NORBRECK M7
CRAIGMILLAR M26
Official No: 114309 Port Number and Year: 2nd in Fleetwood, 1905 (FD30)
4th in Milford, 1919 (M7)
26th in Grimsby, 1921 (GY1307)
4th in North Shields, 1922 (SN90)
3rd in Aberdeen, 1926 (A164)
5th in Milford, 1945 (M26)
Description: Steel side trawler; steam screw, coal burning. Ketch rigged: mizzen sail
Crew: 10 men
Registered at Milford: 3 Jul 1945
Built: 1905 by John Duthie, Aberdeen. (Yard no. 251)
Tonnage: 200.89 grt 37 net. (1914: 80.01 net.)
Length / breadth / depth (feet): 121.3 / 21.65 / 11.7 (13.33: Milford Register, 1919.)
Engine: T 3-cyl. 60 rhp. Engine: 1905, W.V.V. Lidgerwood, Coatbridge, Glasgow; boiler: 1905, James Abernethy.
Owners:
As NORBRECK FD30
22 Feb 1905: Norbreck Steam Fishing, 116 Dock St., Fleetwood.
Manager: Louis Cohen, Tettenhall, Norbreck, Lancs.
James H. Marr, Dock St., Fleetwood. (By 1909)
James A. Robertson, Dock St., Fleetwood. (1917)
27 Jan 1919: Morgan Watkin Howells, 29 Hamilton Tce., Milford (32/64)
Managing owner: John McRae Knight, 'Craiglyn', Wellington Rd., Hakin (32/64)
9 Mar 1919: As NORBRECK M7.
19 Aug 1920: The Direct Fish Supplies, 3 London Wall Buildings, London E.C.
Manager: John McRae Knight, The Docks, Milford.
As GY1307.
18 Nov 1921: The Direct Fish Supplies, Ltd., 33 Gordon Square, London (& Grimsby).*
As GLEN STAR SN90
Nov 1922: Peter Walker, 19 Linkskill Tce., North Shields.
Managing owner.
7 Apr 1926: As GLEN STAR A164.
17 Jun 1926:As CRAIGMILLAR A164
1927: George Robb (Snr), 266 Victoria Rd., Aberdeen.
Managing owner.
5 Feb 1934: George Robb & Sons, 'Schiehallion', Mansefield Rd., Aberdeen.
Manager: George Robb.
19 Mar 1941: Thomas Walker & James Hay, Aberdeen.
As CRAIGMILLAR A1641944: J.C. Llewellin & Others, Docks, Milford
As CRAIGMILLAR M26
3 Jul 1945: Joseph Leslie Yolland, 'Trevose', Letterston, Haverfordwest (17/64)
John Yolland (Jnr), 'Colby', Wiston, Haverfordwest (17/64)
Thomas Stewart Yolland, 'St Annes', Sketty Green, Swansea (13/64)
Managing owner: John Charles Llewellin, 'Fenton', Crundale, Haverfordwest (17/64)
5 Jan 1946:
Joseph Leslie Yolland, Docks, Milford (24/64)
Thomas Stewart Yolland, Docks, Milford (16/64)
Managing owner: John Yolland (Jnr), Docks, Milford (24/64)
Landed at Milford: As NORBRECK (RN): 19 Apr 1919.
As NORBRECK M7: 29 May 1919 - 18 Aug 1920.
As CRAIGMILLAR M26: 21 Jan - 6 Apr 1946. (Foundered; see below.)
Skippers: : G. Davison 1914; Wilfred Perrott (1946)
Notes:
Norbreck is north of Blackpool, and Craigmillar is east of Edinburgh.
Apr 1915: Requisitioned as NORBRECK. (Admy. no. 1374). 1x3 pdr.
Apr 1919: Returned to owners.
21 Feb 1919: Fleetwood registry closed.
*Mar 1922: W.H.B. Quilliam, Managing Director, left the country after the Directors decided to wind up the bankrupt company. He was apparently on a pilgrimage to Mecca. [The Times, Wednesday, 13 December 1922.]
13 Nov 1922: Grimsby registry closed.
6 Apr 1926: North Shields registry closed.
6 Jan 1940: Requisitioned for war service and appointed for boom working duties.
Jan 1940: Returned.
11 Jun 1940: Requisitioned as CRAIGMILLAR and fitted out as a minesweeper (P.No.FY.1669). Lowestoft Naval Base, Minesweeping Group 9.Jul 1945: Aberdeen registry closed.
