October, 1921 could not have imagined the catastrophic effect of their cries for an encore by the Southern Syncopated Orchestra. The resultant delay to the departure of the orchestra set in motion a series of events which was to lead to the tragic sinking of the Rowan in the early hours of the following morning in one of the most unusual incidents in the history of Clyde shipping.

The orchestra had booked passage on the Rowan to Dublin for their next engagement and were due to meet the ship at Greenock that evening. If Captain Brown on the Rowan had not chosen to wait for almost an hour to meet the orchestra from the train at Greenock his ship would have passed the place of its fatal collision without incident. The Rowan finally left Greenock at around 7pm on Saturday 8th October and sailed south towards Ailsa Craig and Galloway.

Five hours later, after an uneventful voyage down the Firth, she reached the Galloway coast where the visibility was dramatically reduced by banks of thick fog rolling across the North Channel. Captain Brown slowed the Rowan to around half her normal steaming speed and continued southwards on his journey. At about 12:10am the American steamer West Camak suddenly appeared out of the fog and, despite efforts by both captains, collided with the stern of the Rowan. Although damage to the Rowan was not severe, Captain Brown ordered all the passengers on deck and the ship’s lifesaving equipment made ready. This precaution was to save many lives.

Just as the passengers were beginning to recover from the collision with the West Camak the SS Clan Malcolm, en route from Glasgow to Birkenhead, appeared and crashed into the Rowan on her starboard side amidships, almost cutting her in two. The passengers and crew were sent sprawling across the decks and many were thrown overboard into the sea. The Rowan sank almost immediately leaving the West Camak, the Clan Malcolm and the destroyer HMS Wrestler, which had answered the West Camak’s distress call, to rescue around one hundred passengers and crew.

Despite the darkness, poor visibility and rough seas, they were successful in picking up seventy seven cold and frightened survivors who had been clinging to life rafts or wreckage from the Rowan. Almost all of them had been wearing lifebelts or lifejackets at the time of the second collision and it is certain that, if Captain Brown had not been so cautious, more lives would have been lost. As it was, around twenty people, including the captain himself, lost their lives in the disaster. Many of the survivors were landed a few hours later at Princes Pier, Greenock where large crowds had gathered to hear the story of this strange, double collision and listen to the terrifying experience of the survivors.

Despite the loss of lives, the orchestra would go on to complete its delayed dates in Ireland, but it would be disbanded soon afterwards.  Members of the family came back to Scotland for the 85th anniversary of the disaster and a wreath was laid at the “spot” where she sank. From what I can gather  there were no official events to mark the centenary last year, maybe due to the pandemic? 

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On October 6th 1918 tragedy struck when H.M.S. Otranto sank in Machir Bay off slay after a collision in fog with another ship, HMS Kashmir.

On September 25th, 1918, the British troopship H.M.S. Otranto had left New York carrying more than 1000 U.S. soldiers and crewmen as part of an Allied Forces convoy sailing to fight and on to fight during World War I. 

Most of the soldiers on the H.M.S. Otranto had trained at Fort Screven on Tybee Island, Georgia. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the convoy entered the Irish Sea. On October 6th, while still a day from port, a storm developed with gale-force winds. During the storm, a large wave struck the H.M.S. Kashmir, another troopship in the convoy, causing it to ram at full steam into the Otranto.

The Otranto sustained a gaping hole in its hull and loss of power, the latter which caused it to drift toward Islay. One of the convoy’s escort destroyers, the H.M.S. Mounsey sailed alongside the much-larger Otranto four times to attempt a rescue. In all, the Mounsey was able to rescue nearly 600 men, 300 of which were Americans. 

Within three hours, the Otranto crashed on the Islay’s rocky shore. Approximately 470 soldiers and crew died, including nearly 130 from Georgia. Georgia’s Berrien and Screven counties suffered the most loss of life from the sinking of the Otranto, and it was the single greatest loss of life in troop transport during the war. 

After the First World War ended in November 1918, many bodies were disinterred and sent home for reburial, or were reburied in Surrey, England. In December 1918, the American Red Cross erected a stone monument on the rocky promontory at Mull of Oa, on the Isle of Islay in memory of the Americans who lost their lives on the Otranto and Tuscania, a troop ship sank by a German U-boat in 1914.

