Shipwreck!
Shipwrecks off the Tracton Parish coast
Edward Bourke in an article 'Shipwrecks off the Local Coast' published in "Tracton, Where the Abbey Lies Low" (KWP, 2007) details a number of shipwrecks over two centuries in the local area: "The location of Minane Bridge at the entrance to Cork harbour meant that there was considerable ship traffic in the vicinity. An easterly or south easterly wind made this section of coast a lee shore and highly dangerous to sailing ships. Cork itself became the main supply base for naval and troop traffic to the West Indies instead of Kinsale, shortly after the American Revolutionary War (1775-1776)...smaller ships took agricultural produce from the Port of Cork to London especially and a fleet of colliers supplied coal from the English ports to Cork...in the small stretch of coast from Ringabella around Roberts Cove to Rennies Bay, there were several large ships lost and just out to sea, Daunt Rock claimed many more...local newspapers did not even mention shipwrecks because they were so common. Sailors [drowned at sea and washed up on beaches] were 'foreigners' in a locality and their graves are rarely marked in Irish churchyards. Most were not buried in churchyards at all because their religion was unknown and it was not uncommon to see a description of a burial behind a beach. If a family was well to do, a headstone might be raised to a Captain but rarely to any of the crew...'
The sheer number of tragic wrecks along such a short stretch of coastline and lack of information for some is what surprised me. This led to a segment in the monthly Newsletter, examining some of the vessels and persons lost in greater detail. These articles are reproduced here and will be added to as time allows.
- The Rockingham Transport - December 1775
- The El Zorro - December 1915
- The August - January 1903
The Rockingham, 1775
On December 22, 1775 a vessel variously named as Rockingham, Castle Rockingham, the Rockingham Transport or Marquis of Rockingham was wrecked on the coast at The Rennies, Nohoval during a heavy storm.148 lives were lost. The master and crew of the ship were drowned, as were about ninety two of the passengers - men, women and children. Allegations of wrecking* were made in various communications at the time as were calls for lighthouses in what was one of the busiest shipping ports in the British Empire.
* Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered close to shore. Often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities.
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, soldiers and armaments were rapidly moved from Britain and Ireland to reinforce the existing British armies in the American Colonies. In late 1775, the vessel Rockingham was hired to transport three companies of the 32nd Regiment of Foot, along with a number of their families, to Ireland. Some sources believe the troops and their families were en route to British North America as part of a force under General Cornwallis via Cork. Others believe they were to be stationed in Cork City.
The 32nd Foot had recently returned from a disastrous posting on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent where many of the troops had been decimated and died from disease & malaria. Additional men had been recruited from Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to bolster numbers and by 21 November, 1775 it was reported that all baggage was loaded aboard and ready to sail from Richmond. Officer’s wives and children traditionally travelled with many Regiments on overseas postings and so many were also aboard.
"...The regiment returned home in 1773, and was stationed at Wells [Somerset]; from thence they proceeded to Bath, and in 1774 we find them in Salisbury, probably having been moved about in the hopes of raising more men after their losses in the Carribbee Islands [West Indies]. In October of that year they look part in a grand review at Richmond. On December 17th, 1775, they were moved to Ireland... the head-quarters and three companies, together with women and children, and all the records of the regiment, embarked in the Rockingham Castle transport...."
“Historical Records of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry, now the Duke of Cornwall’s. From the formation of the Regiment in 1702 down to 1892. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Limited, 32 Paternoster Row. London. 1893.
The Rockingham was ordered firstly to Gravesend in Kent to join other vessels. From there, on December 17, 1775 she sailed for her next port, Cork in a convoy of six transports.
On the night of 22 December 1775, she was just offshore from the Tracton coast making for the "Cove of Cork" (Cobh) in a heavy gale, when Robert's Cove was mistaken for the entrance to the harbour. In the high winds and rough seas, she was driven onto a lee shore at Rennies Bay, a few miles distant and wrecked.
A number of officers and soldiers managed to escape in a flat-bottomed boat. The numbers are uncertain, but were variously reported as either five officers and twenty men, four officers and thirty men, or three officers, thirty men, and two of the ship's crew. However, there was no uncertainty in those lost and drowned - these numbered 148 men, women and children. The regimental pay chest of £250 in gold & silver and regimental records were also lost.
Edward Bourke writes that Captain Glover of the 32nd Regiment, who was aboard and was one of the officers that survived the wreck, wrote of the event to his commanding office Major General Cunningham: "The endeavour to recover such baggage as might be in possession of the country people was without the least success. What has been cast upon the sea was plundered, secreted and so dispersed that it is impossible to recover the smallest article. The ship was an entire wreck, with not two planks remaining together. On approaching Cork, the weather unfavourable, the vessel was piloted into Crookhaven [possibly Crosshaven?], afterwards sailing for Cork with a strong but fair wind. On the first strike, the ship bulged, the water immediately entered. The soldiers between decks were struck out of their berths. Weak with sea sickness, several women and children drowned. The foremast was cut down. By incessant strokes, the stern gave way and her quarterdeck fell in so that everyone was on the forecastle. The waves were as high as the main yard washing away some people. Myself and some 35 got in a boat and washed away on the rocks, three were lost in the attempt. The floating dead bodies were mangled and dashed to pieces. The paymaster lost £250, all the arms, clothing and all the baggage'
Further research on the wreck of the Rockingham shows the Rockingham shipwreck was widely reported in the limited print reports of the time. In this example, “The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle, Volume 46” published in late 1776 contains the following: "The Rockingham transport was unfortunately lost, by mistaking Robert's Cove for Cork harbour, in the night. She had on board three companies of the 32th Regiment of Foot. Lieut. March and his wife, Ensign Sandaman and Lieut. Barker's wife, and upwards of 90 soldiers, with the captain and crew, perished……the officers saved were Capt. Glover, Lieutenants Booth and Cator, and the Doctor's Mate - it is impossible, says the writer of the account, to paint the distress of the officers and soldiers who were saved, the greatest part of whom, being cast on the rocks, had their flesh torn in a shocking manner, and, instead of receiving, the least assistance from the inhabitants, were attacked by some thousands of the common-people, who carried away every article that could be saved from the wreck."
The Chronicle of 1775, page 187 (below) also recounts the event:
"At night, the Rockingham transport was lost, by mistaking (as is supposed) Robert's Cove, about ten miles from Cork, for the Cove of Cork, it blowing a gale of wind, and being thick weather. There were on board three companies of the 32nd Regiment. Lieut. March and his wife, Ensign Sandiman, Lieut. Barker's wife and upwards of 90 soldiers, besides the Captain and crew, were drowned. Five officers and twenty soldiers saved themselves in the flat bottomed boat. By a similar mistake, during the last war, the Ramilies, of 90 guns and 850 men (taking the Bolt head for the Ram, near Plymouth) perished, with all on board, except twenty seamen, and one midshipman. These, among innumerable other inheritances, show the great necessity of sea lights, particularly distinctive ones..."
Wrecking
Wrecking was well known & practised in south-west England and southern coasts of Ireland where the rocky coastline, and strong prevailing onshore winds helped wreck many merchant ships and warships. It is rumoured that ships were sometimes deliberately attracted: false lights on the shore were said to be used sometimes to lead ships into disaster. Under Brehon law in Ireland when a ship was wrecked its cargo belonged to the people of the locality of the wreck. In 1735 a law was passed to make it an offence to make false lights, but no one was prosecuted as a result. In 1769 William Pearse was hanged at Launceston in Cornwall for stealing from a wreck. It was not until after a case in the Court of Appeal in 1870 that rewards were made for rescuing people. Wrecking was a major industry in the 19th century, and as far back as the 16th century, especially of ships returning from the New World using the Gulf Stream, wreckers would attempt to frighten off the curious, suspicious or unwanted visitors, by spreading wild rumours concerning supernatural activity, ghosts and cannibals near their wrecking sites.
Wrecking was a major activity well into the 19th century. The Victorian architect Pugin supplemented his income by wrecking, using his lugger The Caroline to salvage cargoes from ships aground off the Goodwin Sands in the English Channel off Kent.
British Parliamentary Notes for December 1775 carry the following on the Rockingham: 27 Dec 1775. - Ireland, V.456, No. 68 a, b. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to Lord Weymouth. Enclosing a letter from Major Genl. Cuninghame, giving an account of the wreck in a hurricane in the night of the 22ud, at Cork Head, of the "Rockingham" transport, carrying three companies of the 32nd Regt., when two officers, about 90 of the men, two officers' ladies, the captain of the transport, and most of the crew were drowned. " Dublin Castle. The enclosure. "The two officers drowned were Lieut. March and Ensign Sandyman ; the ladies, Lieut. March's wife, and Mrs. Basher, wife of a surgeon appointed to the hospital in America."
