PARAMOUNT R193
From the collection of William Blow
[See also below.]
Official No: 130026 Port and Year: 28th in Lowestoft, 1911 (LT1116)
- - Ramsgate, 1920 (R193)
Description: Steel side drifter trawler, steam, coal fired, single screw. Ketch rigged.
Crew: 10 men (1911).
Built: 1911; Cochrane & Son, Selby. (Yard no. 492)
Tonnage: 95 grt 43 net.
Length / breadth / depth (feet): 87.0 / 18.6 / 9.6
Engine: 35 nhp, 3-cyl, 10.0 kts; by Crabtree & Co. Ltd., Gt. Yarmouth.
Owners:
As LT111624 May 1911: John Mitchell, 'Highfield', The Avenue, Lowestoft, & R. Sillett, Lowestoft.
Managing owner: John Mitchell.
As R193
12 Mar 1920: The Ramsgate Steam Trawling Co. Ltd., Cottage Rd., Ramsgate.
Manager: Thomas W. Chapman, 18 Crescent Rd., Ramsgate. (1920-32)
Alfred H. Lanfear (jnr.), 20 South Eastern Rd., Ramsgate. (1932-39)
H. E. Rees, Docks, Milford. (1929-39?)
1948: Drifter Trawlers Co. (H.E. Rees), Docks, Milford.
Landed at Milford: (Seasonal, Mar - Oct) 19 Jun 1922 - 30 Oct 1928
11 Feb 1929 - 12 Nov 1939; 28 May 1949 - 17 Jun 1955.
Skippers: Harry Gander (1955); W. G. Setterfield.
Notes:
Dec 1914: Requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to a patrol boat; later minesweeper. 1 x 6 pdr AA.
1919: Returned to owners.
2 Jan 1928: In heavy seas and in the early hours, went aground on a sandbank by the east pier wall of Ramsgate. 2nd Engineer Harry Offen, 26, was drowned, and the Chief Engineer, William Surman, 38, was badly scalded by an explosion in the engine room. The town fire engine was used to pump out the water in her. [The Times, Tuesday 3rd January, 1928.]
31 Nov 1928: Arthur Medhurst, 26, 3rd Hand, fell overboard and was drowned off Ramsgate. [The Times, Saturday 1st December, 1928.]
Nov 1939: Requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to a minesweeper (P. No. FY.954).
21 Jan 1940: At 09.36 hours the PROTESILAUS (Master Alfred Henry Dennistoun Shand) struck a mine laid on 5 Dec 1939 by U-28 in the Bristol Channel off Rotherslade, southwest of Swansea. The badly damaged vessel was towed to the Swansea Bay and beached. The crew was rescued by the British M/S trawler HMS Paramount (FY 954) (Skipper C.E. Blowers, RNR) and landed at Swansea. [uboat.net]
Feb 1944: Employed on miscellaneous naval duties.
19 Jan 1946: Returned to owners.
Aug 1955: Broken up at Llanelli.
[Lofthouse T., Mayes G., Newton D., & Thompson M. (2012): Cochrane Shipbuilders Vol.1: 1884 - 1914.]
Accidents and Incidents
From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 11th August 1950:
The number of ships held up in the docks has dwindled from the 32 of recent weeks to 18, and two of these, the Paramount and Caswell, are expected to return to sea this weekend. The St. Vincent, which has been laid up for many months, leaves on Saturday in charge of Skipper E. Satchell.
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L to R, back row: 2nd Eng. Reg Edwards, Deckhand Terence Negan, Deckhand/Trimmer Ronnie Thompson
Front row: Ch.Eng. Fred Williams, Deckhand Willie Musk, Cook George Straiton, Skipper Harry Gander, Mate Gerwyn 'Blondie' Coombes, Deckhand Charles Ellis
From a photograph taken for the West Wales Guardian of Friday 4th March 1955
John Stevenson Collection
From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 5th August 1955:
Mr. Desmond Donelly (M.P.) saw Sir Louis Chick, Chairman of the White Fish Authority, and as a result is hopeful that the Government may underwrite the whole of the extra costs involved in the latest increase in coal prices.
Meantime the situation remains grave. On Wednesday morning, two more drifter trawlers left for the scrap yard at Llanelly. They were the Burnhaven, owned by Merchants (Milford Haven), built at Aberdeen in 1918, and the Paramount, owned by Messrs. Harry Eastoe Rees. She was built at Selby in 1916.
This brings the number of ships at Milford Docks to 55, of which 15 are at present laid up, so that only 40 vessels are now operating.
From a newspaper cutting in the Les Jones Archive
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