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It was a sad day for the people of Buckie when the Fishing boat Carinthia went missing with the loss of six men. The following report was read out in Parliament on the 29th of June 1979….

“Carinthia” sailed from Buckie at about midnight on 24–25 June bound for the fishing grounds off Noup Head, north-west of Orkney, with a crew of six on board.

At 1900 hours on Wednesday 27 June a lifebuoy marked “Carinthia” was found on the west side of Rousay, Orkney. This caused inquiries to be made by the coastguard to try to establish the ship’s whereabouts.

It was established that the vessel’s last known contact had been at 0900 hours on Tuesday 26 June, when “Carinthia” radioed the fishing vessel “Crimmond” that she was making for the Minches. Her position at this time was about 27 miles north-west of the mainland of the Orkneys. There was a north-westerly wind of force 8 at this time. The fishing vessel “Crimmond” was unable to regain radio contact with “Carinthia” an hour or two later.

Following the finding of the lifebuoy, coastguard and coastal radio stations in Scotland immediately broadcast an alert, and ships in the area started searching. The Kirkwall and Stromness life-boats 778 were launched, and an RAF Nimrod commenced searching at first light on Thursday 28 June in the Wick-Orkney-Shetlands area. The search area covered approximately 2,500 square miles, and it was hampered by low cloud in the initial stages. I regret to have to inform the House that, following a thorough search of the area, the search and rescue operation has been abandoned and the “Carinthia” must be presumed lost. “

There is very little online about this tragedy the men who perished were  Eddy Lawson 30 , James Lobban 52 , Murray ‘Partan’ Lobban 21 , David Flett 24 , Richard Mair 41 & Charles Cargill 28 . five of whom came from Buckie and one from nearby Findochty, the ship nor the bodies were never recovered.

Spare a thought for the friends and family of the crew who lost their loved ones.

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On Thursday, February 17th 1876 SS Strathclyde, built by Blackwood & Gordon, Glasgow and owned by the Burrell shipping group collided with a German ship near Dover.

The Strathclyde left Dover on Thursday, February 17th 1876 and was about two and a half miles from Dover proceeding at nine knots in clear weather. She was overtaken by the German steamship Franconia around 4 to 5pm. Capt Eaton turned his ship to starboard but at the same time the Franconia turned to port and a collision occurred.

The German vessel struck the Strathclyde between her funnel and mainmast, cutting into her to a depth of four feet. The colliding vessel went astern only to rebound and strike a second time making another deep hole abreast of the mainmast The Strathclyde sunk rapidly by the stern. The first lifeboat was lowered with 15 women on board but was swamped by the swell and capsized drowning most of its occupants. A second lifeboat was launched without incident and managed to save 2 of the drowning people. By this time, the seas were breaking over the vessel as high as the bridge and washing overboard many of those on deck. The captain, 2nd Engineer and a fireman, the last to leave, jumped overboard as she sank Of those on board, 38 were drowned, Captain  Eaton was among the survivors.

The subsequent trial, held at the Central Criminal Court in London, of the German master of the Franconia, found the master guilty of manslaughter. On appeal, however, it was discovered that English Law didn’t cover him in English waters, and they had to let him go. This led directly to the adoption by Parliament of the existing International Territorial Waters law, which many other countries already used.

A Leading newspaper of the day reported the story as follows:

THE COLLISION OFF DOVER“

As each fresh disaster is reported, it seems to eclipse its predecessors in strangeness and unaccountability. People wondered naturally enough why the Deutschland should have blundered on to the Kentish Knock, when, she had she kept her right course, she would have been miles away, but there was at least the excuse of dense fog and a powerful current; not so with the calamity of last week. The Franconia, in broad and clear daylight, bore down upon the Strathclyde as though maliciously chasing her for the purpose of running her down, and though the captain of the hapless vessel twice altered her course to get her out of the pursuer’s way, on she came till the fatal crash as heard, and in a few minutes the ship had sunk. The chief mate and four seamen of the Strathclyde jumped for their lives, and scrambled on board the Franconia, where they allege there seemed to be no order or discipline. Seizing hatchets and knives, they tried to cut away the boats in order to help those they had left behind, but the Franconia steamed on without even throwing a rope, the captain declining to turn back when appealed to. Meantime two of the Strathclyde’s boats were successfully loosed, and each swamped by the rush of water caused by the settling down of the ship. Twenty-nine of the crew and six of the passengers were picked up by small craft which happened to be at hand, but several of these have since died, and about forty other persons were drowned. Amongst the victims was Mrs. Green, a niece of Mr. Dion Boucicault, whose recent family bereavement by the railway accident at Abbot’s Ripton will be fresh in the memory of our readers. No evidence was offered at the inquest in explanation of the conduct of the Franconia in rushing so wildly on to another vessel, or by neglecting to stand by after the accident occurred. The Franconia is now detained at London, and the Board of Trade inquiry will, doubtless, elicit some statement from those on board. Meanwhile, it is difficult to imagine what excuse can possibly be urged in extenuation of such apparent inhumanity. Captain Eaton, of the Strathclyde, who stayed by his vessel till the last moment, and who is now lying dangerously ill at Deal, speaks highly of the conduct of all on board, but as she went down in ten minutes, there was not time to launch the boats in safety. There were twenty-four life-belts and eight life-buoys on board. Several of these were used by the ladies, and in some cases they were the means of saving life. Some of the witnesses at the inquest say that had other boats put out from Dover, more lives might have been saved, and the tug Palmerston is blamed for going to the aid of the Franconia instead of the Strathclyde. It is to be hoped, however, that these instances of apparent inhumanity have been unconsciously exaggerated, or are capable of explanation.”

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June 5th 1916 saw the loss of HMS Hampshire off Marwick Head, Orkney, with the loss of over 700 lives, including Lord Kitchener. Only 12 survived.

The Hampshire was en route from Orkney to Russia, taking Lord Kitchener on a secret mission to bolster support from the Tsar for the war when it hit a mine and sank. It wasn’t until lately that a definitive number was put on the number of deaths, a final figure of 737 souls were lost at sea that day.

Two of the most persistent rumours examined in a recent book, were that the ship sailed through a known minefield and that the military refused to allow local Orcadians to help with rescue attempts. Their conclusions are that the first was down to a simple misprint in an official document and the second did not hold up to close scrutiny, except in just two isolated cases.

Accusations of incompetence or collusion against the Admiralty have focused on the destruction of another ship, HM Drifter Laurel Crown, on 2 June, blown up by the same minefield laid by submarine U-75, and why the Hampshire was sent through a known danger zone. It has since been said that the Laurel Crown was actually blown up on June 22nd, but to me this still begs the question, why it was allowed to go through this minefield after the Hampshire sinking? Some answers we will never know.

The wreck is designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act and diving is forbidden without a licence.The ship is upside down at a depth of 55–70 metres of water. In 1983 one propeller and part of its drive shaft were salvaged. They are now on view at the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum, Lyness, Hoy, Orkney.

The Kitchener Memorial at Marwick Head, five miles east of Dounby in Orkney, stands to commemorate, not just him, but all those who lost their lives that day.

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On December 8th 1959, the lifeboat RNLB Mona, based at Broughty Ferry, capsized in a storm in St Andrews Bay with the loss of all eight crew.

The lifeboat had been called to assist the North Carr lightship which had broken from its mooring and was believed adrift in St Andrews Bay. The conditions when the lifeboat was launched at 3.13 a.m. were atrocious. The last radio message was received from the Mona at 4.48 a.m. As the boat rounded the headland she capsized.

No matter how long ago this tragedy occurred the sacrifice of the men involved is not forgotten far and wide but especially in Broughty Ferry.

The lost crew were coxswain Ronald Grant, 28, acting second coxswain George Smith, 53, bowman George Watson, 38, motor mechanic John Grieve, 56, second mechanic James Ferrier, 43, John T Grieve, 22, Alexander Gall, 56, and David Anderson, 42.

