HM Trawler Agate was purchased by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 in 1935. She was modified from a trawler

Naval trawler

A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...

 to be used to carry out anti-submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 work. In 1941 she was with the maintenance reserve at Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

, but in August was part of the Royal Navy’s escort flotilla

Flotilla

A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...

 with convoy FS559 when she ran aground, becoming a total loss, on Haisborough Sands

Haisborough Sands

Haisborough Sands is a sandbank off the coast of Norfolk, England at Happisburgh. The shoal is long and wide and lies parallel to the North east coast of Norfolk. The shoal is marked to the north-west by north by the Haisbro Light Buoy, North cardinal...

 on the 6 August with a loss of all sixteen crewman.

History

HM Trawler Agate was built in 1934 at Smiths Dock in Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. She had been ordered by the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Company (B. A. Parkes) of Fleetwood

Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. The trawler was originally called Mavis Rose. She was and 157.25 feet (47.9 m) long, with a beam of 26.5 feet (8.1 m).

Final voyage

On the 5 August Convoy FS 559 was proceeding down the East coast of Britain to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 from Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

. The convoy was being escorted by two Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 destroyers of the Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

 escort-force. HMS Vimiera

HMS Vimiera (1917)

HMS Vimiera was V-Class destroyer ordered as part of the 1917-18 Program.-Early activity:One of her early missions was a trip to Reval, conveying Leonid Krasin and Viktor Nogin back to the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, following the first stage of negotiations in the Anglo-Soviet Trade...

 was an old ‘V’ class destroyer built in 1917, whilst HMS Wolsey was a Thorneycroft ‘W’ Class built a year later in 1918. Also helping with the escort duties were HM Trawler Agate and HM Trawler Arkwright. The night was drawing in as the convoy made its way down the coast and the weather was poor. There was a North-north west gale in full blow with rain. It was cold and visibility was poor. By the early hours and daylight of the 6 August the convoy was enveloped in a thick sea mist making visibility very poor. There are two accounts of what happened to HM Agate, but the most likely cause of event are as follows

Run aground

The convoy had been unable to see the Haisborough light vessel due to the bad visibility, and in any case, due to war time restrictions was only illuminated for ten minutes when a convoy was due in the area. It is thought that due to the combination of the bad weather conditions, the strong westerly drift, and the fact that the exact position of the convoy was unavailable, HM Agate just lead seven of the ships on to the sands were they ran aground. A further report from SS Oxshott describes HM Agate bearing down on her. The Oxshott had been the first of the seven to run aground. The other vessels were the SS Afon Towy, SS Deerwood, SS Betty Hindley, SS Aberhill, SS Gallois

SS Gallois

SS Gallois of Rouen, France, was one of Seven Merchant vessel which became stranded and then Wrecked on Haisbro Sands of the Norfolk coast on the 6th August 1941 during the Second World War...

and the SS Taara. Although the lifeboats from Cromer and Great Yarmouth and Gorleston

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station is a RNLI base in Norfolk, England. There were originally two separate stations at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston - two coastal towns either side of the River Yare. These were merged in 1926.-Great Yarmouth:...

 rescued 137 men from the wrecked ships, 37 men perished including all 16 men aboard HM Trawler Agate.

Position of the wreck of the HM Trawler Agate today

at a depth of 10 m (32.8 ft). on Haisborough Sands.


24.1 kilometres (15 mi) North of Hemsby

Hemsby

Hemsby is a village, civil parish and seaside resort in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some north of the town of Great Yarmouth....

24.2 kilometres (15 mi) East-north east of North Walsham

North Walsham

North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England in the North Norfolk district.-Demographics:The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 11,998. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North...

27.9 kilometres (17.3 mi) North of Caister on Sea 
28.2 kilometres (17.5 mi) East of Cromer

Cromer

Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...