SS Gallois - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

SS Gallois of Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, was one of Seven Merchant vessel

Merchant vessel

A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...

which became stranded and then Wrecked on Haisbro 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...

of the Norfolk coast on the 6th August 1941 during the Second World War. The SS Gallois had been part of a convoy with the designation Convoy FS559.

History

The Gallois was a steam merchant ship which was built in 1917 at the Wood, Skinner & Company Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne

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...

, 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 was and 321 feet (97.8 m) long. Her yard Number was No:197. She had been ordered by the Burnett Steam Ship Co. Ltd., (Burnett & Co) of Newcastle upon Tyne

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...

. Her original name was the SS Tynemouth. In 1929 she was sold to Tredegar Associated Collieries & Shipping Co. Ltd (A Capel & Co., Ltd.) of Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. This Company renamed her SS Lord Aberconway. In 1930 she was again sold to Etablissenents Oden de Lubersac who renamed her SS Gallois. The ship was requisitioned in 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...

in July 1940 by the British Government at the start Second World War.

Final voyage

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

London

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 two trawlers, HMS Agate and
HMS 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.

Disaster

There are two accounts of what happened in the early hours of the 6 August 1941. The first is that when Convoy FS 559 was being passed by a northbound convoy. They had come under attacked by German E-boats. The standing instruction for ships in convoy under these circumstances is to scatter in groups, each with their own Royal Navy escort. HMS Agate led her group away and had either lost all notion of her position or the channel buoys had moved. The convoy had been unable to see the Haisborough Light in the poor viability which due to war time restrictions was only illuminated for ten minutes when a convoy was due in the area. This had caused the lead escort difficulty in plotting there position. Soon seven of the vessels were stranded on the sands. The second version and the more likely cause of the ships running aground is that the bad weather conditions, and the strong westerly drift, and the fact that the exact position of the convoy was unavailable; the ships involved just ran aground.

Rescue

The 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...

Lifeboat had been alerted to the unfolding disaster out on Haisbro Sands

Haisborough Sands

at 8:00 am on the 6 August. The Cromer Number 1 boat H F Bailey put out at once with Coxswain

Coxswain

The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...

Henry Blogg

Henry George Blogg GC BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England.Henry Blogg of Cromer is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen"...

in command. The lifeboat arrived at Haisborough Sands at 9:40 am. Above the Lifeboat the crew of H F Bailey could hear the slow drone of RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

aircraft sent to patrol above the stricken convoy. As the lifeboat approached the sands, Blogg and his crew saw the seven big cargo vessels stranded with their backs broke. All that was visible was the ships bridges as the sea broke across their decks

Deck (ship)

A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...

. One of the escort destroyers had already began rescue work using one of her whaler

Whaleboat

A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...

boats. The sea conditions the whaler came up against resulted in twelve of the seaman drowning by the time the lifeboat arrived.
Before attending to the Gallois the lifeboat took 16 men to safety from the SS Oxshott. Coxswain Blogg then took the H F Bailey alongside the Galloise. The steamer was still just above water and her engines were still running. Blogg held the lifeboat alongside the ship, head to the wind, while some of the crew jumped aboard and others slid down ropes. One of the crew fell into the sea but was hauled out by one of the lifeboat men, unharmed. In total the H F Bailey rescued 31 men from the SS Gallois which with the crew from the Oxshott meant she was now carrying 47 rescued seamen. The lifeboat left the sands and transferred the rescued men to a nearby destroyer. The H F Bailey then returned to the sands, her work not yet completed.

Awards

Coxswain Henry Blogg and his crew were recognised for their bravery on the service to Convoy FS559 at an award ceremony held at the Regal Cinema in Hans Place, Cromer. The ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Sir John Cunningham KCB and a large audience. Ironically the proceedings were interrupted by the lifeboat being called out to service. After a short while it was announced that the call-out had been cancelled and the ceremony continued. Henry Blogg received a second bar to his Gold Medal and he was also awarded the British Empire Medal

British Empire Medal

The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...

. Jack Davis was awarded the RNLI

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....

silver medal, as did coxswain Charles Johnson of the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat

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:...

. Several other members of the Cromer crew were awarded Bronze Medals.

Position of the wreck of the SS Gallois today

at a depth of 7 m (23 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 Lifeboat Crew

The Rescue of the SS GalloisThe Cromer Lifeboats, by Bob Malster & Peter Stibbons,:Poppyland Publishing, ISBN 0 946 148 21 X
H. F. Bailey Cromer Lifeboat H F Bailey ON 694 H F Bailey was the second lifeboat at Cromer in the county of Norfolk to bear the name of H F Bailey. She replaced H F Bailey which had been stationed at Cromer until 1924. In 1936 she became the station's reserve lifeboat and was renamed J B Proudfoot.-Description:The lifeboat was built by J....
Name	Rank
Henry G Blogg Henry Blogg Henry George Blogg GC BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England.Henry Blogg of Cromer is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen"...	Coxswain
J J Davis Snr	Second Coxswain
W T Davis	Bowman
H W Davis	Mechanic
W Davis	Assistant Mechanic
Henry “shrimp” Davies Henry Thomas Davies Henry "Shrimp" Thomas Davies BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England. “Shrimp” Davies, as he was affectionately known was one of Cromer Lifeboat's longest serving coxswain. He retired as coxswain in February 1976. He had joined the crew of the Cromer...	Signaller
Edward W "Boy Primo" Allen	Signaller
J R Davis	crew
Robert "Skinback" Cox	crew
C Harrison
L Harrison
L Harrison

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.