The following is an excerpt from The Acts of Parliament, 1776, showing reimbursements approved by Government to claimants connected with the Rockingham:
May 6, 1776: To Edm Armstrong, Esquire, for losses sustained by sundry Officers of the 32nd Regiment of Foot in the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport on the coast of Ireland on 22d December 1775 £624.14.0
May 17, 1776: To Colonel W. Amherfs, to replace sundry accoutrements and clothing of the 32nd Regiment of Foot lost in the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport on the coast of Ireland, the 22d December 1775 £515.17.10
Sep 16, 1776: To Sergeant Carter of Do Regiment for losses sustained by him in the wreck of do. Transport. £50.0.0
Oct 3, 1776: To Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher, of the 32nd Regiment of Foot for D[amages] sustained by him in the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport. £180.0.0
Other items of interest from the excerpt shows payment of £78.3.9 made to Anne Boscawen, widow of Lieutenant General Boscawen 'to enable her to replace sundry accoutrements belonging to the 23rd Regiment of Foot lost in the actions of the 19 April and 17 June against the Rebels in North America' and £1277.5.4 to the Colonels of the 22nd and 40th Regiment of foot for losses to regiment clothing 'being taken by the rebels at Philadelphia'
June 25, 1777: To Major William Prescott, for the loss of Camp equipment,,, by the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport on the Coast of Ireland, 22nd December 1775 - £135.0.0.
Note also a payment warrant of £155.3.4 to Captain T, Baker of the HMS Royal Bounty 'for the loss of his arm at the Battle of Lexington', 19 April, 1775
The 32nd Foot went on to serve in the Battle of Waterloo, 1815, The Lower Canada Rebellion of 1833 and the Indian Mutiny in 1857 before being disbanded in 1881.
Next: 1915: The SS “El Zorro”, U-24 and Benson Leck Blacklock
On December 22, 1775 a vessel variously named as Rockingham, Castle Rockingham, the Rockingham Transport or Marquis of Rockingham was wrecked on the coast at The Rennies, Nohoval during a heavy storm.148 lives were lost. The master and crew of the ship were drowned, as were about ninety two of the passengers - men, women and children. Allegations of wrecking* were made in various communications at the time as were calls for lighthouses in what was one of the busiest shipping ports in the British Empire.
* Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered close to shore. Often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities.
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, soldiers and armaments were rapidly moved from Britain and Ireland to reinforce the existing British armies in the American Colonies. In late 1775, the vessel Rockingham was hired to transport three companies of the 32nd Regiment of Foot, along with a number of their families, to Ireland. Some sources believe the troops and their families were en route to British North America as part of a force under General Cornwallis via Cork. Others believe they were to be stationed in Cork City.
The 32nd Foot had recently returned from a disastrous posting on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent where many of the troops had been decimated and died from disease & malaria. Additional men had been recruited from Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to bolster numbers and by 21 November, 1775 it was reported that all baggage was loaded aboard and ready to sail from Richmond. Officer’s wives and children traditionally travelled with many Regiments on overseas postings and so many were also aboard.
"...The regiment returned home in 1773, and was stationed at Wells [Somerset]; from thence they proceeded to Bath, and in 1774 we find them in Salisbury, probably having been moved about in the hopes of raising more men after their losses in the Carribbee Islands [West Indies]. In October of that year they look part in a grand review at Richmond. On December 17th, 1775, they were moved to Ireland... the head-quarters and three companies, together with women and children, and all the records of the regiment, embarked in the Rockingham Castle transport...."
“Historical Records of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry, now the Duke of Cornwall’s. From the formation of the Regiment in 1702 down to 1892. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Limited, 32 Paternoster Row. London. 1893.
The Rockingham was ordered firstly to Gravesend in Kent to join other vessels. From there, on December 17, 1775 she sailed for her next port, Cork in a convoy of six transports.
On the night of 22 December 1775, she was just offshore from the Tracton coast making for the "Cove of Cork" (Cobh) in a heavy gale, when Robert's Cove was mistaken for the entrance to the harbour. In the high winds and rough seas, she was driven onto a lee shore at Rennies Bay, a few miles distant and wrecked.
A number of officers and soldiers managed to escape in a flat-bottomed boat. The numbers are uncertain, but were variously reported as either five officers and twenty men, four officers and thirty men, or three officers, thirty men, and two of the ship's crew. However, there was no uncertainty in those lost and drowned - these numbered 148 men, women and children. The regimental pay chest of £250 in gold & silver and regimental records were also lost.
Edward Bourke writes that Captain Glover of the 32nd Regiment, who was aboard and was one of the officers that survived the wreck, wrote of the event to his commanding office Major General Cunningham: "The endeavour to recover such baggage as might be in possession of the country people was without the least success. What has been cast upon the sea was plundered, secreted and so dispersed that it is impossible to recover the smallest article. The ship was an entire wreck, with not two planks remaining together. On approaching Cork, the weather unfavourable, the vessel was piloted into Crookhaven [possibly Crosshaven?], afterwards sailing for Cork with a strong but fair wind. On the first strike, the ship bulged, the water immediately entered. The soldiers between decks were struck out of their berths. Weak with sea sickness, several women and children drowned. The foremast was cut down. By incessant strokes, the stern gave way and her quarterdeck fell in so that everyone was on the forecastle. The waves were as high as the main yard washing away some people. Myself and some 35 got in a boat and washed away on the rocks, three were lost in the attempt. The floating dead bodies were mangled and dashed to pieces. The paymaster lost £250, all the arms, clothing and all the baggage'
Further research on the wreck of the Rockingham shows the Rockingham shipwreck was widely reported in the limited print reports of the time. In this example, “The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle, Volume 46” published in late 1776 contains the following: "The Rockingham transport was unfortunately lost, by mistaking Robert's Cove for Cork harbour, in the night. She had on board three companies of the 32th Regiment of Foot. Lieut. March and his wife, Ensign Sandaman and Lieut. Barker's wife, and upwards of 90 soldiers, with the captain and crew, perished……the officers saved were Capt. Glover, Lieutenants Booth and Cator, and the Doctor's Mate - it is impossible, says the writer of the account, to paint the distress of the officers and soldiers who were saved, the greatest part of whom, being cast on the rocks, had their flesh torn in a shocking manner, and, instead of receiving, the least assistance from the inhabitants, were attacked by some thousands of the common-people, who carried away every article that could be saved from the wreck."
The Chronicle of 1775, page 187 (below) also recounts the event:
"At night, the Rockingham transport was lost, by mistaking (as is supposed) Robert's Cove, about ten miles from Cork, for the Cove of Cork, it blowing a gale of wind, and being thick weather. There were on board three companies of the 32nd Regiment. Lieut. March and his wife, Ensign Sandiman, Lieut. Barker's wife and upwards of 90 soldiers, besides the Captain and crew, were drowned. Five officers and twenty soldiers saved themselves in the flat bottomed boat. By a similar mistake, during the last war, the Ramilies, of 90 guns and 850 men (taking the Bolt head for the Ram, near Plymouth) perished, with all on board, except twenty seamen, and one midshipman. These, among innumerable other inheritances, show the great necessity of sea lights, particularly distinctive ones..."
Wrecking
Wrecking was well known & practised in south-west England and southern coasts of Ireland where the rocky coastline, and strong prevailing onshore winds helped wreck many merchant ships and warships. It is rumoured that ships were sometimes deliberately attracted: false lights on the shore were said to be used sometimes to lead ships into disaster. Under Brehon law in Ireland when a ship was wrecked its cargo belonged to the people of the locality of the wreck. In 1735 a law was passed to make it an offence to make false lights, but no one was prosecuted as a result. In 1769 William Pearse was hanged at Launceston in Cornwall for stealing from a wreck. It was not until after a case in the Court of Appeal in 1870 that rewards were made for rescuing people. Wrecking was a major industry in the 19th century, and as far back as the 16th century, especially of ships returning from the New World using the Gulf Stream, wreckers would attempt to frighten off the curious, suspicious or unwanted visitors, by spreading wild rumours concerning supernatural activity, ghosts and cannibals near their wrecking sites.
Wrecking was a major activity well into the 19th century. The Victorian architect Pugin supplemented his income by wrecking, using his lugger The Caroline to salvage cargoes from ships aground off the Goodwin Sands in the English Channel off Kent.
British Parliamentary Notes for December 1775 carry the following on the Rockingham: 27 Dec 1775. - Ireland, V.456, No. 68 a, b. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to Lord Weymouth. Enclosing a letter from Major Genl. Cuninghame, giving an account of the wreck in a hurricane in the night of the 22ud, at Cork Head, of the "Rockingham" transport, carrying three companies of the 32nd Regt., when two officers, about 90 of the men, two officers' ladies, the captain of the transport, and most of the crew were drowned. " Dublin Castle. The enclosure. "The two officers drowned were Lieut. March and Ensign Sandyman ; the ladies, Lieut. March's wife, and Mrs. Basher, wife of a surgeon appointed to the hospital in America."
