Heidrun

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE SINKING OF THE SS HEIDRUN OFF MULLION IN DECEMBER 1915

HISTORY

We can pick up the story in the 1850s with a Barque named Heidrun. She was owned in Norway and operated around the world carrying a variety of Cargo but mainly Timber, Coal, Ore, and General Cargo. She sailed as far away as Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Mobile in North America, Europe, Archangel, Russia and the Mediterranean, but above all the Norwegians had strong links with British Ports.

In 1852 she was described as Heidrun of Stavanger, a Norwegian Barque. In 1858 her skipper was Captain Holm. In the 1860s others included the Norwegians Captain Olsen and Captain Fuglesang. In November 1875 after being towed into Ramsgate, Capt. Peter Fuglesang of Flekksfjord, Norway mysteriously fell overboard and drowned in Ramsgate Harbour. (1)

In November 1892, Heidrun (c. Hansen) was anchored at Sapelo Island, Georgia, for loading and repainting. While burning off old paint the ship and cargo was set alight. The crew were forced to leave the ship which received severe damage. Original reports including Lloyds List suggested that the fire could lead to a total loss of the ship, but they also show that Heidrun soon traded afterwards and was still owned in Norway at Stavanger. (2)(3). Most of her trade for several years afterwards involved transporting Timber from Mobile, Alabama to the brand new Saltport Dock and Wharves on the Manchester Ship Canal. In 1892 the first ship to use these Docks was a Norwegian owned ship delivering Pitch Pine.

Heidrun is recorded many times in the Lloyds List from as early as February 1893 onwards using this trading route. On 23rd October 1893 Heidrun arrived from Mobile at the Eastham Locks, Manchester Ship Canal for Saltport carrying Timber. For several years it became a regular route for an assured income. (2) (3)(3a)(3b).

In August 1893 Lloyds recorded her as Heidrun of Frederikstad.

Still recorded as a Barque and fully rigged she lost her carpenter Jakob Jakobsen, drowned in Hartlepool Harbour in June 1894, and in August 1894 whilst en route to Rio De Janeiro received weather damage and had to put put into Stavanger for repairs to Stanchions and Bulwarks.

In 1896 Heidrun (c. Bjornsen) was sailing to and from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies and in 1897, still called "Heidrun of Stavanger".

She continued to trade until January 1901 when she finally went aground on the stones at Delfzyl, Groningen, Netherlands in a gale which caused damage to her bottom. She was subsequently sold.(4)(5).

The name Heidrun, a name with a strong Norse history, was retained for future use.

Lord Aberdeen:

A Steel Screw Steamer named Lord Aberdeen, 796 tons net, 1360 tons Gross Register, carrying 1850 tons dead weight was built in 1889 by Messrs Knight and Co. of Ayr.

In June 1908, when owned by Mr J.S. Barwick of Sunderland, Messrs Vogt and McGuire of Liverpool sold her to a Norwegian Company for £8000. (6)(7). The Lord Aberdeen was renamed Heidrun.

On 5 August 1908, whilst carrying a large cargo of Timber, Heidrun ran aground in deep sand at Freische Yat, Harlingen, Netherlands. She could not be salvaged and sank deeper into the sand. No ship could stand alongside to assist salvage and the upper deck cargo was all that was recovered. By the 15^th August she was regarded as a total loss. (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)

In the Casualty Returns for 1908 the Liverpool Underwriters Association published the following details:

The Heidrun (ex-Lord Aberdeen) was built in 1889, gross tonnage 1370 tons, steel built. She was owned by O.Mohr of Christiana, and on a voyage from Porsgrad to Harlingen carrying a cargo of timber was wrecked near Harlingen. The loss was estimated at £8000, and the cargo £3000.(13)

Vildosala:

An Iron Screw Steamer built in 1871 by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Ltd. at Jarrow- on -Tyne and sold in May 1872 at Newcastle on Tyne. She was 225` long, 31` beam, depth from deck to floors 17`. Her gross register was 1002 tons and net tonnage 781 tons. Her average speed was 8.5 knots. She was auctioned in May 1872 and sold to Mr Preston, London, on behalf of Messrs. Palgrave of Dublin for £17,000. (14)

In December 1872 she lost her boats and steering wheel whilst between Cardiff and Gibraltar and in March 1873 she ran aground at Oporto, Portugal with a pilot on board, filling with water. On returning to England, she was docked at Falmouth, Cornwall for several weeks prior to auction in London.

In May 1878 she collided with steamer Patria 10 miles NW off Berdianski, Ukraine. She was badly damaged.

In August/ September 1881 she received new engines and boilers at Messrs John Eltringhams Stone Quay Works at South Shields. (15)

Vildosala was beached at Gravesend after collision with 2 steamers in 1883 and collided with the London steamer Tagus in 1894. She also collided with and sank the steamer Kottingham off Wallsend on the Tyne in 1897. She ran down a Fishing Trawler off Southwold in 1889 and in the same year she collided with the Drogden Lightship, Copenhagen.

In July 1901 she was involved in a collision in Gravesend Reach with 3 other steamers causing extensive damage (16)

In 1901 it was reported that Norwegian ship owners had announced their intention to buy a number of British iron steamers.

Dalny:

On 28th November 1902 the Hull Daily Mail and the Shields Daily Gazette reported that the Vildosala, (956 tons gross, 589 tons net, with engines 25" and 50" by 33" stroke) had been sold to a Russian Company in Libau, (Liepaja) Russia, by Pyman, Bell & Company Limited and renamed the Dalny. (16a)

In November 1903 she collided with a steamer at Queensferry carrying Coal to Libau. She was towed to Granton, Edinburgh and was beached by Capt Zihrul. In doing so Dalny hit rocks and received further damage. In November 1903 she was repaired by Menzies and Co. at Leith and was then lying in Shields Harbour for some time (17).

