SS Hilda
Encyclopedia
SS Hilda was a steamship owned by the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
. She was used on the Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
- Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
- St Malo service until she sank in 1905 with the loss of 125 lives.
Construction
Hilda was built by Aitkin & Mansel, WhiteinchWhiteinch
Whiteinch is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
at a cost of £33,000. She was yard number 117 and was launched in July 1882. Completion was in January 1883. Hilda was 235 in 6 in (71.78 m) long, with a beam of 29 in 1 in (8.86 m) and a depth of 14 in 2 in (4.32 m). Hilda was powered by two 220 hp compound steam engines which were made by John and James Thompson and Company, Glasgow. They had cylinders of 37 inches (94 cm) and 69 inches (175.3 cm) bore by 39 inches (99.1 cm) stroke. The 1894-fitted boilers were made by Day, Summers and Company, of the Northam Iron Works, Southampton. These gave her a speed of 14 knots (27.4 km/h). She was 848 GRT, and had a licenced passenger capacity of 566. Hilda carried six lifeboats
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
with a capacity of 348 people, as well as 12 lifebuoys and 318 lifejackets.
Service
Hilda completed her sea trials on 13 January 1883 and was handed over to the LSWR that day. She was employed on the Southampton - Jersey - St Malo Service. On 7 October 1890, she was replaced by on that service and transferred to the direct service between Southampton and St Malo. In 1894, new boilers were fitted by Day, Summers and Company and electric light was fitted throughout the ship.Sinking
Hilda had left SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
at 22:00 on 17 December 1905 on her regular service to Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. She was carrying 103 passengers. Thick fog forced her to anchor off Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Yarmouth is a port and civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of mainland England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
to await better weather conditions. The voyage was resumed at 06:00 on 18 December. Hilda passed through the Race of Alderney
Alderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
at 12:30 and after leaving Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
behind the weather conditions worsened. By 18:00, Hilda was approaching St Malo. The light from the town were visible, as was the Jardin Lighthouse but snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
squall
Squall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed which is usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to an increase in the sustained winds over a short time interval, as there may be higher gusts during a squall event...
s reduced visibility and Captain Gregory was forced to abandon the attempt to reach port.
Several times the visibility improved briefly but then deteriorated. Hilda was forced to abandon each attempt to reach port. Around 23:00, the visibility improved again and another attempt to enter the harbour was made. A few minutes later, Hilda struck the Pierre de Portes rocks, which lie to the west of the entrance channel to St Malo harbour. Distress rockets were fired and the passengers donned their lifejackets. Attempts were made to launch the lifeboats, but five of them either could not be launched or were dashed to pieces on the rocks. The sixth washed up at Saint-Cast-le-Guildo
Saint-Cast-le-Guildo
Saint-Cast-le-Guildo is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Saint-Cast-le-Guildo are called castins.-External links:* *...
, some 15 miles (24.1 km) west of St Malo. The tide was ebbing, and Hilda broke in two some 15 minutes after running aground. About 20 or 30 people on the stern part of the wreck managed to climb the rigging to await rescue. By 09:00 on 18 November, when they were discovered by SS Ada, only six remained. A total of 125 people had died. Amongst the dead were 70 Breton "Onion Johnnies"
Onion Johnny
Onion Johnny is the nickname given to the Breton farmers and agricultural laborers that sell distinctive pink onions door-to-door in Great Britain.They finally adapt this nickname for themselves as ar Johniged or ar Johnniged in Breton language....
returning from selling produce in England.
Captain William Gregory had been employed by London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
for 36 years. He joined the company in 1869 at the age of 20. His first command was in 1880. In 1885, he was appointed as master of Hilda. The only surving crew member was able-bodied seaman James Grinter. He had been twice shipwrecked before. The five surviving passengers were Olivier Caroff of Roscoff
Roscoff
Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....
, Tanguy Laot of Cléder
Cléder
Cléder is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Cléder are called in French Clédérois.-Internation relations:Cléder is twinned with Ashburton, Herleshausen and Taninges.-References:*...
, Jean Louis Mouster of La Feuillée
La Feuillée
La Feuillée is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of La Feuillée are called in French Feuillantins.-References:** ;-External links:* *...
, Paul-Marie Pen of Cléder and Louis Rozec of Plouzévédé
Plouzévédé
Plouzévédé is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-References:** -External links:*...
.
Another London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
steamer, SS Stella
SS Stella
Stella was a passenger ferry in service with the London and South Western Railway that was wrecked on 30 March 1899 off the Casquets during a crossing from Southampton, to Guernsey.-Construction:...
, was wrecked on The Casquets, Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, on 30 March 1899 with 112 fatalities. On 21 February 1907 the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
suffered the loss of SS Berlin, wrecked off the Hook of Holland with 141 fatalities.
Inquiry
An inquiry was held under The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 into the circumstances of the loss of Hilda. It was held at the Caxton Hall, Caxton St, LondonLondon
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...
with the Court of Inquiry sitting on 1, 2 and 8 February 1906. The inquiry found that the ship was seaworthy, with lifesaving equipment provision meeting the legislated standard of the time. There was no finding of recklessness or negligence on the part of Captain Gregory.
The wreck today
The remains of Hilda lie at 48°40.49′N 2°5.72′W in 25 metres (82 ft) of water at high tide. The engines, boilers, propellor shaft and some ironwork remain. The propellor was removed in 1997 and is on display in DinardDinard
Dinard is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a popular holiday destination, and this has resulted in the town having a variety of famous visitors and residents...
. In November 2005, an exhibition was held in St Malo commemorating the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck. On 19 November, flowers were cast upon the water at the wreck site in memory of the victims, and some divers placed a string of onions on the wreck in memory of the Onion Johnnies. A memorial service was held in St Malo Cathedral on 20 November.