From: A. D. Frost, Sunderland

With regard to E. Sabiston’s articleon the Power of Steam, I would like to point out that the Perang was built at Wm. Gray, Hartlepool (Tacoma City, p.32, built at Wm. Gray, Sunderland). The name of “Doxford Economy” was given to a type of vessel produce by Doxford hence the name, although a lot of general cargo/tramps ships built by various ship yards at the time with Doxford engines had similar engine room layouts where only the ME was diesel driven and every thing else was steam driven making use of the waste heat from the ME, this was a transitional period between steam and diesel powered engine rooms, although its economy was down to this arrangement which gained its popularity.

From: Pamela Brown

I am undertaking a Project for City of Liverpool and Cunard with regard to the Celebration/Commemoration of 175th Anniversary. Liverpool between 24th to 26th May 2015.

On May 24 2015 Queen Mary 2 will arrive at Liverpool Cruise Terminal and will stay overnight. The next morning, her sisterships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria will also arrive on the Mersey, creating an unprecedented THREE QUEENS SPECTACLE in Liverpool. The three ships will be close to the famous Cunard Building on the Pier Head, for a once in a lifetime event that will make maritime history On July 4th 2015 The Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 will return to Liverpool to celebrate the transatlantic departure exactly 175 years earlier of Britannia, the first ship built for Cunard’s revolutionary new Atlantic service which left Liverpool on 4th July 1840.

Liverpool’s Maritime history as the birthplace of the first passenger cruise line is certainly something to celebrate along with many events across the city which will commemorate the glamour and excitement of cruise travel and how an industry that was born in Liverpool changed the world culturally.

Both of these events will be under the umbrella brand “ONE MAGNIFICENT CITY” which is a six week city wide “bridge” of cultural events that will run throughout the summer of 2015. The City’s theme for 2015 is “looking to the New World” I am looking for ex-Cunard employees both at sea or on the land, who have a story to tell prior to 1967 when Cunard pulled out of Liverpool. These stories will be used as a record of life at the time. Also used as an education hub along with interviews which will be taken into schools etc.

So please contact me either by e-mail or home address with your stories and also your contact details as there will be a service held at St Nics Church (the sailors church at Pier Head) on 25th May 2015.

e-mail: p.brown387@ntlworld.com

From: Lindsay Butterfield, Napier, New Zealand

I was extremely pleased to read the article 100 Years Ago , Significant Merchant Ships lost in August 1914, as it mentioned and showed the Kaipara, the first British cargo passenger ship to be sunk in WW1.

Also it has a personal value to me as my maternal Grandfather William Craigie (1885-1981) was on board at the time of the sinking, returning to the UK from New Zealand after having immigrated to Australia in 1908 and later moving on to New Zealand.

The following is a short note he gave me in the late 1970’s regarding the voyage and sinking of Kaipara.

After an apprenticeship with the Caledon Shipyard in my home town of Dundee, Scotland I decided in 1908 to emigrate to Australia and so travelled out on the Lunds steamer Commonwealth. After a couple of years working as a fireman on the Australian Coast I then decided to try New Zealand for more continuous employment and so ‘ring bolted’, across the Tasman sea on the U.S.S. Co.’s. s.s. Manuka, and joined the N.Z. Seamans Union. I then worked until May 1914 as a Firemen on various Union Company ships until deciding to return to the UK and join the Royal Navy as War seemed imminent. After a couple of weeks staying in the Sailors Home at the Port of Lyttelton, I was successful in obtaining a Firemen’s position on the s.s. Kaipara, (Capt. H. Makepeace), which was loading at that port for Liverpool, Glasgow and Avonmouth.

We departed Lyttelton on the morning of the 11th July sailing via Cape Town and Las Palmas for bunkers. After sighting only a few vessels including a couple of sailing ships prior to reaching the Atlantic and then sailing outside the usual shipping routes when north of the Cape we sighted little shipping until the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, on the 16th August when about 170 miles SW of Las Palmas. On approaching the Kaipara, the commander hailed the ship and advised if wireless was used he would fire on us. At this stage the ship had been stopped and shortly after the Captain & two Lieutenants from Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, came across by boat and boarded, ordering all hands to leave the vessel by lifeboats and to take only the clothes we were wearing at the time. During the period we were disembarking the German officers smashed the ships wireless and placed explosives in the stokehold. Once we were all safely on board the German ship the lifeboats from Kaipara, were scuttled and then she commenced to shell the ship itself, which took several rounds and about 1.5 hours to finally sink her.

s.s. Kaipara was sunk in position Latitude 25.10’N, 17.18’W. We were all treated extremely well on the German ship with accommodation in the former Saloon Passengers cabins and the food was of the highest quality we had ever encountered in our era at sea. The same afternoon after steaming at speed for some hours the Nyanga, of Elder Dempster was captured and later scuttled after her crew were brought onboard. The next day bunkering was undertaken from a collier in Rio del Oro Bay (now Western Sahara), before sailing north towards Las Palmas where a week later, when we were once again bunkering the ship was sighted by HMS Highflyer which appeared at great speed along with a smaller sloop of the Royal Navy named Arucas. A little later we were all advised by the Captain of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse to board the Arucas, which had come alongside for that purpose. Some of her crew also joined us and of course were taken prisoner. We were just leaving when HMS Highflyer commenced her shelling of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse which startled us somewhat. However we were some miles away when she finally sank. Later we were transferred to the Highflyer, and landed at Las Palmas, later being repatriated by the collier s.s. Inanda, to Britain. On board this ship we were given accommodation in the empty cargo tween decks and slept on straw matting and had to put up with tramp ship food. After many days of these conditions a number of us wished we had stayed on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse a little longer.

On return I joined the Royal Navy and spent the rest of the conflict as a P.O. Stoker on paddle wheeled minesweepers like the Pontefract, mainly sweeping in the area from Flamborough Head north to St. Abbes and south to the Wash on the UK East Coast.

My Grandfather had two large framed pictures one of the Kaipara, being sunk and one of the exchange between HMS Highflyer and Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, prior to her sinking. Alas he gave these to New Zealand Shipping Company in Lyttelton in the 1960s and we have never been able totrace them since.