FISHING NEWS Provides Confirmation of Identity of Lost Admiralty Trawler

First published in 1913, the long running news weekly of the fishing industry has helped to untangle the identify of a steam drifter, which was lost whilst tasked with deploying anti-submarine nets at the entrance to Milford Haven.

The Royal Commission’s ongoing project researching shipping losses relating to the Great War had discovered some confusion in sources about the origins of the fishing vessel. Staff at the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre had records which showed that the LADYSMITH was returned to its owners, Henry Taylor and Henry Hopwood, in 1919, so could not have been lost on 27 December 1915. However, members of staff at the Scottish Fisheries Museum were able to put Commission staff onto the right track – a steam drifter (fishing number BF1528) with close associations to the fishing community of the Moray Firth. Two short articles in early editions of this well-known fishing weekly provided confirmation.

Two Scottish fishing vessels, LADYSMITH and FERNDALE, had been put to use as armed patrol vessels/minesweepers and net layers. It would seem that the skippers of both had determined to run for the shelter of the Haven during a gale, but in attempting the heavy seas breaking at the entrance both came to grief. A crewman was washed overboard from the FERNDALE and, as the vessel stopped to attempt a rescue, it was driven onto the rocks off St Ann’s Head. What happened to the LADYSMITH is uncertain, but the reporting in FISHING NEWS reveals how devastating the loss was to three Scottish fishing families.

Just before the Great War, the British fishing fleet was vast. As early as 1908, the Admiralty had begun developing plans to ‘call up’ men to man the trawlers that it had ordered to help counter the increasing menace of sea-mines. These plans included requisitioning commercial vessels should the need arise. Some 150 vessels were thought to be all the Admiralty would need to complete its Royal Naval Patrol Service. However, by the end of the war, over 1,800 had requisitioned and the thousands of the fishermen who formed the core of their normal crews had been employed in theatres of war all around the world. http://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/495674

A very special thanks to the editorial team of Fishing News for allowing us to add a copy of the article to the ‘Great War at Sea’ collection on the People’s Collection Wales website.

Remembering all who gave their lives for their country and have no grave but the sea.
http://www.peoplescollection.wales/collections/415321


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Exploring the Wreck of the ROYAL CHARTER with Cotswold Archaeology

Recent accessions to the Royal Commission’s Digital Collections include a series of short video clips of the 2014 exploration of the famous Anglesey wreck by Cotswold Archaeology. The programme of work was undertaken on behalf of Cadw and included a multi-beam echosounder survey which identified small areas of iron wreckage still upstanding on the seabed.

Contemporary engraving of the ROYAL CHARTER

• http://www.casgliadywerin.cymru/items/44463

The ROYAL CHARTER was a Liverpool-registered steamship built at the Sandycroft Ironworks on the River Dee. In its time, it was a celebrated fast passenger ship sailing a regular service to Australia – each round trip circumnavigating the globe. On its last return trip to Liverpool, it was only a few hours from River Mersey when it was caught in a tremendous storm. The storm had the strength of a hurricane and eventually drove the ship ashore near Moelfre on Anglesey. In the hours that followed a terrible tragedy unfolded with the vast majority of the passengers (including families with young children) being drowned. A monument stands on the cliff above the site today.

Welsh mariners onboard whose lives were lost include Thomas Jones and William Davies of Caernarvon; Griffith Jones, carpenter, and John Rees of Nefyn; William Hughes of Amlwch; Henry Williams of Cemaes; John Jones of Holyhead; and Isaac Griffiths of Moelfre.

One of the gravestones commemorating victims in St Gallgo’s churchyard.

• http://www.casgliadywerin.cymru/items/44325

Many of the dead were buried in the graveyard of St Gallgo’s Church, where Reverend Stephen Roose Hughes was the Rector. When Charles Dickens later visited the church, he wrote of the hundreds of letters Reverend Hughes had received inquiring about relatives and friends.

The archive service of the State of Victoria, Australia, has recently made available records of passengers arriving and embarking on ships for the port of Melbourne. These records include a list of passengers who were early confirmations for the ROYAL CHARTER’s last voyage. Notable amongst these are individuals and families whose graves can be seen today in the churchyard.

A short clip of underwater video and a copy of the last passenger list for the ROYAL CHARTER have been added to the resources created for the Great Storm of 1859 by the Royal Commission on the People’s Collection Wales.

• http://www.casgliadywerin.cymru/items/476122
• http://www.casgliadywerin.cymru/node/475078

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ALADDIN Makes Special Reappearance

Pembrokeshire Herald General Advertiser, 8 November 1850, pg2, col 5  - available to view online from the National Library of Wales, Welsh Newspapers Online, http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3053280/ART16

Peter Crane, archaeologist for the Pembrokeshire National Park, has been in touch about a wreck reported by local people on the beach at Whitesands Bay, near St Davids. A check of the maritime record of the National Monuments Record of Wales, and a quick site visit to confirm the size of the timbers, suggests that the remains may be that of the ALADDIN.

Is it a wreck? Local families are enjoying having this new feature on their favourite beach.

