JAMES CHRISTOPHER LO248

Official No:  143827     Port and Year:  London, 1919  (LO248)                                                                    Fleetwood, 1929  (FD21)

Description: Castle Class steel side trawler; coal fired. Ketch rigged

Crew: 11 men (1920).

Built: by J.P. Rennoldson & Sons, South Shields, in 1918.  (Yard no. 306)

Tonnage:   276 grt  109 net

Length / breadth / depth (feet): 125.3 / 23.4 / 12.6

Engine: T 3-Cyl; 61 rhp; by builders.

Owners:   As JAMES CHRISTOPHER LO248 30 Dec 1919: The Secretary of the Admiralty, Whitehall, London SW1. Managing owner.   1920: Skomer Steam Shipping Co. Ltd., Milner Chambers, Cardiff. Manager: Lewis Bull & Co., Bute Docks, Cardiff.   16 Apr 1923: Brand & Curzon Ltd., The Docks, Milford. Managers: Edward Brand & Charles Curzon. [Same address.]   As FD21 22 Feb 1929: J. Marr & Son, Ltd., 228 Dock St., Fleetwood. Manager: Geoffrey E. Marr, 'Melrose', Esplanade, Fleetwood. 28 May 1929: As MARSONA.

Landed at Milford: 16 Jan 1920 - 13 Feb 1929

Skippers:

Notes:  James Christopher, age 24, born Waterford; A.B., HMS VICTORY, at Trafalgar. 14 Jan 1918: Launched as a minesweeper (Admy. No. 3715). 1 x 12 pdr. 1919: Registered by the Admiralty as a fishing vessel at London (LO248). Sold to mercantile. 31 Mar 1920: In collision with NILE (M186) while manoeuvring in dock. [See below.] Oct 1939: Requisitioned by the Admiralty as MARSONA  and converted to a minesweeper duties (P.No.FY.714). 4 Aug 1940: Mined off Cromarty with the loss of five crew members. [Information supplied by the Fleetwood Maritime Trust and the Bosun's Watch website.]

 

Accidents and Incidents

From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 18th March 1921:

 

    In the Admiralty Division on Wednesday, Mr. Justice Hill had an action brought by the owners of the steam trawler Nile, of Milford Haven, to recover damages arising out of a collision between her and the defendant's steam trawler James Christopher, also of Milford Haven, in Milford Docks on the afternoon of March 31st last.

    The Plaintiff's case was that the Nile was lying alongside the wall of the entrance to the sea-going locl of the dock.  She had a wire fast from her bows to the wall, and was heading towards the end of the wall, waiting for further orders to cast off and proceed to the inside of the dock.  In these circumstances it was alleged that the James Christopher, underway, with her stem struck the port quarter of the Nile, damaging her and forcing her stern into violent contact with the dock wall, whereby further damage was sustained.

    Mr. Justice Hill in giving judgement said that although the skipper [ of the Nile ] who had been drinking heavily was not really in the best condition for control of his ship, the conclusion he came to on the evidence was that he could not move his engines astern and that the Nile was a stationary ship when she was run into by the James Christopher.

    He pronounced the latter vessel alone to blame, and gave judgement for the Plaintiffs with costs, the damages to be assessed.

 

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