2 Nov 1945: Returned to owners.
30 Apr 1946: Foundered after underwater explosion near Galley Head. [See below]
Cert. Cancelled & Milford Registry Closed: 14 Oct 1921: Transferred to the port of Grimsby.
9 May 1946: Vessel lost by an explosion on 30 Apr 1946. Certificate lost with vessel.
Accidents and Incidents
From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 4th January 1946:
Messrs. Yolland & Llewellin, joint owners of the biggest trawling fleet sailing out of Milford, have dissolved the partnership after ten years of highly successful working, during which time the fleet has increased from one to twenty-two trawlers. The dissolution took effect from January 1st, and in future Messrs. Yolland will trade under the name Messrs. Yolland Brothers, while Mr. J. C. Llewellin takes a number of trawlers under his own name.
Yolland Bros.:
Castle Class: Tenedos, Mikasa, Lorraine, William Mannell, Montano and George Adgell.
Strath Class: Craigmillar and Anne Melville.
Drifters: Allochy, Overfall, Poseidon, Invercairn, Primevere, Mint, Furze, Lichen, Calliopsis and Cassiopeia.
The Montano left Milford on Thursday (yesterday) for Fleetwood, while the George Adgell arrives in Milford within the next fortnight from Aberdeen. Both Strath boats are at Milford, but the drifters will fish from Lowestoft during the North Sea season, and will come round to Milford for the summer season.
John Charles Llewellin:
Castle trawlers: Cotsmuir, Lady Stanley, T.R. Ferens and Harry Melling.
All the trawlers are away at the moment; the Lady Stanley at Hull and the others at Fleetwood, but they are expected to sail out of Milford in the near future.
The fish merchants' business belonging to the firm in Fleetwood, Swansea and Milford will now be carried on by Yolland Brothers, while the merchants' business at Aberdeen has been taken over by Mr. Llewellin.
Naturally interested to ascertain why such a profitable partnership should be dissolved, the "Guardian" made enquiries on Thursday. We learned that Mr. Llewellin has suffered ill health for a number of years and wishes to cut down on his responsibilities.
The sensational rise of Messrs. Yolland & Llewellin has provided one of the romances of the fishing Industry of Milford, starting as fish exporters in 1935, with Mr. J. C. Llewellin as their representative in Paris. The firm had to turn their attention in 1937 to building up their fish merchants business in England because of the devaluation of the franc.
In 1936 Messrs. Yolland & Llewellin purchased their first trawler and not long afterwards embarked on an experiment which at the time was considered more than daring - "foolhardy", said the old hands. They fitted out two trawlers to fish as a pair - the pareja - a Spanish method of fishing. The earliest voyages, doubtless due to the inexperience of the crews in this type of netting, brought thin returns, but by-and-by these pairs began to make news, big news, for they started to smash fishing records. What was then the youngest firm of owners had scored a big success, and confounded their critics. Before the war started, the company had five pairs operating on the Irish grounds. During the war the company worked with two old ships, the Gozo and Cairo, but disposed of these when their fleet of twenty-two trawlers were de-requisitioned in their turn after Government service.
The partners in the firm of Yolland Brothers are Messrs. John J. Leslie and T. Stuart Yolland.
Note: The CRAIGMILLAR, built 1905, could not have been an Admiralty "Strath" class, as these were all built in 1917-19.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The Irish Times of 2nd May 1946, p.1:
Trawler Blown Up
A Milford Haven steam trawler, the 150-ton Craigmillar, carrying a crew of fourteen, was blown up in an explosion 29 miles south-west of Galley Head, off the coast of Cork, on Tuesday night.
Captain W. Perrott, master of the vessel, said at Kinsale yesterday that they were fishing when they felt something weighty in the trawl, and almost immediately there was a terrific explosion.
"We took to the lifeboat," he stated, "and saw the Craigmillar sink rapidly. We spent over six hours in the lifeboat before the steam trawler Southerness picked us up between the Galley and the Fastnet and brought us into Kinsale."
One man was slightly injured.
Note of Protest, by Wilfred Perrott, skipper of the CRAIGMILLAR:
Sailed from the port of Milford, bound for the fishing grounds off Ireland on the 24th April, 1946. [.....] in the evening of the 30th day of April were approximately in a position with Galley Head bearing north by east, distant about thirty miles, been damaged as the result of the explosion underwater of an unknown object, as a result of which the said vessel foundered.
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