The following is an excerpt from The Acts of Parliament, 1776, showing reimbursements approved by Government to claimants connected with the Rockingham:
May 6, 1776: To Edm Armstrong, Esquire, for losses sustained by sundry Officers of the 32nd Regiment of Foot in the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport on the coast of Ireland on 22d December 1775 £624.14.0
May 17, 1776: To Colonel W. Amherfs, to replace sundry accoutrements and clothing of the 32nd Regiment of Foot lost in the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport on the coast of Ireland, the 22d December 1775 £515.17.10
Sep 16, 1776: To Sergeant Carter of Do Regiment for losses sustained by him in the wreck of do. Transport. £50.0.0
Oct 3, 1776: To Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher, of the 32nd Regiment of Foot for D[amages] sustained by him in the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport. £180.0.0
Other items of interest from the excerpt shows payment of £78.3.9 made to Anne Boscawen, widow of Lieutenant General Boscawen 'to enable her to replace sundry accoutrements belonging to the 23rd Regiment of Foot lost in the actions of the 19 April and 17 June against the Rebels in North America' and £1277.5.4 to the Colonels of the 22nd and 40th Regiment of foot for losses to regiment clothing 'being taken by the rebels at Philadelphia'
June 25, 1777: To Major William Prescott, for the loss of Camp equipment,,, by the Wreck of the Rockingham Transport on the Coast of Ireland, 22nd December 1775 - £135.0.0.
Note also a payment warrant of £155.3.4 to Captain T, Baker of the HMS Royal Bounty 'for the loss of his arm at the Battle of Lexington', 19 April, 1775
The 32nd Foot went on to serve in the Battle of Waterloo, 1815, The Lower Canada Rebellion of 1833 and the Indian Mutiny in 1857 before being disbanded in 1881.
Next: 1915: The SS “El Zorro”, U-24 and Benson Leck Blacklock
1915: The SS “El Zorro”, U-24 and Benson Leck Blacklock
The steam ship El Zorro (The Fox) was an Admiralty requisitioned red-ensign oil tanker of 5,989 tons built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson in Newcastle, launched in February 1914 and registered to Lobitos Oilfields Company (managed by C.T.Bowring), London. She operated on the trans-Atlantic route ferrying oil from Port Arthur near Houston Texas (then the world's largest oil refinery) to the Royal Navy Dockyards in Dartmouth.
Due to the outbreak of war in August 1914, the El Zorro was requisitioned by the Admiralty for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in September but remained in service on the trans-Atlantic oil run.
While on one of these outward voyages, on 3 February, 1915, the El Zorro rescued the crew of a sinking Norwegian steamer 'Imataca' mid-Atlantic.
Christmas 1915 saw the El Zorro mid-Atlantic on a full return voyage from Port Arthur, Texas to Dartmouth. Skippered by Master N.S. Lanier, the El Zorro had a full complement of 33 crew, of which 13 including Lanier had previously served aboard the vessel.
Third Engineer, 34 year old Benson Leck Blacklock from 4 Stanley Street West, North Shields had served on the El Zorro for over a year, criss-crossing the Atlantic multiple times on the oil run. With a young son and pregnant wife in North Shields, Blacklock like most of the crew after a Christmas at sea was looking forward to a New Year with family and friends. Also aboard was an experienced 45 year old sailor Frank Fleet from Viper Cottage, Blackfield, Fawley in Southampton. This was his first run with the El Zorro having previously served on the Clio.
It was largely a routine voyage back to Britain but by Monday, 27 December 1915, the crew were on full alert as the vessel approached Ireland and what was known as “U-Boat Alley”. From south-west Ireland to Britain - the main sea lanes with shipping traffic from the United States, Caribbean and South America - had become the notorious German submarine 'killing fields' – an ocean war zone in which any vessel was liable to be sunk without warning. The entrance to Cork harbour was regularly mined by U-Boats, resulting in sinking and seriously damaging many vessels as well as on a number of occasions, the minelaying U-Boats.
In the darkness of the early hours of Tuesday, 28 December 1915, The El Zorro was 20 nautical miles off the Old Head of Kinsale.
So too was the Imperial German Navy U-Boat submarine, U-24 under command of Rudolf Schneider. The U-24 had surfaced for a few hours to charge its batteries and change the air during a routine mission from the U-Boat base in Ostend, sinking British commercial shipping.
Third Engineer, 34 year old Benson Leck Blacklock from 4 Stanley Street West, North Shields had served on the El Zorro for over a year, criss-crossing the Atlantic multiple times on the oil run. With a young son and pregnant wife in North Shields, Blacklock like most of the crew after a Christmas at sea was looking forward to a New Year with family and friends. Also aboard was an experienced 45 year old sailor Frank Fleet from Viper Cottage, Blackfield, Fawley in Southampton. This was his first run with the El Zorro having previously served on the Clio.
It was largely a routine voyage back to Britain but by Monday, 27 December 1915, the crew were on full alert as the vessel approached Ireland and what was known as “U-Boat Alley”. From south-west Ireland to Britain - the main sea lanes with shipping traffic from the United States, Caribbean and South America - had become the notorious German submarine 'killing fields' – an ocean war zone in which any vessel was liable to be sunk without warning. The entrance to Cork harbour was regularly mined by U-Boats, resulting in sinking and seriously damaging many vessels as well as on a number of occasions, the minelaying U-Boats.
In the darkness of the early hours of Tuesday, 28 December 1915, The El Zorro was 20 nautical miles off the Old Head of Kinsale.
So too was the Imperial German Navy U-Boat submarine, U-24 under command of Rudolf Schneider. The U-24 had surfaced for a few hours to charge its batteries and change the air during a routine mission from the U-Boat base in Ostend, sinking British commercial shipping.
The U-24, one of 329 diesel/battery powered ocean submarines in the Imperial German Navy, was engaged in commercial warfare during the First Battle of the Atlantic and had amassed a formidable tally of Allied shipping by the time she encountered the El Zorro. In seven patrols, U-24 had sank a total of 34 ships totalling 106,103 gross register tonnage, damaged three more for 14,318 tons, and took one prize of 1,925 tons.
Her second kill was the most significant. The victim was "HMS Formidable", torpedoed south of Lyme Regis in the English Channel on 1 January, 1915. Out of a crew of approximately 711 men, 547 died as a result. This was one of the largest ships sunk by U-boats during the war
On 19 August. 1915, U-24 claimed another noted victim, the passenger ship, SS "Arabic", causing 44 deaths, including three Americans when the vessel was torpedoed 80 kilometres south of Kinsale and sank in 10 minutes. This escalated the U-boat fears in the U.S. and caused a diplomatic incident which resulted in the suspension of torpedoing non-military ships without notice.
(There was a family connection with the "Arabic". In September 1904, Diarmuid Lynch had travelled aboard the ocean liner from Queenstown to New York returning from a visit to Ireland)
(The U-24 carried a crew of 4 officers and 31 men and could make 16.7 knots (31kph/19mph) on the surface or 10.3 knots (19km/12mph) submerged. Her range was 9,910 knots (18,350km/11,400 miles) on the surface or 85 knots (157km/98 miles) submerged. Her test depth was 50m (160ft). Armaments: 6 Torpedoes and a 8.8cm (3.5in) SK L/30 deck gun firing a 7kg shell)
Her second kill was the most significant. The victim was "HMS Formidable", torpedoed south of Lyme Regis in the English Channel on 1 January, 1915. Out of a crew of approximately 711 men, 547 died as a result. This was one of the largest ships sunk by U-boats during the war
On 19 August. 1915, U-24 claimed another noted victim, the passenger ship, SS "Arabic", causing 44 deaths, including three Americans when the vessel was torpedoed 80 kilometres south of Kinsale and sank in 10 minutes. This escalated the U-boat fears in the U.S. and caused a diplomatic incident which resulted in the suspension of torpedoing non-military ships without notice.
(There was a family connection with the "Arabic". In September 1904, Diarmuid Lynch had travelled aboard the ocean liner from Queenstown to New York returning from a visit to Ireland)
(The U-24 carried a crew of 4 officers and 31 men and could make 16.7 knots (31kph/19mph) on the surface or 10.3 knots (19km/12mph) submerged. Her range was 9,910 knots (18,350km/11,400 miles) on the surface or 85 knots (157km/98 miles) submerged. Her test depth was 50m (160ft). Armaments: 6 Torpedoes and a 8.8cm (3.5in) SK L/30 deck gun firing a 7kg shell)
HMS Formidable, U-24 & the White Star Line's SS Arabic
At 05:30hrs on Tuesday, the SS El Zorro was now steaming at 9 knots and positioned 10 nautical miles (19 kms) south of the Old Head of Kinsale.
Crew accounts have it that the U-24 was not spotted until the submarine came up on the port side and began to shell the Zorro with a deck gun in an effort to destroy the vessel. However, the shells fell wide. Captain Lanier and crew swung into action, immediately turning stern on and with engines at full speed, fled the area on reverse course while William Hicks, the Marconi Operator sent out an SOS. The U-24 continued in pursuit.
The Admiralty picked up the SOS and quickly sent out the "armed yacht Greta and a couple of obsolete torpedo-boats" from the Haulbowline Royal Navy base.
At 06.30hrs, the U-24 caught up with SS El Zorro and launched a torpedo hitting the vessel starboard amidships followed shortly by a second torpedo port-side. In this explosion, the Third Engineer, Benson Leck Blacklock, was killed by shrapnel. The vessel lost power and the crew abandoned ship taking the body of the 3rd Engineer Blacklock with them.
