STORM AND COMPANY
The Family of Christopher Granger Clark 1853-1926 and Hannah Hodgson nee Lothian 1855-1927
Three sons Edward, Lothian and Christopher were lost in WW1 as well as a son-in law, John Hunter, and a nephew, Sampson.
Presentation provided by Anthony Robinson
Edward Clark 1882-1917 & John Hunter 1885-1917 of the SS Vine Branch
SS Vine Branch was originally built for the Clan Line at Sunderland in 1896. By 1915 it was owned by the Nautilus Steam Shipping Company of Sunderland. In that year command was given to John Hunter, with Edward Clark as his boatswain. John Hunter was Edward’s brother-in-law having married his sister Mary Hannah Clark 1890-1973 in 1914.
Both of the two final voyages of the ship were to South America and back involving a complete circumnavigation of the continent In April 1916 the ship left Liverpool calling at Glasgow and London, and headed for the Pacific coast of South America via the newly opened Panama Canal It traded all the way down the west coast of South America picking up nitrates form Chile. They returned round Cape Horn to Liverpool, via Rio de Janeiro and Las Palmas, arriving in late September 1916. By all accounts the voyage was relatively quiet.
A month later, on 25th October 1916, both John Hunter and Edward Clark signed on for the next voyage. This followed a similar route to the previous voyage, again picking up a cargo of nitrates from Chile. The only difference this time was that, having refrigeration capacity, they picked up frozen beef, presumably from Argentina. Their final port of call was at Dakar on the west tip of Africa on March 23rd 1917.
On 6th April, somewhere to the south west of Ireland, they encountered the German submarine U55. The only account available is from the submarine, which states that they fired two torpedoes at the Vine Branch and missed. The Vine Branch then attempted to ram them, possibly damaging the periscope. The submarine then surfaced and engaged the Vine Branch with gunfire, and presumably more torpedoes. All 44 crew aboard Vine Branch were killed although one German report indicated that John Hunter had survived, but it turned out to be untrue. This would suggest that an explosion probably occurred. With the nitrate on board in powder form, this would have been a distinct possibility
Lothian Clark 1886-1916 SS Conch First Officer
SS Conch was built by Swan Hunter at Wallsend in 1909 as a bulk tanker for the Anglo Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd, (Shell), hence the name. Like all early tankers the bridge and officer accommodation was amidships with the engine room and crew quarters at the stern. She weighed 5620 tons gross.
Her final voyage began when she left Tilbury on 28th October 1916 for the Far East, where they coasted for several months calling at Singapore and Calcutta among other ports. The shipment of liquid benzene for the voyage home was loaded at Rangoon They left on 27th October 1916 bound for Thameshaven
The following is a summary of events taken from two statements the Chief Engineer of the SS Conch, who survived the sinking, gave to the Board of Trade and Admiralty within four days of the sinking.
The Conch called at Gibraltar on 29th November to receive route instructions for the passage to London. Warnings of submarine activity in the English Channel had been picked up by wireless on 6th December.
All went well with the ship proceeding at 10 knots until somewhere off Portland Bill at about 10.30 pm on 7th December when a sudden explosion shook the ship, which listed to port and then righted itself. The Chief Engineer immediately went to the engine room and found everything in order with the 4th Engineer on watch. He called the other two engineers who reported that the ship was ablaze. The explosion must have ruptured the tank tops and sent a column of burning oil over the bridge. Telegraph contact with the bridge was tried but no reply was forthcoming. The Chief Engineer believed that all on the bridge would have been killed instantly. The engineers kept the ship going to prevent burning oil collecting round the ship. Four Chinese crew members also took shelter in the engine room.
They remained below until about 12.30 am when the 2nd engineer managed to get out through the stokehold and everyone else followed. The bridge was totally burned out and the forward tanks were still ablaze. All the lifeboats had been swung out earlier as a precaution, but all of them were gone. The Chief Engineer was not sure if men had escaped in them or they had been burnt.
A small boat was found in the well deck and they got it into the water. The Chief Engineer and the Chinese got in but the 4th Engineer drowned in the attempt as his hands were so badly burned that he could not hold the rope. The rope then broke and the boat drifted astern of the ship which was still proceeding up Channel with the other two engineers aboard. They made a raft and jumped overboard at about 4.00 am and were picked up later.