The ALADDIN was a wooden brig or large schooner built in 1842. It was carrying a cargo of wheat when it ran ashore and became stranded in Whitesands Bay on 5 November 1850. The crew of 12 were all saved, but the vessel itself became a total wreck (NPRN 272891).

The wreck is proving to be of great interest to local people.

The tops of what is believed to be the forepart of the vessel are now showing above the sand.

Also visible on the beach at the moment are the massive fallen timbers of an ancient forest and their associated peat deposits, dating to some 5500- 4500 years ago (NPRN 524782).

Fallen trees and small expanses of peat and tree roots in amongst the large beach cobbles.

Volunteers participating in the Cadw-funded Arfordir project are busy all around the coast recording sites, which have appeared or been impacted by the recent storms.

To find out what is happening in your area,  follow these links to each region’s Facebook pages.

http://www.ggat.org.uk/arfordir/
http://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/arfordir/arfordir1.htm
http://www.heneb.co.uk/arfordir/arfordirmain.html


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Pembrokeshire’s Sunken Heritage

Kimberly Briscoe and Sarahjayne Clements, Community Archaeologists at the Royal Commission visiting the memorial in Moelfre Churchyard, Anglesey to the lives lost on the passenger ship The Royal Charter.

Welcome back from the Community Archaeologists, these last few weeks we’ve really hit the ground running after our Christmas break; in this case this meant finally putting all our hard work, planning and organisation for the Shipwrecks Project into action.

The Shipwrecks Project was based on the story of a violent gale, which swept over Britain in 1859, wrecking hundreds of ships along the coasts of England and Wales, culminating in horrific coastal damage and loss of life. The Royal Charter, one of the largest and most famous transatlantic wrecks of the storm, was lost just off the coast of Anglesey. It was responsible for the largest number of lives lost in the storm, so much so that the gale has often been renamed the ‘Royal Charter Gale’. The documentation of the Royal Charter wreck, and studies of items recovered from the wreck, reveal an interesting snapshot of the lives of those on board.

The memorial to the Royal Charter and the effects Great Gale 1859 at Cwm yr Eglwys, Pembrokeshire.

The Royal Commission and Cadw Shipwrecks Project was inspired by the great story of the Royal Charter. The project was designed to investigate the wider impact of the storm, this time  along the coast of Pembrokeshire, centring on the story of the lesser known transatlantic vessel, The Charles Holmes. The project involved a series of days working with Welsh Baccalaureate students from Pembrokeshire College, to engage them with the story of The Great Gale 1859, their local maritime heritage, and how resources such as archives can be great for researching the impact of past events on your local area.

Aberbach beach, Pembrokeshire. The wreck site of the transatlantic cargo ship ‘The Charles Holmes’, lost on the night of the Great Gale 1859.

The project began on Tuesday 7 January, when Sarahjayne, Deanna and I gave the students of Pembrokeshire College a brief introduction to maritime archaeology and the background of the storm. Asking questions throughout our presentations, the students seemed genuinely engaged with the story of the losses, and local areas that were severely affected by the storm also seemed to resonate strongly with the pupils. Often local shipwrecked vessels are a great starting point for exploring local history within a specific time period. Once you’ve located a wrecked vessel you can understand further the impact of the vessel on the local community, explore the wealth of an area and the variety of occupations and maritime industry in that area.

Deanna Groom, Sarahjayne and Kimberly positioning the archive tasks ready for the Pembrokeshire College Welsh Baccalaureate students.

A great way, and often the only way of exploring local lives and unpublished local shipwrecks, is to visit the first-hand sources at your local archive. Therefore, for the second week of the project, we used this as an opportunity to take students out of the classroom and allow them to conduct their own first-hand research at the local Pembrokeshire County Archives.

The unique Port of Cardigan Shipping Registry for 1850–1855, an example of the fantastic resources available for use at the Pembrokeshire County Archives.

They used the local shipping registers to trace the story of the ships (e.g. their construction, cargo and ownership).They then turned to local church burial records to research details of the crew lost in the wrecks. Finally local census records enabled them to understand the stories of the villagers who recovered the bodies from the wrecks.

Pembrokeshire College Welsh Baccalaureate students engaged in researching their sunken heritage through Pembrokeshire Archive Census and Shipping Registers.

All in all it was a great way of getting the students engaged, they were really keen on answering the questions provided and were amazed to have the opportunity to be able to actually touch some unique original documents.

Gan Kimberly Briscoe


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Royal Charter Voyage Journal of Reverend Charles Hodge – where is it now?

Diary

Searching the newspaper accounts relating to the loss of the Royal Charter during the storm of 25-26th October 1859, we’ve come across an article quoting from the journal of a Nottinghamshire parson who travelled home from Melbourne on board the ill-fated vessel.

Storm map

We created an item on The People’s Collection Wales for the Great Gale of 1859 collection featuring the journal and have received a comment asking if there is a full transcription. This has led us to try and find out where it might be now.

Rev Hodge’s diary was found washed up on shore and extracts from it were published in the Pontypool Free Press and Aberystwyth Observer to encourage his relatives to come forward. The newspaper article says that the diary is five inches in length by three in breadth; and contained many interesting facts relative to the ship, incidents on board and items of news from Melbourne. There was even a prayer for safe passage on his journey on the Royal Charter.  Inside the front cover, it was inscribed ‘Rev. C. Hodge, East Retford, Notts., England.’