The armed yacht Greta and support torpedo boats arrived a few hours later "...., but by this time the submarine had made off ...Two tugs were sent out, but could not make much headway owing to the sea..."
The crew were picked up by a torpedo boat and reboarded the El Zorro to secure a line and maintain the vessel.
Damaged but still afloat with no power, the El Zorro was taken in tow towards Queenstown (Cobh) and joined by the armed trawler, Freesia (one of three vessels that patrolled the area from Mizen Head to Kinsale). The Greta left and continued the pursuit of U-24 on her last known course.
Crew accounts have it that the U-24 was not spotted until the submarine came up on the port side and began to shell the Zorro with a deck gun in an effort to destroy the vessel. However, the shells fell wide. Captain Lanier and crew swung into action, immediately turning stern on and with engines at full speed, fled the area on reverse course while William Hicks, the Marconi Operator sent out an SOS. The U-24 continued in pursuit.
The Admiralty picked up the SOS and quickly sent out the "armed yacht Greta and a couple of obsolete torpedo-boats" from the Haulbowline Royal Navy base.
At 06.30hrs, the U-24 caught up with SS El Zorro and launched a torpedo hitting the vessel starboard amidships followed shortly by a second torpedo port-side. In this explosion, the Third Engineer, Benson Leck Blacklock, was killed by shrapnel. The vessel lost power and the crew abandoned ship taking the body of the 3rd Engineer Blacklock with them.
The armed yacht Greta and support torpedo boats arrived a few hours later "...., but by this time the submarine had made off ...Two tugs were sent out, but could not make much headway owing to the sea..."
The crew were picked up by a torpedo boat and reboarded the El Zorro to secure a line and maintain the vessel.
Damaged but still afloat with no power, the El Zorro was taken in tow towards Queenstown (Cobh) and joined by the armed trawler, Freesia (one of three vessels that patrolled the area from Mizen Head to Kinsale). The Greta left and continued the pursuit of U-24 on her last known course.
Above: Armed Yacht Greta. Launched in 1898, she was hired by the government for wartime service on 8th October 1914 from Camper & Nicholson Ltd, Gosport, retro-armed with a 12pdr. gun and employed on the auxiliary patrol until released in March 1919 to Ida Rees. Last recorded in 1920 as the property of Mr. Thomas Rees, Lloyd's Yacht Register of that year contains the rather enigmatic notation that Greta was "no longer a yacht". She turned up again in the mid twenties in Piraeus, Greece plying between the islands until sunk at Englesonisti by the Luftwaffe in April, 1941.
Sir Archibald Hurd in his 1924 "History of the Great War - The Merchant Navy, Volume 2. Summer 1915 to early 1917" commented: "....Still pursuing her way westward down the coast, the submarine three hours later was seen by another oiler, the Viturvia, but fortunately the enemy did not molest her. At 8 a.m. (December 28th) the light cruiser Adventure, with Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly himself on board, had left Queenstown and proceeded down the coast to hunt the submarine between Kinsale and the Fastnet. At 12.45 p.m. the Adventure picked up an S.O.S. from the Leyland liner [S.S.] Huronian, proceeded towards her at 22 knots, closed her about 1 p.m.… and found that she had been torpedoed. The Adventure then searched the vicinity and undoubtedly frightened the enemy away, with the result that the Huronian was successfully escorted by sloops and the trawler Bempton into Berehaven, where she was eventually patched up sufficiently for her to proceed to Liverpool with her valuable cargo of cotton and grain..”
History of the Great War - The Merchant Navy, Volume 2. Summer 1915 to early 1917. Sir Archibald Hurd. Published by John Murray, London. 1924 http://www.naval-history.net/WW1Book-MN2a.htm
Meanwhile, as the S.S. El Zorro continued the tow, the weather worsened. Sir Archibald Hurd comments: "That night it blew a gale. The El Zorro anchored [close to Man of War cove] and the crew were taken off during the night by the trawler Freesia."
During this rescue operation in the middle of the gale and stormy seas, crew member Frank Fleet was swept overboard and drowned. His body was never found.
The gale grew worse and the El Zorro dragged her anchor and her connection to the Freesia. Drifting in the gale, she went ashore in Man of War Cove, at 51.72N -8.33W - broke in two and totally wrecked. The Zorro's oil cargo of 8,000 tons gushed from ruptured tanks and destroyed the local seashores. The Freesia landed the surviving crew and the body of Benson Leck Blacklock in Queenstown. (Incidentally, the edition of the Examiner which reported the wreck of the El Zorro reported also on the death of Major Newenham of Coolmore, and that the four pound loaf of bread was increasing in price to 9d)
Sir Archibald Hurd in his 1924 "History of the Great War - The Merchant Navy, Volume 2. Summer 1915 to early 1917" commented: "....Still pursuing her way westward down the coast, the submarine three hours later was seen by another oiler, the Viturvia, but fortunately the enemy did not molest her. At 8 a.m. (December 28th) the light cruiser Adventure, with Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly himself on board, had left Queenstown and proceeded down the coast to hunt the submarine between Kinsale and the Fastnet. At 12.45 p.m. the Adventure picked up an S.O.S. from the Leyland liner [S.S.] Huronian, proceeded towards her at 22 knots, closed her about 1 p.m.… and found that she had been torpedoed. The Adventure then searched the vicinity and undoubtedly frightened the enemy away, with the result that the Huronian was successfully escorted by sloops and the trawler Bempton into Berehaven, where she was eventually patched up sufficiently for her to proceed to Liverpool with her valuable cargo of cotton and grain..”
History of the Great War - The Merchant Navy, Volume 2. Summer 1915 to early 1917. Sir Archibald Hurd. Published by John Murray, London. 1924 http://www.naval-history.net/WW1Book-MN2a.htm
Meanwhile, as the S.S. El Zorro continued the tow, the weather worsened. Sir Archibald Hurd comments: "That night it blew a gale. The El Zorro anchored [close to Man of War cove] and the crew were taken off during the night by the trawler Freesia."
During this rescue operation in the middle of the gale and stormy seas, crew member Frank Fleet was swept overboard and drowned. His body was never found.
The gale grew worse and the El Zorro dragged her anchor and her connection to the Freesia. Drifting in the gale, she went ashore in Man of War Cove, at 51.72N -8.33W - broke in two and totally wrecked. The Zorro's oil cargo of 8,000 tons gushed from ruptured tanks and destroyed the local seashores. The Freesia landed the surviving crew and the body of Benson Leck Blacklock in Queenstown. (Incidentally, the edition of the Examiner which reported the wreck of the El Zorro reported also on the death of Major Newenham of Coolmore, and that the four pound loaf of bread was increasing in price to 9d)
News of the death of Benson Leck Blacklock, a well-known local rugby footballer whose sporting ability was noted in the obituaries column in the Shields Daily News on 4th January, 1916:
'News has been received of the death at sea of Mr Benson Blacklock, the well-known forward player of the Percy Park Rugby Football Club, thus adding to the already considerable list of the members of that organisation who have laid down their lives in the service of their country during the last 18 months. Mr Blacklock was not a member of His Majesty's Forces, but as engineer of an oil-carrying steamer carrying fuel for the fleet he was undoubtedly in the service of his country.…The ship.. The steamer El Zorro,.. was carrying oil from Port Arthur to the United Kingdom, was lost off the coast of Ireland… Mr Blacklock and another member of the crew lost their lives,.. [he] was 32 years of age [and] was a son of Mr Benson Blacklock, an engineer employed at Smith's Dock, and served his time at the Shields Engineering Co.'s premises before going to sea. He was an enthusiastic football player, ever one of the foremost in the rushes of the Percy Park pack, and was a great favourite at Preston Avenue. He still kept up his connection with the game after going to sea, and when home from a voyage would don the jersey if the winter game was in progress…”
Benson Leck Blacklock was buried in Cobh graveyard on Friday, 7 January 1915.
The Shields Daily News carried details of the funeral in its edition of 11th January, 1916. "The funeral of Mr Benson Blacklock … took place at Queenstown on Friday. An Appreciation from an Old Percy Parkite. 'Bennie' Blacklock! What memories of many hard-fought Rugby matches does his name conjure up… Home and abroad he loved to chase the ball. Alas he and others who helped to make the name of Percy Park famous are gone from us. We mourn his loss but appreciate the fact that we had his friendship…”
'News has been received of the death at sea of Mr Benson Blacklock, the well-known forward player of the Percy Park Rugby Football Club, thus adding to the already considerable list of the members of that organisation who have laid down their lives in the service of their country during the last 18 months. Mr Blacklock was not a member of His Majesty's Forces, but as engineer of an oil-carrying steamer carrying fuel for the fleet he was undoubtedly in the service of his country.…The ship.. The steamer El Zorro,.. was carrying oil from Port Arthur to the United Kingdom, was lost off the coast of Ireland… Mr Blacklock and another member of the crew lost their lives,.. [he] was 32 years of age [and] was a son of Mr Benson Blacklock, an engineer employed at Smith's Dock, and served his time at the Shields Engineering Co.'s premises before going to sea. He was an enthusiastic football player, ever one of the foremost in the rushes of the Percy Park pack, and was a great favourite at Preston Avenue. He still kept up his connection with the game after going to sea, and when home from a voyage would don the jersey if the winter game was in progress…”
Benson Leck Blacklock was buried in Cobh graveyard on Friday, 7 January 1915.