The Mona was swept up on Carnoustie Beach, there are few folk more supersticous than sailors and the boat was suspected to be possessed by an evil spirit, it was taken over the Forth, in the dead of night to Cockenzie Harbour, East Lothian, stripped of anything of value, chained to the sea wall, and burnt, a Viking Ritual.

The burning was done with the knowledge and permission of Lord Saltoun, the chairman of the Scottish Lifeboat Council. Questions were raised in the House of Commons about the destruction of a lifeboat built with public subscription.

The American folk singer Peggy Seeger, wife of Ewan MacColl immortalised the tragedy with the song “The Lifeboat Mona” Most of the versions on Youtube are by Irish singers, I did however manage to find this version by Seeger and MacColl…….

Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name The wind did blow and the sea rose up Beat the land with mighty waves At St Andrew’s Bay the lightship fought The sea until her moorings gave Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name The captain signalled to the shore “We must have help or we’ll go down” From Broughty Ferry at two a.m. They sent the lifeboat Mona out Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name Eight men formed that gallant crew They set their boat against the main The wind’s so hard and the sea’s so rough We’ll never see land or home again Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name Three hours went by and the Mona called “The wind blows hard and the sea runs high” In the morning on Carnoustie Beach The Mona and her crew did lie Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name Five lay drowned in the cabin there Two were washed up on the shore Eight men died when the boat capsized And the eighth is lost forever more Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain Remember the gallant men who drowned On the lifeboat, Mona was her name Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain The men who leave the land behind And the men who’ll never see land again Remember December fifty-nine The howling wind and the driving rain The men who leave the land behind And the men who’ll never see land again

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On January 4th 1974  four seamen drowned and 29 were saved when a Polish trawler ran aground two miles north of Aberdeen.

The video shows some of crew members of the Polish trawler "Nurzec" being rescued by helicopter and breeches buoy when she ran aground in a storm at Murcar Golf Course near Balmedie. 

The vessel had grounded about 400 yards from the shore. Two of the crew left the trawler in a liferaft which overturned, but they made it ashore through the surf and staggered into the golf clubhouse.  

Mmembers of the golf club were shocked when two soaked and exhausted Polish seamen stumbled through the door. Despite the language barrier – the sailors spoke no English – it became clear a ship had run aground near the course.These two souls had made it ashore to safety.

While the rescue services were being alerted, the Russian tug "Gordyy" arrived on the scene and sent a raft with five men over to the stranded trawler, to rescue the twenty six men still aboard. Eighteen of the crew were successfully taken off before that raft also capsized in the surf, throwing the occupants in the water. Nine survivors made it to Murcar clubhouse.

Although the Nurzec had grounded on sand about 400 yards offshore, the coastguards were able to get a line aboard the vessel, but none of the remaining men aboard would leave by that line. Five others were found alive on the beach and were taken to hospital, and four bodies were recovered from the upturned raft. One of the Russian seamen was found exhausted on the beach about a mile from the stricken trawler, and coastguards gathered up debris from the beach and lit a fire to keep him warm. 

A helicopter lifted him from the beach and took him to Murcar golf club, where an ambulance was waiting. Police appealed to journalists and other car owners at the scene to ring the 18th green with car headlights to give the helicopter pilot an indication of where to land. One of the four men still on the "Nurzec" was eventually persuaded to leave by breeches buoy, and the other three, including skipper Bartczak, were taken off by helicopter. After several unsuccessful attempts, the "Nurzec" was finally refloated on 22nd June, and towed to Aberdeen, where she was sold for scrap.

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January 31st 1953 saw the early roll-on/roll-off ferry, MV Princess Victoria, sink in a storm while en route from Stranraer to Larne with the loss of 133 lives.

69 years ago today, the British Railways passenger and vehicle ferry Princess Victoria,  set sail from Stranraer bound for Larne in a storm on what was her 745th sailing.  She never made it to the County Antrim port.  According to the accounts of survivors, the ship began to struggle as soon as she left the shelter of Loch Ryan.  The Master of the vessel Captain James Ferguson attempted to turn back towards Stranraer, but his attempts were in vain, as a large wave stove the stern doors in at around 09:00.  Despite the brave attempts of the crew to repair the doors, the vehicle deck soon became flooded.  The experienced Captain decided to try to continue towards Northern Ireland, but by 13:00 the starboard engine room was also flooded.  By around 2pm the ship was listing so badly that the starboard lifeboats could not be lowered, and radio contact was lost.  Soon after the vessel flipped over and sank.

