WHITBY M141

 

John Stevenson Collection

Official No:  108499    Port Number and Year:  9th in Grimsby, 1898 (GY524)

                                                                                  -    in Fleetwood, 1926 (FD147)

                                                                                 8th in Milford, 1928      

Description: Steel side trawler; steam screw; coal burning.  Wheelhouse aft.  Yawl rigged.

Crew:  9 men (1899)

Registered at Milford: 7 Feb 1928

Built: 1898, by Irvine Shipbuilding & Co., Irvine.  (Yard no. 2)

Tonnage: 163.73 grt 51 net.  (1914: 63.64 net.)

Length / breadth / depth (feet):  104.2  / 21.0 / 10.7

Engine: T 3-Cyl. 45 rhp.  9 kts.  Engine and boiler by Muir & Houston, Glasgow

Owners:

 

As GY524

7 Mar 1898: Hagerup, Doughty & Co. Ltd., Grimsby.

Manager: Fred E. Hagerup. (Same address.)

 

Apr 1906: Consolidated Steam Fishing & Ice Co., (Grimsby) Ltd., 1 Quality Court, London.

Manager: John D. Marsden, Auckland Rd., Fish Docks, Grimsby.

 

May 1922: Thomas Cardwell, Fleetwood.

Managing owner: Thomas W. Mason, 64 Caw Rd., Fleetwood.

21 Oct 1926: As FD147

23 Oct 1926: Mason Trawlers Ltd., 200 Dock St., Fleetwood.

Manager: Thomas W. Mason. (Same address.)

                  Thomas Cardwell. (Same address.) (1927)

 

As M76

7 Feb 1928: Frank Leslie Youds, 32 Dartmouth St., Milford.

Managing owner.

 

17 Jul 1939: Pettit & Youds, Docks, Milford.

Manager: Frank L. Youds

 

14 Aug 1939:  Joseph Leslie Yolland, 'Hartland', Pill Lane, Milford.                     17/64

John Yolland (Jnr), Broadway, Fleetwood.                                                             17/64

Thomas Steward Yolland, 'St. Ann's', Sketty Green, Sketty, Swansea.                   13/64

Managing owner: John Charles Llewellin, 'Camelot', Wellington Rd., Hakin.        17/64

 

Landed at Milford: 5 Feb 1928 - 27 Mar 1941

Skippers: William Hannaford (1929); W. Aldous (1941)

Notes: 

1914 - 18: Fishery trawler.

7 Oct 1920: Transferred to Lowestoft.

27 Jan 1922: Stranded on Gunton Denes, North Beach. Crew taken off by Lowestoft Lifesaving Team. Lowestoft lifeboat JOHN and MARY MEIKLAM of GLADSWOOD (Cox. John T. S. Swan) launched and stood by. Subsequently refloated.  ['Bosun's Watch' website.]

20 Oct 1926: Grimsby registry closed.

4 Apr 1941: Sunk by German air-attack, 3 miles SSE of the Blackwater Light Vessel.

Cert. Cancelled & Milford Registry Closed: 23 Apr 1941 

Accidents and Incidents

 

Transcriptions of letters from the Les Jones Archive:

                                                                                                                                                                    Lean & Lean,

                                                                                                                                                                    Solicitors & Notaries Public.

                                                                                                                                                                    52, Mount Stuart Square,

                                                                                                                                                                     Cardiff

                                                                                                                                                                     6th November 1928.

Messrs. D. Pettit Ltd.,

The Docks,

Milford Haven.  

 

Dear Sirs,

    We are instructed on behalf of the owners of the s.t. Whitby to apply to you for payment of the damages sustained by them in consequence of their vessel having fallen subsequent to being placed upon your slipway at Neyland for painting on the 3rd September last.

    As result of our consideration of the circumstances in which the accident occurred, there seems to us to be no doubt as to your liability for the damage in question and we have so advised our clients.