The Shields Daily News carried details of the funeral in its edition of 11th January, 1916. "The funeral of Mr Benson Blacklock … took place at Queenstown on Friday. An Appreciation from an Old Percy Parkite. 'Bennie' Blacklock! What memories of many hard-fought Rugby matches does his name conjure up… Home and abroad he loved to chase the ball. Alas he and others who helped to make the name of Percy Park famous are gone from us. We mourn his loss but appreciate the fact that we had his friendship…”
A distant relative of Benson Leck Blacklock, Richard Blacklock of Canada was in touch during research for this article. He wrote that his relative, Benson was the third in line with the same name and continued the tradition with one of his own sons. Tragically, he left a son who was just three years old when he died and his wife, Annie was 6 months pregnant with their second son, Henry Whitfield Blacklock.
Seaman Frank Fleet is remembered in The Tower Hill Memorial in Trinity Gardens, London. It is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial commemorating those from the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who died during both world wars and have "no grave but the sea".
As for Rudolf Schneider, on October 13, 1917 he was lost overboard from the conning tower of the U-87 during stormy weather in the North Sea. He was rescued by one of the crew but had drowned. He was subsequently buried at sea between the Shetland Isles and Norway.
U24 survived the war, surrendering on 22 November 1918 after the Armistice and was eventually broken up at Swansea in 1922. In total, the U24's record was: 34 ships sunk with a total of 106,122 tons, 3 ships damaged with a total of 14,318 tons, 1 ship taken as prize with a total of 1,925 tons and 1 warship sunk with a total of 15,000 tons.
The El Zorro and Man of War Cove
Meanwhile at Man of War cove, the SS El Zorro remained on the rocks. In early 1916, a Liverpool company with the salvage rights to the vessel sent a team of eight Chinese labourers to work with local men salvaging steel, manganese, brass and copper. The Chinese labourers were accommodated in a building near the wreck site close to the Roberts family home in what has been known since as 'Chinaman's Loft'. The building name has been retained and is today the home of artist Sara Roberts and family.
Edward Bourke in 'Shipwrecks off the Local Coast" comments that "the copper and brass were stored in an old mill near the strand and shipped to Cork in a small ship, the Nautilus. On one occasion, carriers arrived with four horse drawn dray carts to collect the scrap. The Chinese were unaware of the arrangement and the engineer Mr. Chip Watkins was not around. When the draymen attempted to load their carts, the Chinese defended their horde with drawn knives. The Corkmen retreated empty handed'
'Tracton, Where the Abbey Lies Low' KWP Print. 2007. P201
Seaman Frank Fleet is remembered in The Tower Hill Memorial in Trinity Gardens, London. It is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial commemorating those from the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who died during both world wars and have "no grave but the sea".
As for Rudolf Schneider, on October 13, 1917 he was lost overboard from the conning tower of the U-87 during stormy weather in the North Sea. He was rescued by one of the crew but had drowned. He was subsequently buried at sea between the Shetland Isles and Norway.
U24 survived the war, surrendering on 22 November 1918 after the Armistice and was eventually broken up at Swansea in 1922. In total, the U24's record was: 34 ships sunk with a total of 106,122 tons, 3 ships damaged with a total of 14,318 tons, 1 ship taken as prize with a total of 1,925 tons and 1 warship sunk with a total of 15,000 tons.
The El Zorro and Man of War Cove
Meanwhile at Man of War cove, the SS El Zorro remained on the rocks. In early 1916, a Liverpool company with the salvage rights to the vessel sent a team of eight Chinese labourers to work with local men salvaging steel, manganese, brass and copper. The Chinese labourers were accommodated in a building near the wreck site close to the Roberts family home in what has been known since as 'Chinaman's Loft'. The building name has been retained and is today the home of artist Sara Roberts and family.
Edward Bourke in 'Shipwrecks off the Local Coast" comments that "the copper and brass were stored in an old mill near the strand and shipped to Cork in a small ship, the Nautilus. On one occasion, carriers arrived with four horse drawn dray carts to collect the scrap. The Chinese were unaware of the arrangement and the engineer Mr. Chip Watkins was not around. When the draymen attempted to load their carts, the Chinese defended their horde with drawn knives. The Corkmen retreated empty handed'
'Tracton, Where the Abbey Lies Low' KWP Print. 2007. P201
There remains one postscript to the events of the sinking of the El Zorro in 1915. According to writer Nigel Clarke in the "Shipwreck Guide to Dorset and South Devon", the original "Lassie" who inspired so many films and television episodes was a rough-haired crossbreed who saved the life of a sailor during World War I. Half collie, Lassie was owned by the landlord of the Pilot Boat, a pub in the port of Lyme Regis.
On New Year’s Day in 1915 the Royal Navy battleship Formidable was torpedoed by the German submarine U-24 off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. In a storm that followed the accident, a life raft containing bodies was blown along the coast to Lyme Regis. In helping to deal with the crisis, the local pub in Lyme Regis, called the Pilot Boat, offered its cellar as a mortuary. When the bodies had been laid out on the stone floor, Lassie, a crossbred collie owned by the pub owner, found her way down amongst the bodies, and she began to lick the face of one of the victims, Able Seaman John Cowan. She stayed beside him for more than half an hour, nuzzling him and keeping him warm with her fur. To everyone’s astonishment, Cowan eventually stirred. He was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery. He visited Lassie again when he returned to thank all who saved his life. The sinking of the battleship was a severe blow to Britain during these early years of the war. When the officers heard the story of Lassie and what she did to rescue Cowan, they told it again and again to any reporter who would listen as it was inspirational and heart-warming. In 1938 the novel 'Lassie come home' was published by author Eric Knight who is believed to have been inspired by this tale. Hollywood got hold of the story, and so a star was born.
Years later, Man of War Cove and the El Zorro appeared in the diaries of the Irish composer and conductor, Alloys Fleischmann.
He visited the cove on 31 July, 1927 and wrote:
“Went on a wonderful picnic to Reanie’s Glen, or rather, Man of War Cove. Again a narrow ravine with an old ruin near the beach and cliffs with some formidable caves on either side. An oil-ship, the ‘Elsaro’ [El Zorro], torpedoed during the war, and driven ashore during a storm, lies right across the entrance to the cove, its plates larded and rived by the waves and portions of it protruding above the water in the form of iron cormorants and seals. There are great numbers of the latter all around the coast, and we had just been watching one of them swimming in front of us when a party arrived from Cork with air-guns, hooks, a collapsible boat and all things necessary for killing and skinning one of these unfortunate creatures. Since their intent was thus murderous and their manners coarse, we left.”
http://fleischmanndiaries.ucc.ie/portfolio/august-1927-sunday-31/
Aloys Fleischmann (13 April 1910 – 21 July 1992) was an Irish composer, musicologist, professor, conductor.
Fleischmann was born in Munich to Ireland-based German parents. Fleischmann was educated in Scoil Íte, the school founded by Terence MacSwiney's sisters in 1916, in Christian Brothers College, Cork, and in St Finbarr's College Farranferris. He graduated from University College Cork with a BA in 1930, was awarded the BMus in 1931, a MA in 1932, and a doctorate in music in 1963. In 1932 he went to study composition, conducting and musicology at the Academy of Music and University of Munich under Joseph Haas. He returned to University College Cork in 1934 where he held the position of professor of music until 1980. In 1941 he and Anne Madden of Cork married; they had five children and six grandchildren.
A fluent speaker of Irish and a scholar of Irish folk music, Fleischmann sought in his compositions to create a specifically Irish form of art music as previous generations had done for literature and painting. He received many honours for his service to his art, among them the Freedom of the City of Cork in 1978, an honorary doctorate of music from Trinity College Dublin, the Order of Merit of the German government in 1966, and the Silver Medal of the Irish American Cultural Institute in 1976. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1991, and in the same year was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Royal Dublin Society
On New Year’s Day in 1915 the Royal Navy battleship Formidable was torpedoed by the German submarine U-24 off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. In a storm that followed the accident, a life raft containing bodies was blown along the coast to Lyme Regis. In helping to deal with the crisis, the local pub in Lyme Regis, called the Pilot Boat, offered its cellar as a mortuary. When the bodies had been laid out on the stone floor, Lassie, a crossbred collie owned by the pub owner, found her way down amongst the bodies, and she began to lick the face of one of the victims, Able Seaman John Cowan. She stayed beside him for more than half an hour, nuzzling him and keeping him warm with her fur. To everyone’s astonishment, Cowan eventually stirred. He was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery. He visited Lassie again when he returned to thank all who saved his life. The sinking of the battleship was a severe blow to Britain during these early years of the war. When the officers heard the story of Lassie and what she did to rescue Cowan, they told it again and again to any reporter who would listen as it was inspirational and heart-warming. In 1938 the novel 'Lassie come home' was published by author Eric Knight who is believed to have been inspired by this tale. Hollywood got hold of the story, and so a star was born.
