Basil Forward’s CRS10
Basil Forward joined the Merchant Navy
as an MR Boy, 18th December 1939.
His second engagement on a ship was the SAUTERNES
He boarded her 11th June 1941; and 29th
August 1941.
SAUTERNES
Built 1922 Ateliers &
Chantiers de la Seine Maritime
For Worms & Co, Havre
She was in the 1942/43 Lloyd's
Register,
Listed as owned by Ministry of
War Transport,
and managed by O. Dorey &
Sons, Plymouth.
She had been allocated
Official Number 65895.
1,049 tons; 215.8 ft x 30.4 ft
x 12.5 ft
Machinery aft, triple
expansion engine; 144 nhp
SAUTERNES’
Log shows the following voyages,
and I show Basil Forward’s CRS 10 entries for comparison.
[F] Foreign ports; [H] Home ports.
Entries are transcribed “as is”
SAUTERNES 20 June 1941
Devonport, Falmouth, Cardiff
arrived 22 June 1941,
Barry
Basil joined crew "SANTERNES" Plymouth 11 June
1941 - to Cardiff
arr 29th June 1941 [F]
Basil joined crew of WEST COASTER 6th July 1941 at Falmouth arr
Cardiff 27th July 1941 [F] WEST COASTER - ON 166333
SAUTERNES 11 Aug 1941 put back
in Barry with Steering breakdown
SAUTERNES 16 Aug 1941 Clyde, Barry
SAUTERNES 24 Aug 1941 Oban, Dunnet, Methil Roads
- she must have called in at Cardiff
Basil joined "SANTERNE" at Cardiff 29th August 1941 [H]
SAUTERNES 31 Aug 1941 London (
damaged, struck pier at Tilbury )
SAUTERNES 14 Sep 1941 Sunderland
SAUTERNES 19 Sep 1941 Methil Roads
SAUTERNES 1 Oct 1941 Inverness
SAUTERNES 18 Oct 1941 Leith
SAUTERNES 23 Oct 1941 Methil Roads, "Thors", "Kirkw"
Thors=Thorshavn, Faroes; Kirkw=Kirkwall, Orkneys
SAUTERNES 22 Nov 1941 arrived
Leith departed 30 Nov 1941
Basil was discharged from SAUTERNES 25th November 1941 at
Leith
LYLEPARK Discharge 4th
Dec 1941 at Penzance
Basil was declared unfit for work from 4th Dec 1941 to
26th June 1942
I assume he had had an accident whilst in Northern waters.
However, for
him, this was very fortunate.
SAUTERNES was being loaded
with supplies for the British garrison on the Faroe Islands. The cargo included
3,000 gallons of petrol, military supplies and 250 tons of food (including
whisky and Christmas puddings ). She also had, in a steel case (bolted to the
floor in the Captain’s cabin), 22,500 Danish Kroner in coins, which had been
specially minted in Britain. Denmark was now in occupied Europe.
SAUTERNES departed 2nd
December 1941 to Faroe Islands, with 19 crew, 5 gunners and 1 passenger. She
was escorted by Royal Navy armed trawler HMT KERRERA.
By evening on the 6th
December, they had reached the Faroes. The winds were now a force 10 westerly.
Because they had been driven well to the northeast, they were unable to get to
Tørshavn. SAUTERNES and KERRERA attempted to shelter in Viðvík, on the coast of
Viðoy. Captain W Smith sent a message to the Naval Headquarters in Tørshavn
that they were in Fugløfjord. The
message was misread, believing it to read Fuglefjord (a safe anchorage).
They were ordered to drop anchor. The wind changed to the northwest and
increased to hurricane. They were driven out of Viðvík and towards the open
sea.
The next morning, Sunday 7th
December 1941, a storm raged and KERRERA and SAUTERNES (her bridge was already
bent over and lying on the deck) were fighting for survival. SAUTERNES dragged
her anchor and was swamped by giant waves; in the Firth Fugloyarfjørður she was
taken down, bow first. Rafts had been launched but were soon taken under by the
waves, and the five men who were on them.
She was “believed sunk on 7th
Dec 1941, near Svino Faroe Islands, in a gale while carrying a general cargo
from Leith to Thorshavn”.
Bodies and wreckage washed
ashore at Svino on 8th Dec.
No one survived.
HMT
KERRERA did survive the storm, however.
She was one of four Isle Class
RN Trawlers loaned to Norway,
and based at Kirkenes,
Varangerfjorden.
Employed mainly in
Minesweeping duties.
HMT KERRERA
T200
Isle Class; 545 grt; 164 ft x
27.5 ft x 10.5 ft; Complement of 40.
Built 1941 Paisley Fleming & Ferguson; Yard Nr 577
Completed 24th
September 1941
1 x VTE recoprocating engine;
850 ihp;12 knots
6/7th December
1941; Sustained severe damage off the Faroes
August 1944 Loaned to Norwegian
Navy; Renamed OKSØY
4th August 1944 to
25th Feb 19 1945 under C/O R Carlsen.
Up until May 1945 under C/O H
Hansen.
1946 Returned; placed on
Disposal List
1946 Sold mercantile; Renamed
JASON; Loss 1st March 1950.
SHIANT T-170; Renamed JELØY
Up until 23rd March
1945 under Commanding Officer J Andersen.
Until May 1945 under
Commanding Officer P Hermansen.
1946 Sold mercantile ARTEMIS;
Lost 31st July 1960
INCHMARNOCK T-166; Renamed KARMØY
Commanding Officer W Jensen.
1947 Sold mercantile TILTHORN;
1952 NADOR; 1955 SERVANNAISE.
MINCARLO T-388; Renamed TROMØY (III)
Commanding Officer O Jensen
1948 Sold
mercantile KRISTIANBORG; 1950 SVERREHUND.
Two more of their Class
T 350 HMT Bryher “partner”
to Mincarlo
T 359 HMT Caldy
Raymond Forward