    We are accordingly  instructed to intimate that failing receipt of your admission of liability it is their intention to commence proceedings for recovery of the amount of their claim and we will be glad, therefore, to receive such admission or a reference to Solicitors who will accept service of process on your behalf.

(Sgd.)
Lean & Lean

_____________

                                                                                                                                                                                 Messrs. D. Pettit Ltd.,

                                                                                                                                                                                 The Docks,

                                                                                                                                                                                 Milford Haven

                                                                                                                                                                                 15th November 1928

Messrs. Lean & Lean,

52, Mount Stuart Square,

Cardiff.

 

Dear Sirs,

    In reply to yours of the 12th. inst., we beg to state that when the owners of this vessel bought her, one of the partners, Mr. Joseph Pettit, interviewed our Principal, Mr. David Pettit, with regard to selling the fish, repairs and other incidental business connected with fishing vessels and was informed by our Mr. Pettit (who, by the way, is manager for the Hakin Trawling Company) that should he require our slip for this vessel it would be on similar terms and conditions to which the Hakin Trawling Company were; viz., the vessel would be placed on the slip entirely at Owner's risk.

Yours faithfully

(Sgd.)
pp D. Pettit, Ltd.   

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From an unknown local newspaper, dated c. 22nd August 1929:

 

    William Hannaford, a Neyland skipper, was summoned by the Dock master, W. R. Marrs at Milford Sessions on Wednesday for refusing to obey his orders when in command of the trawler "Whitby", contrary to the Milford Docks bye-laws.

    Mr. G. R. Kelway (Price and Kelway) appeared for the prosecution, and pointed out that although the case was specially adjourned from the last court at the request of the defendant, he was not present today.

    Mr. Kelway said that when the line of vessels was coming in to the Dock, the s.t. "Whitby" suddenly, from the rear, passed three vessels and cut into the line, despite orders to the contrary.  The Docks were closed and the other boats told to keep their position.  The "Whitby" was ordered to go astern, but subsequently he came in on two occasions and refused to go back. Mr. Kelway described this as a most flagrant case of disobedience.

    Captain W. R. Marrs said he suddenly saw the "Whitby" rushing ahead instead of taking up her position as the last ship in the line.  Witness hauled the flag down, which forbad the vessels to come ahead, and the "Whitby" then went astern, but when the flag was hauled up again he came racing ahead.  He came into the Docks despite orders not to, and said he knew all about the rules of the road.

    Replying to the Justices' Clerk, Capt. Marrs said he did not hear anything about the ship having engine trouble, and that the skipper was therefore afraid to go astern because he might damage the other ships.

    The Clerk (Mr. H. J. E. Price): "Have you had any trouble with this man before?"  "No, not before, but since." (Laughter.)

    Skipper William Hannaford was fined £5.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 11th April 1941:

 

    Nine members of a trawler fishing from a west coast port were rescued after their trawler had been sunk by enemy action.  Eight bombs were dropped.  The skipper is a Lowestoft man, but many of the crew belong to the port of sailing.  The crew were taken home on another trawler, the master of which was Skipper Bray. 

    There is anxiety for another trawler belonging to the same firm, which also has a crew of nine.  Her skipper is Mr. W. Aldous.

 

From B.T. & R. Larn (2002): Shipwreck Index of Ireland

 

WHITBY                04/04/1941

Co. Wexford, Blackwater Bank L/v, 3M SSE 5M SE        52.20.30N 06.10W

...............

This Milford fishing trawler was attacked by German aircraft and sunk without loss of life.

 

 

Note in Les Jones Archive:

 

4.4.41: Skipper Noel Bray, steam drifter JACKLYN picked up the crew of the Milford trawler WHITBY which was being bombed and machine-gunned by German planes.  JACKLYN also came under attack but managed to take all the crew off safely.  N. Bray was awarded the MBE by King George VI for this act.

 

 

   

Back to Trawlers 1915-39