There were 128 passengers and 49 crew thought to be onboard, but just 44 – all men, survived.  Perhaps most tragically, two lifeboats with survivors inside were destroyed in the storm.  One of the lifeboats which was the carrying women and children crashed against the side of the ship, resulting in all of its occupants being thrown into the icy waters with none of them surviving.  The other lifeboat was overcome by the waves and flooded resulting in it sinking.

Of the 44 survivors, some 33 were rescued by the Donaghadee Lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly  The final resting place of the Princess Victoria, was just 5 miles North East of Copeland Island, near Donagadee itself.  The Sir Samuel Kelly now occupies a plot in the carpark behind Donaghadee harbour, but is fenced off and unfortunately in an increasing state of disrepair.  7 people were rescued by the destroyer HMS Contest, while a further 2 were rescued by the Portpatrick lifeboat Jeannie Spiers which was the last vessel to arrive.

Rescue efforts were hugely hampered by the storm and by the fact that until just a few minutes before her sinking, the Princess Victoria was radioing her position as being off the coast of Scotland.  Only once the coast of Northern Ireland was visible to those onboard were rescue vessels sent to the correct area.  As soon as it was clear that the vessel was close to Belfast Lough, 4 vessels (the cattleship  Lairdsmore, the trawler Eastcotes, the coastal oil tanker Pass of Drumochter, and the coastal cargo ship Orchy) which were sheltering from the storm in Belfast Lough rushed to the vessels aid.  Unfortunately, due to the ferocity of the weather, they were unable to get close enough to rescue survivors from the lifeboats without risking damaging the lifeboats themselves.  However, they were able to shelter the survivors from the worst of the storm.  Importantly, Eastcotes was the first vessel to accurately broadcast the position of the stricken vessel.

Despite being the biggest single loss of life in UK waters during peacetime, the Princess Victoria disaster is almost unknown outside of Scotland and Northern Ireland.  There are memorials at Stranraer, Donaghadee, and Larne however.    This is an annual memorial event organised by the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes MV Princess Victoria Lodge in conjunction with Mid & East Antrim Borough Council.

You can read more about this tragedy here https://www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/things-to-do/causeway-coastal-route/mv-princess-victoria

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On December 12th 1939, 9 miles off the Mull of Kintyre, the D class Destroyer, HMS Duchess was sunk after a collision with another ship.

HMS Duchess was arriving in the Clyde escorting HMS Barham, in the early hours of the morning in the North Channel off Mull of Kintyre, at, possibly due to fog in the area, the zigzagging pattern of the battleship and destroyer crossed: Barham impacted Duchess, cutting her in half.

HMS Barham stopped and lowered her sea boats, around 0450 hours the ready use depth charges on board HMS Duchess exploded and she sank.

Sadly, there were only 23 survivors of the crew of 153, they included one officer and twenty-two ratings.

HMS  Barham came to grief in March 1941 with the loss of 863 poor souls. 

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While The Princess Victoria was sinking in The Irish Sea, further North at the same time on the night of what became known as the Great Storm, Islanders from the Borve area of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides rescued 66 crew from the grounded cargo ship, Clan MacQuarrie.

In driving rain and ferocious winds, gusting to 100 mph, it was the biggest ever rescue carried out using breeches buoy in a single operation. The ‘breeches buoy’ is a device designed for 'ship to ship’ or 'ship to shore’ rescues. It consists of a canvas seat in the form of breeches hung from a life belt running on a pulley system that enables persons to be hauled to ship or shore.

Luck was on the side of the crew of the Clan MacQuarrie that night and there was no loss of life.  As well as this and The Princess Victoria sinking,  tragedy struck elsewhere south of Lewis. The Fleetwood registered trawler 'Michael Griffiths’ sank seven miles south of Barra Head with the loss of 13 crew. She had managed to send one distress message saying she was helpless, full of water and out of steam, but sadly she was never heard from or seen again.