Interestingly, the Hodge family featured on one of the BBC’s ‘Who do you think you are?’ programmes in 2010. TV gardening expert Monty Don found that Charles Hodge was his great-great -grandfather. Hodge was born at Stogumber, Somerset, in 1812 and had 11 children by his wife Anne.  After the death of one of their infants, Anne made a decision to travel alone to New Zealand to stay with distant relatives. It was an extraordinarily brave for a lone woman. Perhaps worn down by childbearing, Anne saw an opportunity to escape by acquiring vast tracks of land in Australia and New Zealand, and offering them to clergymen willing to emigrate. Anne may have viewed herself as the family’s pioneering settler. She returned for a period and appears to have been reconciled with her husband. Then, leaving 5 of their children behind and taking 4 of their sons with them, the couple emigrated in 1856. Charles was returning home as a result of an edict from his bishop after two years absence in 1859. His journal reveals that he was still torn between the relatively secure life of an English country parson and the prospect of having to carve out a new life down under.

Our research has found out that there is a portrait and a memorial to Charles Hodge in Clarborough Church, Nottinghamshire, and two letters from Charles Hodge to his diocese in the University of Nottingham Archives (Doc refs: Wr C 355-6).

However, the Journal itself continues to elude us.

Are you a descendant of one of Charles and Anne’s nine children? Has the journal survived the years tucked away amongst family papers?

We would love to hear from you in Wales...

Follow this link to the ‘Great Storm of 1859’ collection on People’s Collection Wales to find out more about the ships, the people and coastal communities affected by the hurricane:
http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/Collection/1515-the-great-storm-of-1859
http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/Item/59543-shipping-losses-during-royal-charter-gale
http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/Item/60311-great-storm-1859-aberystwyth-harbour-inquiry
http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/Item/59818-west-wall-of-st-brynachs-church

By S. Clements and D. Groom


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Tragic stories of Great Gale among winners of ‘Tell Us Your Story’ competition

Four new films showcasing the work of archives in Wales were launched today at Flintshire Record Office as part of the recent ‘Tell Us Your Story’ competition.

Users of Welsh archives were asked to submit a story about their experiences and discoveries as a result of using the service. Six of the winning stories have been made into films and four of these are stories from North Wales which were shown at the event.

Among the winners, and subject of one of the six films, is Royal Commission Maritime Officer Deanna Groom, who researched shipping losses around the Welsh Coast during a storm in 1859 including a Liverpool-Melbourne passenger vessel called The Royal Charter which was lost on Anglesey.

Deanna adds, “There are many sad stories, but also ones of bravery and courage associated with each wreck. The stories of aid given by local people to shipwreck survivors reaffirm faith in human kindness”. Deanna describes the tale of the EAGLE, a wooden sloop built at Newquay in 1819 which was registered at Aberystwyth – the Royal Commission’s home town. It was driven ashore near Conwy during the Great Charter Gale and a letter from the master, John Richards of Borth, appeared in the Caernarvon and Denbigh Herald, held at Gwynedd Archives, for the 19 November 1859, Pg3 Col 1.

The letter begins: ‘Dear Sir, my vessel, THE EAGLE of Aberystwyth having been totally wrecked during the late gales off Llandrillo, and my poor wife and child drowned on the sad occasion, I shall feel extremely obliged if you will allow me through the medium of your paper to communicate my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude to those humane and hospitable people of Aberegle and Rhyl, on whose hospitable shore I was cast…’

The Great Gale Shipwrecks Project is a joint Royal Commission and Cadw project investigating shipwrecks and its impact on coastal communities around Wales with local schools. Deanna’s prize money has been used to buy copies of books about the Royal Charter shipwreck to donate to schools involved in the project.

The extensive Great Gale collections can be view on People’s Collection Wales at: http://www.peoplescollection.co.uk/Collection/1515-the-great-storm-of-1859

All the films can be viewed on the Welsh Archives YouTube channel or alternatively visit archiveswales.org and click on the link.


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Then and Now - Slate-trade Hulks at Caernarvon

It began with a public inquiry about imagery for Caernarvon Castle, but it triggered a visual memory with Cheryl Griffiths, the Royal Commission’s longest serving member of staff, of historic photographs she had seen in the Industrial Archaeology Collections.

This wonderful series of images shows the former Slate Quay on the River Seiont. The old landing point for the Castle was developed around 1817. With the coming of the Nantlle Railway in 1825-8, which brought slate from various quarries to the harbour, the mouth of the Seiont was turned into an even busier place.

Slate Quay Caernarfon, DI2013_0093.

Maritime Officer, Deanna Groom, set out to try and recreate the view - ‘I was actually too far south along the bank... and there they were. Two really quite substantial wooden vessels, which I feel certain must have been engaged in the slate trade at sometime. The Harbour Master at Caernarvon, Richard Jones, believes that the vessel on the western bank was called the LILLY, but we’d love to hear from local people who may know more about them’.

What do you know about these vessels?

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