Years later, Man of War Cove and the El Zorro appeared in the diaries of the Irish composer and conductor, Alloys Fleischmann.
He visited the cove on 31 July, 1927 and wrote:
“Went on a wonderful picnic to Reanie’s Glen, or rather, Man of War Cove. Again a narrow ravine with an old ruin near the beach and cliffs with some formidable caves on either side. An oil-ship, the ‘Elsaro’ [El Zorro], torpedoed during the war, and driven ashore during a storm, lies right across the entrance to the cove, its plates larded and rived by the waves and portions of it protruding above the water in the form of iron cormorants and seals. There are great numbers of the latter all around the coast, and we had just been watching one of them swimming in front of us when a party arrived from Cork with air-guns, hooks, a collapsible boat and all things necessary for killing and skinning one of these unfortunate creatures. Since their intent was thus murderous and their manners coarse, we left.”
http://fleischmanndiaries.ucc.ie/portfolio/august-1927-sunday-31/
Aloys Fleischmann (13 April 1910 – 21 July 1992) was an Irish composer, musicologist, professor, conductor.
Fleischmann was born in Munich to Ireland-based German parents. Fleischmann was educated in Scoil Íte, the school founded by Terence MacSwiney's sisters in 1916, in Christian Brothers College, Cork, and in St Finbarr's College Farranferris. He graduated from University College Cork with a BA in 1930, was awarded the BMus in 1931, a MA in 1932, and a doctorate in music in 1963. In 1932 he went to study composition, conducting and musicology at the Academy of Music and University of Munich under Joseph Haas. He returned to University College Cork in 1934 where he held the position of professor of music until 1980. In 1941 he and Anne Madden of Cork married; they had five children and six grandchildren.
A fluent speaker of Irish and a scholar of Irish folk music, Fleischmann sought in his compositions to create a specifically Irish form of art music as previous generations had done for literature and painting. He received many honours for his service to his art, among them the Freedom of the City of Cork in 1978, an honorary doctorate of music from Trinity College Dublin, the Order of Merit of the German government in 1966, and the Silver Medal of the Irish American Cultural Institute in 1976. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1991, and in the same year was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Royal Dublin Society
December Shipwrecks
This a brief list of ships lost and wrecked on the coast from Crosshaven to Kinsale since 1750.
18.12.1750: The Twins, skippered by Master Swaine, from Nantz, was lost at Roberts Cove.
07.12.1758: The Pembroke, from Bristol to New York was lost off Roberts Cove. 12 men were drowned.
22.12.1775: The Rockingham.
??.12.1794: The Nancy, under Master Collins, from Swansea to Cork was lost near the Old Head of Kinsale. Date in December unknown.
29.12.1798: The Charlotte, skippered by Master Williams, was lost off Cork Harbour. Only one boy was saved.
31.12.1800: The Gravalia, skippered by Master Icclerbom, from the coast of Spain to Hambro, was lost off Kinsale. It was stated that the crew were saved.
25.12.1803: HMS Suffisante, a 16-gun sloop went ashore off Spike Island. She heeled over in the heavy seas and split in two. Seven crew were drowned and three were killed by a falling mast.
27.12.1807: The Rising Sun, master Hutton, was driven on shore on her beam-ends, in Kinsale. She was gotten off without major damage the following week. “The wine on board was saved, but it was feared that the cargo of barilla (soda ash) would be lost.”
??.12.1814: The Maria, Master Henderson, was lost with all of her crew in Rocky Bay, Cork. Date in December unknown.
14.12.1844: The paddle steamer Vanguard sailing from Dublin to Cork hit the Cow and Calf rocks off Roche’s Point and drifted ashore. All on board were rescued. The ship was later saved and resumed a sailing service on the Cork to Dublin route.
20.12.1844: Wreckage from a ships boat was driven into Rocky Bay, near Nohoval, it was painted lead-colour on the inside. On the following Monday, the mainmast of a schooner, of about 150 tons drifted into Ringabella Bay. It had only been in the water a short time, and was broken off under the rigging. It was surmised that an unknown vessel had foundered off the harbour, and that these pieces of wreck were all that remained of her.
15.12.1848: A violent storm struck the Irish coast in December 1848, damaged buildings as well as holding up all coastal and cross-channel steamer traffic. A foreign brigantine, The Minto of Yarmouth, laden with oranges and oil from the Mediterranean, parted her anchor cable and drove ashore at Dunbogue Cove. All fifteen of her crew were drowned.
24.12.1878: The barquentine Princess Royal grounded below Camden Fort in a gale. The Roche’s Point coastguard boat and pilot boat tried to give assistance, but were unable to save any of the crew. All were lost.
31.12.1905: The Pluvier was lost off Flat Head at the east end of Rennies Bay on 31 December, 1905. A severe storm had occurred and wreckage, bodies and a figurehead were washed ashore confirming that a schooner had been lost at sea. The five bodies washed ashore were buried in Nohoval graveyard. The Cork Examiner correspondent pursued enquiries as to what vessel might have been lost. In February 1906, the firm of Ebenezer Parry were in contact. They believed that their two masted 310 ton Pluvier was the lost ship. She had sailed from Figueria in Portugal on Christmas Eve and from the voyage times of other vessels, they surmised that she would have been near Cork at the time of the wreck. Their fears were confirmed when a watch and the ship's figurehead were identified. The schooner had been built at Fowey in Cornwall.
28.12.1915: The SS El Zorro.
Next: The wreck of the Danish schooner, August in January 1903.
The wreck of the Danish schooner August, January 16, 1903.
Nohoval Cove is a rocky, treacherous inlet on the south coast about 4 miles from Minane Bridge and 10 miles east of Kinsale. (coordinates: 51.714456 -8.385518)
Samuel Lewis first described the area in his 1837 ‘A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland':
“ At Nohoval Cove are some extensive slate quarries, the property of W. Whitney, Esq., whence great quantities are shipped to Cork, the boats returning with limestone, burnt generally here for the purposes of building. Not far distant, on the same estate, are some veins of manganese, in a state of decomposition, but, from the numerous springs here impregnated with this mineral, it is quite evident that a great body of the ore is deposited in the immediate vicinity. Very clear and beautiful crystals of quartz are scattered among the soil in most parts of the parish. The Cove is a romantic retreat, at the termination of a deep winding glen, in which many thousands of young trees have lately been planted, which, if they thrive, will form a great ornament to this barren spot: the entrance to the Cove is marked by three pyramidal rocks of considerable height. In calm weather, coal, culm, and limestone may be landed here, but in the winter scarcely a vessel ever ventures into so dangerous a place. ”
Lewis was certainly accurate in his description of conditions in winter and many vessels have come to grief in the area over the decades.
One such vessel was the Danish schooner 'August' in January 1903 and highlighted the bravery and humanity of a local man, Denis Collins.
Twenty eight years earlier, In the summer of 1875, an elegant topsail schooner 78 tons, christened the ‘August’, was launched from the island of Funen, in the Danish Archipelago - a centre for sail trading ships.
She was built for Neils Dreoi of Aeroskobing, an island port farther south and began her working life on the ‘Icelandic run’. The ‘August’ brought Icelandic handicrafts, lamb, wool, eiderdown and dried fish from Reykjavik to Liverpool, Hull, Stornoway and Copenhagen.
On one occasion, she transported Icelandic horses to Leith in Scotland for use in the coalmines. The round trip to Iceland took the best part of seven weeks. With time she operated in other, warmer, European waters and was known in the ports of Portugal, France, Spain and North Africa from where she made her last voyage.
The wreck of the Danish schooner August, January 16, 1903.
Nohoval Cove is a rocky, treacherous inlet on the south coast about 4 miles from Minane Bridge and 10 miles east of Kinsale. (coordinates: 51.714456 -8.385518)
Samuel Lewis first described the area in his 1837 ‘A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland':
“ At Nohoval Cove are some extensive slate quarries, the property of W. Whitney, Esq., whence great quantities are shipped to Cork, the boats returning with limestone, burnt generally here for the purposes of building. Not far distant, on the same estate, are some veins of manganese, in a state of decomposition, but, from the numerous springs here impregnated with this mineral, it is quite evident that a great body of the ore is deposited in the immediate vicinity. Very clear and beautiful crystals of quartz are scattered among the soil in most parts of the parish. The Cove is a romantic retreat, at the termination of a deep winding glen, in which many thousands of young trees have lately been planted, which, if they thrive, will form a great ornament to this barren spot: the entrance to the Cove is marked by three pyramidal rocks of considerable height. In calm weather, coal, culm, and limestone may be landed here, but in the winter scarcely a vessel ever ventures into so dangerous a place. ”
Lewis was certainly accurate in his description of conditions in winter and many vessels have come to grief in the area over the decades.
One such vessel was the Danish schooner 'August' in January 1903 and highlighted the bravery and humanity of a local man, Denis Collins.
Twenty eight years earlier, In the summer of 1875, an elegant topsail schooner 78 tons, christened the ‘August’, was launched from the island of Funen, in the Danish Archipelago - a centre for sail trading ships.