The Dalny, (ex-Vildosala) was sold to O. Mohn and Co. of Christiana, (Oslo) Norway in February 1909 and renamed Heidrun, 981 tons gross register (18).

Heidrun continued working until the start of the Great War in 1914, primarily as a coastal coal carrier on European routes, with Captain Olsen and her Norwegian crew. In May 1915 she spent some time in dock undergoing repair and survey at Swansea.(19)

In October 1915 she was in Dock at the Manchester Ship Canal. (20)

In November 1915 she took a cargo of 1200 tons of coal from Swansea to Rouen. (21)

On 24^th December 1915 Heidrun left Swansea for Rouen with her last cargo of anthracite coal. (22)

With her Captain Gustav Olsen, and 15 crew there were 16 hands on board. The weather was poor with a developing and fast moving low pressure system bringing SW gale force winds.

Mullion Coastguard, from its Station at Henscath, reported that about 10.30am “… on Boxing Day morning at the height of the gale a steamer was observed some 4 miles off Mullion pitching and tossing in the terrible sea that was running in the Mounts Bay, buffeted by the howling (SW) gale. For half an hour her progress, slow and laboured, was watched with anxiety by those on the shore and then she disappeared from view”.(23)

(Note: At the inquest, the Cornishman 6.1.1916 , report that this incident took place on Boxing Day 1915. Calendars for 1915 regard Sunday 26th December as Boxing Day.)

There was no help at hand. The Mullion Lifeboat had been removed in 1908 and in such a SW gale the Penzance and the Porthleven Lifeboats could not be launched.

Evidence of the steamers identity came with the washing ashore of pieces of boats and lifebuoys bearing the name “Heidrun” & “Christiana” (Oslo).

It was reported by Lloyds that Heidrun, Norwegian Steamer of Dram, late of Christiana left Swansea on December 24th for Rouen.

Two male bodies were recovered at Halzephron and at Poldhu.

The unidentified body at Halzephron was recovered from the water by local fisherman John Bray of Berepper, Gunwalloe on Tuesday 28 December. (23)

The unidentified body at Poldhu was recovered from the beach by local fisherman and Coast Watcher Samuel Mundy of Laflouder, Mullion on Wednesday 29th December.(23)

A third unidentified body was discovered on the beach at Poldhu by William King of the Poldhu Hotel on Thursday 30th December. (23)(25)

At the subsequent Coroners Inquest held at Gunwalloe, Dr Brookes of Helston gave evidence to the coroner Mr Boase that the two had drowned and that other injuries were caused post mortem. Other evidence of wind and tide led to the belief that they came from the Heidrun which had foundered 4 miles to the SW of Mullion. (24).

It was reported that a further two unidentified bodies were found at Porthleven by Police Constable Bulford on Tuesday 25th January 1916. They had been in the sea for some time. At the inquest Dr Spaight said there was no possibility of establishing identification or cause of death. (26)

The subsequent Inquest concluded they were “found drowned” and they were believed to be from Heidrun.

There were no survivors. The incident occurred on 26^th December 1915 during a storm and she was seen by Mullion Coastguard to founder about 4 miles offshore in the heavy sea.

On the 10^th February 1916 Heidrun and her crew were added to Lloyds missing list. (27)

A memorial to the captain and crew who died is located in the graveyard of the Church of the storms, St. Winwalloe, Gunwalloe, Cornwall. The site is on the Lizard Peninsula, just north of Mullion village.

The Headstone bears their names “In memory of the crew of the Norwegian Vessel D/S Heidrun of Oslo, Lost at sea Christmas 1915”

Ships Captain- Gustav Julius Olsen, Crew- John Olsen,

P. Rasmussen, R.J. Knudsen, A.M. Andersson, P. Mortensen,

M. Santa, D. Rickard, H.Waather, A. Alberti, E.M. Lovle, H. Berg, T. Sihana, J. Syrgraven , A. Brenha, C. Carlsen.

There was no visual or audible evidence of Heidrun hitting a mine which has been suggested but not reviewed and this article provides additional and alternative evidence for her loss.

Note: The Met Office reports wind speeds in the Scilly Isles and at Pendennis, Cornwall over 85mph. These were recorded at established weather stations. The month was categorised by extremely unstable weather with little respite from Low Pressure systems crossing the country almost every day. Most were very deep with strong winds increasing to gale force on one or more sections of the coast on at least 20 days. Rain was a daily occurrence and frequently heavy in many localities. The worst storm was at Christmas.

The Met. Office summary for the month of December 1915 reports that :

A deep system travelled up from the Azores arriving on the Irish Coast in the morning of the 27th (December) and reaching Denmark the following day. It was a fast moving system which travelled across the country at 30mph. It was marked by the most destructive gale of the month with strong to whole SW gale, raging over England generally... with very violent squalls... winds which attained a velocity of ... 39m/s (87mph) at Plymouth and 40 m/s (89mph) at Scilly and Pendennis.

Heidrun crossed the Mounts Bay at the very worst time of the storm and there has to be some doubt whether she would be able to handle such the violent sea and high winds, well above 80 mph.

There is no evidence of her being hit by a Mine or Torpedo, merely speculation.

These details may prove helpful to understanding the conditions against her and identifying her current position on the sea floor off Mullion in the Mounts Bay Cornwall.

Bob Felce (BSc Hons), (Mullion) 2.1.2020

Copyright bob felce (mullion) 2020

Met. Office Weather Chart "Christmas" 1915.