SS Burgondier
Encyclopedia
{|SS Burgondier was a 5,297 ton cargo steamship built to a First World War
standard design by Caird & Co at Greenock
on the Firth of Clyde
. She changed owners and names several times, becoming the Azul, David Dawson, Penteli and finally Brockley Hill. She was sunk by enemy action in 1941.
(GB) Ltd who registered her in London. In 1923 she was transferred to Compagnie Maritime Belge
(Lloyd Royal) SA and registered in Antwerp, Belgium.
In 1926 she was sold to Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
Co (A. Holland & Co) who registered her in London as Azul. In 1935 she was sold to Kaye, Son & Co, who sold her on in 1936. Her new owners, Georgian Steam Navigation Co Ltd (Frank S. Dawson & Co Ltd) renamed her David Dawson. In 1937 she was sold to J.A. Coulouthros and N.N. Embiricos, Andros who registered her in Greece as Penteli.
In 1939 she was sold to Brockley Hill Steamship Co Ltd who registered her in London as Brockley Hill. This was a one-ship company set up to own her by Counties Ship Management
. Both companies were offshoots of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking firm.
, Canada
as a member of convoy HX-133
on 12 June 1941 with a cargo of grain for London. At 2106 hrs on 29 June U-651 torpedoed and sank her in the North Atlantic southeast of Cape Farewell
in Greenland
. Another British cargo steamship in the convoy, James Nourse Ltd's SS Saugor, rescued all hands and landed them at Loch Ewe
in Scotland.
and renamed her Brockley Hill. She was sold in 1950 and changed hands again in 1951, being renamed Starcrest. She changed owners and names twice more, was laid up in Turkey in 1962 and scrapped there in 1970.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
standard design by Caird & Co at Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
on the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
. She changed owners and names several times, becoming the Azul, David Dawson, Penteli and finally Brockley Hill. She was sunk by enemy action in 1941.
Peacetime career
The ship was launched as the War Burman but completed in April 1919 as the SS Burgondier for Lloyd Royal BelgeCompagnie Maritime Belge
-History:The CMB was founded in 1895 under the name Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo . At the request of Leopold II of Belgium and with support from British investors, a maritime connection was opened with Congo Free State. On 6 February 1895 the CMB ship Léopoldville was the first to leave port...
(GB) Ltd who registered her in London. In 1923 she was transferred to Compagnie Maritime Belge
Compagnie Maritime Belge
-History:The CMB was founded in 1895 under the name Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo . At the request of Leopold II of Belgium and with support from British investors, a maritime connection was opened with Congo Free State. On 6 February 1895 the CMB ship Léopoldville was the first to leave port...
(Lloyd Royal) SA and registered in Antwerp, Belgium.
In 1926 she was sold to Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway
The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway was one of the Big Four broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina...
Co (A. Holland & Co) who registered her in London as Azul. In 1935 she was sold to Kaye, Son & Co, who sold her on in 1936. Her new owners, Georgian Steam Navigation Co Ltd (Frank S. Dawson & Co Ltd) renamed her David Dawson. In 1937 she was sold to J.A. Coulouthros and N.N. Embiricos, Andros who registered her in Greece as Penteli.
In 1939 she was sold to Brockley Hill Steamship Co Ltd who registered her in London as Brockley Hill. This was a one-ship company set up to own her by Counties Ship Management
Counties Ship Management
Counties Ship Management Co. Ltd. was an ocean-going merchant shipping company based in the United Kingdom. During the Second World War CSM merchant ships made a substantial contribution to supplying the British war effort, at a cost of 13 ships lost and 163 officers and men killed.-Founding of...
. Both companies were offshoots of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking firm.
Sinking
Brockley Hill left MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as a member of convoy HX-133
HX convoys
The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom...
on 12 June 1941 with a cargo of grain for London. At 2106 hrs on 29 June U-651 torpedoed and sank her in the North Atlantic southeast of Cape Farewell
Cape Farewell
Cape Farewell can mean:* Cape Farewell, New Zealand, northernmost point of the South Island.* Cape Farewell, Greenland, southernmost point in the territory of Greenland....
in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. Another British cargo steamship in the convoy, James Nourse Ltd's SS Saugor, rescued all hands and landed them at Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
in Scotland.
Replacement ship
In 1947 CSM acquired the 7,082 ton Empire ShipEmpire ship
The Empire ships were a series of ships in the service of the British Government. Their names were all prefixed with "Empire". Mostly they were used during World War II by the Ministry of War Transport , who owned the ships but contracted out their management to various shipping lines. Some ships...
and renamed her Brockley Hill. She was sold in 1950 and changed hands again in 1951, being renamed Starcrest. She changed owners and names twice more, was laid up in Turkey in 1962 and scrapped there in 1970.