She was built for Neils Dreoi of Aeroskobing, an island port farther south and began her working life on the ‘Icelandic run’. The ‘August’ brought Icelandic handicrafts, lamb, wool, eiderdown and dried fish from Reykjavik to Liverpool, Hull, Stornoway and Copenhagen.
On one occasion, she transported Icelandic horses to Leith in Scotland for use in the coalmines. The round trip to Iceland took the best part of seven weeks. With time she operated in other, warmer, European waters and was known in the ports of Portugal, France, Spain and North Africa from where she made her last voyage.
Early in 1902, Niels Dreiøe Snr. retired and appointed a new captain, a fellow sailor from from Ærø, Edward Clausen and his second son, Niels Dreiøe Jnr as first mate.
On it's first autumn journey of 1902, the August sailed from Iceland with dried cod for Morocco. Just after Christmas 1902, the schooner left Marakesch in Morocco bound for Queenstown in Cork Harbour with a cargo of beans. It was a stormy voyage and her five man crew were exhausted by the time they came close to Southern Ireland.
They sighted the old head of Kinsale at 2am on January 16th 1903.
Conditions at sea had been steadily deteriorating. Roches point weather station would record that the wind that night was a force 10, equivalent in gusts to a hurricane. Tacked and close-hauled, the ‘August’ sailed east towards the mouth of Cork Harbour and definitive safety. Pounded continuously by wind and waves, her leeward side was soon underwater. One of the hurricane gusts ripped the topsails from the once elegant schooner. Just ten miles short of the harbour mouth, the crew decided by ships council to ’beach’ their craft in a desperate attempt to save lives.
On it's first autumn journey of 1902, the August sailed from Iceland with dried cod for Morocco. Just after Christmas 1902, the schooner left Marakesch in Morocco bound for Queenstown in Cork Harbour with a cargo of beans. It was a stormy voyage and her five man crew were exhausted by the time they came close to Southern Ireland.
They sighted the old head of Kinsale at 2am on January 16th 1903.
Conditions at sea had been steadily deteriorating. Roches point weather station would record that the wind that night was a force 10, equivalent in gusts to a hurricane. Tacked and close-hauled, the ‘August’ sailed east towards the mouth of Cork Harbour and definitive safety. Pounded continuously by wind and waves, her leeward side was soon underwater. One of the hurricane gusts ripped the topsails from the once elegant schooner. Just ten miles short of the harbour mouth, the crew decided by ships council to ’beach’ their craft in a desperate attempt to save lives.
They turned towards the rocky coast and the southerly gale soon thrust them into the narrow cleft that is Nohoval Cove.
Almost immediately, a following breaker swept the captain into the rigging and off the vessel into the water where he drowned. The remaining crewmen scrambled out along the bowsprit to a rock just beneath it. They clung there and watched as the swell and pounding waves broke the vessel apart. The night was bitterly cold. It had snowed the previous day and the fields around the cove were white and still. Above the pounding waves they heard a man’s voice shouting and out through the driving rain and gale force winds came Denis Collins who lived in a little cottage above the cove. In turn he carried the exhausted mariners ashore, slung across his back. When they were all within the shelter of his home, he brought out all his clothing for them; his wife raised a great fire and prepared a meal. Four of the crew were safe.
The following day they retraced their steps to the cove to see what could be salvaged and if the Captain's body could be found. Little remained of the ‘August’. Captain Clausen’s body lay on the shore, 'shockingly mutilated', battered by the ocean and rocks. Soon, the Lloyd’s agent in Kinsale arrived. Funeral arrangements were agreed on for the Captain and after a few days, the Danes were eventually repatriated.
On their return to Denmark, the crew loudly proclaimed their praise of Denis Collins. His actions were recognised both by the Royal Danish Government, who sent him an engraved silver cup and the Royal Benevolent Society in London from whom he received a framed testimonial and five pounds. These were presented to him three months later at the Petty Sessions in Kinsale, by the presiding judge, Captain Stoyte, who remarked that "were it not for Collins, there was not the slightest doubt that the Danes would have perished on that rocky shore". The judge was sure that Collins "would be rewarded by the Great Supreme Being for on that fateful night of January 16th, he clothed the naked, fed the hungry and gave shelter to the homeless; a display of true humanity and Christian charity."
Neils Dreoi went back to sea but was murdered in Australia the following year by an unknown assailant in a Sydney dockland alley. Denis Collins died peacefully in 1945 aged eighty-three.
Almost immediately, a following breaker swept the captain into the rigging and off the vessel into the water where he drowned. The remaining crewmen scrambled out along the bowsprit to a rock just beneath it. They clung there and watched as the swell and pounding waves broke the vessel apart. The night was bitterly cold. It had snowed the previous day and the fields around the cove were white and still. Above the pounding waves they heard a man’s voice shouting and out through the driving rain and gale force winds came Denis Collins who lived in a little cottage above the cove. In turn he carried the exhausted mariners ashore, slung across his back. When they were all within the shelter of his home, he brought out all his clothing for them; his wife raised a great fire and prepared a meal. Four of the crew were safe.
The following day they retraced their steps to the cove to see what could be salvaged and if the Captain's body could be found. Little remained of the ‘August’. Captain Clausen’s body lay on the shore, 'shockingly mutilated', battered by the ocean and rocks. Soon, the Lloyd’s agent in Kinsale arrived. Funeral arrangements were agreed on for the Captain and after a few days, the Danes were eventually repatriated.
On their return to Denmark, the crew loudly proclaimed their praise of Denis Collins. His actions were recognised both by the Royal Danish Government, who sent him an engraved silver cup and the Royal Benevolent Society in London from whom he received a framed testimonial and five pounds. These were presented to him three months later at the Petty Sessions in Kinsale, by the presiding judge, Captain Stoyte, who remarked that "were it not for Collins, there was not the slightest doubt that the Danes would have perished on that rocky shore". The judge was sure that Collins "would be rewarded by the Great Supreme Being for on that fateful night of January 16th, he clothed the naked, fed the hungry and gave shelter to the homeless; a display of true humanity and Christian charity."
Neils Dreoi went back to sea but was murdered in Australia the following year by an unknown assailant in a Sydney dockland alley. Denis Collins died peacefully in 1945 aged eighty-three.
above: the engraved silver cup presented to Denis Collins by the Danish Government, 1903.
below: The Cork Examiner report of the wreck. January 19th, 1903
below: The Cork Examiner report of the wreck. January 19th, 1903
"At the Kinsale Petty Sessions on May 1. tribute was paid to D. Collins, Nohoval, for his brave conduct in rescuing from death three of the crew ot the Danish schooner August, wrecked near Nohoval, in January last. Colllins was the only person to discover the dangerous position of the sailors, and at great risk succeeded in bringing them ashore, and he provided them with food and raiment in his cottage until they were handed over to the care of Lloyd's local agent, Mr. R. A. Williams. District Inspector Wansborough said he had received from the Danish government a valuable silver cup to be presented to Dennis Collins for his heroic services in saving the lives of the crew of this schooner, totally wrecked.
The conduct of Collins was worthy of the highest praise. He brought out on his back, three of the crew. They were naked, and he brought them home and gave them his own clothes and provided them with food, bed and other necessaries and kept them for several days. He had received £5 from the Shipping Mariners Society for his heroic conduct on the occasion. The matter was placed before the Danish govenment, with the result that they forwarded the valuable cup, which he now asked the Chairman to present to Collins. The Chairman, Capt. Stoyte, said it afforded him great pleasure and he was proud of the opportunity of doing so as the conduct of Collins was gallant and heroic, and there was not the slightest doubt that but for his action, all would have lost their lives. He then handed the cup to Collins and asked him to send it to the Cork Exhibition as he was sure a great many people would like to see it. Collins thanked Capt. Stoyte and Mr. Wansborough for his kind references to his ward, the sailors and he only acted as he had done had any member of his family been in the same danger. There was a large number of people in court, who warmly applauded Collins when the presentation was made."
Historical research manages to throw a few surprises occasionally - in this case, District Inspector Wansborough was a famous figure by the time he presented the silver cup to Denis Collins. Less than a decade earlier, Wansborough had investigated the case of "the last witch burned in Ireland" and had given critical evidence in the last of the witchcraft trials - the murder of Bridget Cleary.
Bridget Cleary was an Irish woman killed by her husband in 1895. Her death is notable for several peculiarities: the stated motive for the crime was her husband's belief that she had been abducted by fairies with a changeling left in her place; he claimed to have killed only the changeling. The gruesome nature of the case — she was either immolated while still alive or set on fire immediately following her death — prompted extensive press coverage.
Bridget was reported missing in March 1895. She evidently had been ill for several days, although her specific diagnosis is unknown. By 16 March, rumours were beginning to circulate that Bridget was missing, and the local police began searching for her directed by D.I.Wansborough. Her husband was quoted as claiming that his wife had been taken by fairies, and he appeared to be holding a vigil. Witness statements were gathered over the ensuing week, and by the time Bridget Cleary's burnt corpse was found in a shallow grave on 22 March, nine people had been charged in her disappearance, including her husband. A coroner's inquest the next day returned a verdict of death by burning.
