BRAES O' MAR M100

Official No:   137175   Port Number and Year:  Aberdeen in 1915 (A331)                                                                               7th in Milford, 1945

Description: Steel side trawler; steam screw, coal burning. Ketch rigged: mainsail and mizzen

Crew: 9 / 12 / 11men

Registered at Milford: 20 Nov 1940

Built: by Hawthorns & Co., Leith, in 1915.  (Yard no.143)

Tonnage: 227 gross  97.78 net

Length / breadth / depth (feet):  117.2 / 22.0 / 12.5

Engine: T 3-Cyl. 82 hp. 10kts. Engine and boiler by builders

Owners:   As 331 Sep 1915: Standard Steam Fishing, Aberdeen Manager: James G. Adams, Stell Rd., Aberdeen.   As M100 20 Nov 1940: Henry James Horwood, 6 Waterloo Rd., Hakin. (64/64) 4 Dec 1940: "Braes O' Mar" Trawlers Co., Docks, Milford. Manager: Henry James Horwood   23 Jul 1945: United Trawlers, Docks, Milford Manager: Henry James Horwood

Landed at Milford: 21 Oct 1940 - 22 Jan 1951

Skippers: John Henry Ryan, 1940-46

Notes:  Sep 1915: Requisitioned for war service and converted for minesweeping duties  (Admy. no. 104); 1 x 6 pdr. AA 1919: Returned to owners 29 Mar 1944: Requisitioned for war service (miscellaneous naval duties) and designated an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel. 1 Feb 1951: Vessel foundered 15 miles WNW of Skelligs. [See below.]

Cert. Cancelled & Milford Registry Closed: 14 Feb 1951.

 Accidents and Incidents

From  the West Wales Guardian of Friday 18th January 1946:

 

    In the second part of the New Year's Honours List the names of two Milford fishermen appear.  Skipper John Henry Ryan, 23, Stratford Road, who is awarded the O.B.E., and Mr. George Cook, 2, Greville Road, who receives the B.E.M. (Civil Division). 

    Skipper Ryan served on the "Bass Rock" when it was attacked by German planes.  He is at present skipper of the "Braes O' Mar".  Mr. Cook was serving on the "Thomas Booth" as a deckhand for the past six years, and was on her when she was repeatedly machine-gunned by German planes.

 

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From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 3rd January 1947:

 

    Apart from the 409 kits landed from the steam trawler Tenedos last Saturday, there have been no local trawlers in the week, the thinnest in the year as far as the market is concerned.  Today (Friday), the only ships in dock were the Caldy, 52 kits, and the Braes O' Mar, 82 kits, and the port this week had to fall back on frozen fillets of cod from Newfoundland and Iceland.

 

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From The Irish Times of Friday 2nd February 1951, p.1:

 

Night Rescue of 12 From Doomed Trawler

 

    The timely arrival of a sister vessel, the Berenga, resulted in the rescue of the captain and crew of eleven of the trawler Braesomer [sic], of milford Haven, Wales, as she was drifting helplessly towards Ballinskelligs Bay, Co. Kerry, with water pouring into her engine room from a leak.

    The incident occurred last Wednesday evening, after the crew had worked at the pumps for hours, in an effort to check the inrush of water from the leak.

    Meanwhile SOS calls were sent out.  Finally, the engine room became flooded, and preparations were made to abandon ship.

 

SKIPPER LAST

    Then the Berenga hove in sight, and, despite a choppy sea, members of the Braesomer's crew succeeded in launching their small lifeboat.

    After most of the crew had been taken aboard the Berenga, Captain Jack L. Ryan, of the Braesomer, was brought to safety with the remaining men.

    The Berenga stood by all night.  At dawn the Braesomer was still afloat, but she sank at 9 a.m.

    The rescued men, who were taken to Berehaven, Co. Cork, highly praised the action of Captain A. Howie and the crew of the Berenga. "They spared no effort in doing their utmost to save us," said Captain Ryan.  "Their timely arrival certainly saved all our lives.  I hated like anything to lose my ship, of which I have been captain since October, 1940."

    It was Captain Howie's third sea rescue.

    Among the rescued men were William Scanlon, of 9 Nelson terrace, Cork, and Anthony Myles, of Gortskiddin, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo.

    The Braesomer, a deep sea steam trawler of 98 tons, is owned by the United Trawlers Co., Ltd., Milford Haven

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Transcription from a local newspaper, probably the West Wales Guardian, Friday 2nd February 1951:

The Milford steam trawler "Braes O' Mar" sank off the south-west coast of Ireland on Thursday morning and her crew of eleven have been landed safely in Berehaven, Ireland. The "Braes 0' Mar" (United Trawlers) left Milford on January 25th, in charge of Skipper Jack Ryan, her master for upwards of eight years. Theirs had been a successful partnership, for in 1948 and 49 they had the biggest earnings in the crabber trawler class in the port. The boat had been fishing well, but at about nine p.m. on Wednesday sent out a call for assistance which was answered by the steam trawler "Berenga" (Skipper Arthur Howie) which only left port on Tuesday morning.

By ten p.m. the crew had been transferred to the "Berenga", and at nine a.m. on Thursday the "Braes O' Mar" sank beneath the waves, and skipper [Howie] turned his ship for the port of Berehaven, in Ireland.

 

In order to avoid worry among the families of members of the crew of the "Braes 0' Mar" , the owners informed them late on Wednesday that all hands were safe on board the "Berenga".

The crew of the "Braes O' Mar" is as follows:

Skipper, Jack Ryan, 23, Stratford Road.

Mate, W.E. Payne, 90, Shakespeare Avenue.

Bosun, H.C. Smith, 42, Picton Road, Hakin.

Third Hand, L. Gale, 20, Cromwell Road.

Deckhands, H. Moyles, 88, Albert Street, Haverfordwest.

                  R. Abramson, 7, Stanley Street, Lowestoft.

Cook, C. Soames, 14, Greville Road.

First Engineer, G. Read, 16, St. Jude's Place, Plymouth.

8econd Engineer, J. Warlow, 19, Charles Street, Neyland.

Firemen, F.Spry,18, Clarence Street, Plymouth.

              W. Scanlon, 37, Cambridge Terrace, Oxford.

 

The crew are expected to arrive back in Milford tomorrow from Ireland.

 

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Statement from Ship's Log Book.

Off the West Coast of Ireland 25.1.1951.

 

At about five p.m. on Wednesday 31.1.1951, when about fifteen miles west-north-west of Skelligs, sprung a leak and despite every effort on the part of the crew who remained on board until about nine p.m. on the same day, sunk at about five past nine a.m. on Thursday 1.2.1951.

John Henry Ryan. (Skipper).

 

 

 

 

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