At the subsequent trial, her husband Michael Cleary was found guilty of manslaughter, and spent 15 years in prison. He was released from Maryborough (now Portlaoishe) prison on 28 April 1910 and went to Liverpool, later emigrating to Canada.
Her death and the publicity surrounding the trial were regarded as being politically significant at the time. Irish home rule was an active political issue in England; William Ewart Gladstone's Liberal Party had come to power on a Home Rule platform, but had relatively recently lost its latest Irish Government Bill in the House of Lords. Press coverage of the Cleary case occurred in an atmosphere of debate over the Irish people's ability to govern themselves, and worries were expressed about the credulity and superstition of rural nationalist Catholics. The coroner who examined Bridget's corpse claimed that "amongst Hottentots one would not expect to hear of such an occurrence..."
sources
http://www.denisnagle.com/section700739_55131.html
http://mfs.dk/sites/default/files/documents/1996AfenIslandsskipperssaga119-129.pdf (in Danish)
January Shipwrecks
January 1, 1868 The Chicago
The Guion Line steamship Chicago was on a voyage from New York to Liverpool, via Queenstown. The journey was uneventful, however, on nearing Cork Harbour, a fog developed, and the Chicago missed the rendezvous with the pilot boat.. Roches Point was passed in error, and the Chicago grounded on a reef at Guileen. The weather was calm and all passengers and crew were saved. The ship gradually broke up and the remains were sold where they lay.
January 3, 1666 Unknown Vessel
On the 3rd of January 1666, a London vessel of four guns was wrecked at the Old head of Kinsale. She was returning from Spain with a cargo of wine and other goods. It was reported that many of her men were drowned.
January 8, 1877 Unnamed Whaleboat
One of the famous Cork Harbour 'bumboats' or trading vessels set out from Ringabella on Monday January 16th 1877. They were making for the barque "G.J.Jones" and followed standard practice of two getting aboard the moving vessel while the whale boat was towed behind.The speed of the barque on this occasion was too great and the occupants of the whale boat had to let go. The boat was later found bottom up, a mile from Roches Point. All the five remaining occupants drowned.
January 16, 1903 Auguste
On January 16th, 1903, the Danish schooner Aguste, was caught in a raging gale and swept on the rocks at Nohoval. The captain was washed overboard and drowned, but local man Denis Collins rescued all of the crew. The ship went to pieces and the captain’s body was later recovered - featured above.
January 18,1904 Unnamed open boat
On Monday, 18 January 1904, a deserted open boat was picked up four miles off Power Head. On board were some provisions, a woman’s hat, shoes and stockings, as well as a baby’s cap. The tragedy that unfolded was that a sailor named Murphy, from Crosshaven, with his wife and three children had been on a shopping trip to Queenstown. They set off home for Crosshaven at ten o’clock at night in rough seas and a strong wind and were not seen again. It was thought that the boat had capsized, and the occupants drowned. No bodies were recovered.
January 21, 1830 Unnamed Whaleboat
A sudden south easterly gale blew up in Cork on Thursday Jan 27, 1830. At the entrance to Roberts Cove, a large coaster laden with potatoes coming from the west was seen to founder. All three crew were lost.
January 26, 1753 "The Lovely Betty Jackson" a Liverpool based Slave Ship
On the 26th of January 1753 it was reported that the "Lovely Betty Jackson" was lost off Kinsale. This was a slaving ship on a return voyage from North Carolina with possibly a cargo of cotton and tobacco. It had left Liverpool two years earlier on a slaving voyage to west Africa, transporting a human cargo of native Africans to a North Carolina port for sale. The captain and the rest of the crew drowned. Probably also known just as 'The Lovely Betty'.
(Slavery literally thrived in the 18th century, as various merchantile houses and individual traders brought ships filled with goods to West African states such as Ghana, Mali and Niger and traded these for human slaves. The human cargo were closely packed into the vessel, and shipped to mostly southern American states, the Carribean and Brazil. On arrival, the cargo was sold to various traders and for the return voyage to Britain or Ireland, the vessel was restocked with cotton, tobacco, sugar etc. Notable campaigners in Britain such as William Wilberforce eventually saw The Slave Trade Act passed by the British Parliament on March 25, 1807, making the slave trade illegal throughout the British Empire. Wilberforce also campaigned for abolition of slavery in the British Empire, which he lived to see in the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. After the 1807 act abolishing the slave trade was passed, these campaigners switched to encouraging other countries to follow suit, notably France and the British colonies. In 1839, the world's oldest international human rights organization, Anti-Slavery International, was formed in Britain by Joseph Sturge, which campaigned to outlaw slavery in other countries.)
January 26, 1792 "The Douglas" , "The Daniel" and "The Harriet"
On Thursday 26 January 1792, it was reported that the Douglas, bound for Jamaica,was lost outside Cork Harbour. The same report stated that the Daniel and Harriet vessels and crews was lost near Kinsale.
January 28, 1776 Two unnamed whaleboats
On 28 of January 1776 a violent gale struck Cork. There were a number of military transports in the harbour, two of which ran foul of each other. Two men of war boats (whaleboats) sank in the harbour with the loss of twenty two men.
January 1, 1868 The Chicago
The Guion Line steamship Chicago was on a voyage from New York to Liverpool, via Queenstown. The journey was uneventful, however, on nearing Cork Harbour, a fog developed, and the Chicago missed the rendezvous with the pilot boat.. Roches Point was passed in error, and the Chicago grounded on a reef at Guileen. The weather was calm and all passengers and crew were saved. The ship gradually broke up and the remains were sold where they lay.
January 3, 1666 Unknown Vessel
On the 3rd of January 1666, a London vessel of four guns was wrecked at the Old head of Kinsale. She was returning from Spain with a cargo of wine and other goods. It was reported that many of her men were drowned.
January 8, 1877 Unnamed Whaleboat
One of the famous Cork Harbour 'bumboats' or trading vessels set out from Ringabella on Monday January 16th 1877. They were making for the barque "G.J.Jones" and followed standard practice of two getting aboard the moving vessel while the whale boat was towed behind.The speed of the barque on this occasion was too great and the occupants of the whale boat had to let go. The boat was later found bottom up, a mile from Roches Point. All the five remaining occupants drowned.
January 16, 1903 Auguste
On January 16th, 1903, the Danish schooner Aguste, was caught in a raging gale and swept on the rocks at Nohoval. The captain was washed overboard and drowned, but local man Denis Collins rescued all of the crew. The ship went to pieces and the captain’s body was later recovered - featured above.
January 18,1904 Unnamed open boat
On Monday, 18 January 1904, a deserted open boat was picked up four miles off Power Head. On board were some provisions, a woman’s hat, shoes and stockings, as well as a baby’s cap. The tragedy that unfolded was that a sailor named Murphy, from Crosshaven, with his wife and three children had been on a shopping trip to Queenstown. They set off home for Crosshaven at ten o’clock at night in rough seas and a strong wind and were not seen again. It was thought that the boat had capsized, and the occupants drowned. No bodies were recovered.
January 21, 1830 Unnamed Whaleboat
A sudden south easterly gale blew up in Cork on Thursday Jan 27, 1830. At the entrance to Roberts Cove, a large coaster laden with potatoes coming from the west was seen to founder. All three crew were lost.
January 26, 1753 "The Lovely Betty Jackson" a Liverpool based Slave Ship
On the 26th of January 1753 it was reported that the "Lovely Betty Jackson" was lost off Kinsale. This was a slaving ship on a return voyage from North Carolina with possibly a cargo of cotton and tobacco. It had left Liverpool two years earlier on a slaving voyage to west Africa, transporting a human cargo of native Africans to a North Carolina port for sale. The captain and the rest of the crew drowned. Probably also known just as 'The Lovely Betty'.
(Slavery literally thrived in the 18th century, as various merchantile houses and individual traders brought ships filled with goods to West African states such as Ghana, Mali and Niger and traded these for human slaves. The human cargo were closely packed into the vessel, and shipped to mostly southern American states, the Carribean and Brazil. On arrival, the cargo was sold to various traders and for the return voyage to Britain or Ireland, the vessel was restocked with cotton, tobacco, sugar etc. Notable campaigners in Britain such as William Wilberforce eventually saw The Slave Trade Act passed by the British Parliament on March 25, 1807, making the slave trade illegal throughout the British Empire. Wilberforce also campaigned for abolition of slavery in the British Empire, which he lived to see in the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. After the 1807 act abolishing the slave trade was passed, these campaigners switched to encouraging other countries to follow suit, notably France and the British colonies. In 1839, the world's oldest international human rights organization, Anti-Slavery International, was formed in Britain by Joseph Sturge, which campaigned to outlaw slavery in other countries.)
January 26, 1792 "The Douglas" , "The Daniel" and "The Harriet"
On Thursday 26 January 1792, it was reported that the Douglas, bound for Jamaica,was lost outside Cork Harbour. The same report stated that the Daniel and Harriet vessels and crews was lost near Kinsale.
January 28, 1776 Two unnamed whaleboats
On 28 of January 1776 a violent gale struck Cork. There were a number of military transports in the harbour, two of which ran foul of each other. Two men of war boats (whaleboats) sank in the harbour with the loss of twenty two men.
To be continued....