The Chief Engineer and his Chinese companions were picked up at about 2.0 am by SS Rattray Head, which also rescued a further five Chinese crew. When last seen by the Chief Engineer the Conch was well down at the bow and gradually sinking. The Chief engineer was unable to confirm if the explosion was caused by a torpedo or a mine.
German documents claim that the Conch was torpedoed by submarine UB 23. Although she was hit off Portland Bill, she travelled a further 20 miles to 12 miles off St Albans Head, near Swanage before sinking. A total of 28 lives were lost.
Christopher Clark 1888-1918 SS Eupion Third Officer
The ship was built in 1914 by Mackay Bros, Alloa, Scotland , as a tanker suitable for carrying petroleum. She was owned by the British Tanker Co of London, and weighed 3575 tons gross, and was capable of a speed of 11 knots.
Her final voyage was from Philadelphia to Limerick, Ireland They left the United States on 5th September 1918 with a complement of 33 men, and carrying about 5000 tons of petroleum. The Atlantic crossing was made in convoy. Approaching Ireland they apparently left the convoy and headed for Limerick independently. On 3rd October 1918 they were torpedoed by the German submarine UB 123, which was on patrol with a sister submarine, about ten miles west of Loop Head at the mouth of the Shannon estuary. No detailed report has been found about the sinking, but a brief summary of events was given by the Chief Engineer.
Eupion was struck by a torpedo at about 3.30pm and sunk within about two minutes. At the time a strong swell was running with a strong SW wind. All the crew managed to get into either a lifeboat or a raft. Eighteen men in the lifeboat were picked up at about 7.30 am the following morning and brought to Fenit, Co Kerry The remaining fifteen men, including Christopher Clark would drift on the raft to the north shore of the Shannon estuary, and only four would survive. Christopher is buried in Kilrush Church of Ireland churchyard.
Sampson Estill Clark 1886-1916, Master of the SS
Framfield
(Nephew of Christopher Granger
Clark)
The following is taken from a statement made by the Chief Officer (Mate) of S S Framfield to the Admiralty on 29th October 1916. She was carrying 3660 tons of iron ore from Port Kelah, Algeria to Middlesbrough
At the time of the event she had no passengers aboard other than a Trinity House pilot. She had sailed from Port Kelah on 11th October. At the time of sailing she was in good condition and well found. She carried two lifeboats and two small boats.
All went well passing Gibraltar the next day. On 20th October we bunkered at Brixham and proceeded to the Downs the following day. At 1.00 pm on 23rd we proceeded to Sunk Head and anchored there at 10.00pm when the vessel was ordered to move anchorage about 20 miles up the Swin Channel. The vessel then returned to Sunk Head which was reached at 6.00 am on the 24th. At 11.00am the vessel was ordered to resume its voyage and steered a course for the Sunk Lightship which it passed at 12.30 pm.
At 12.58 pm the ship was proceeding in a north easterly direction at about 8 knots and 3 miles north east of the Sunk Lightship. The pilot and 2nd Mate were on the bridge. A violent explosion occurred aft by No 4 hatch blowing a large portion of the side out. I was standing with the Master on the poop, and was blown down the cabin. The Master was blown across the deck. All hands got into the lifeboats immediately, but the ship sank before they could pull clear, two minutes after the explosion, the suction capsizing boats and dragging all hands down with the ship. Several other steamers in the vicinity lowered boats and picked up the crew with the exception of 7 or 8 including the Master who were probably drowned.
My boat’s crew were picked up by the Norwegian vessel Uno, except a fireman and donkeyman who were drowned. Fourteen survivors including the pilot were picked up by the Uno Others may have been picked up by other boats. All papers were lost with the vessel, and all survivors were landed at Great Yarmouth at 8.30pm by naval patrol boats. It was opined that “the vessel struck a mine, and it could not have been avoided”
A sad postscript is that Sampson’s father, Sampson Estill Clark 1851-1903, had accidentally drowned from a ship in the River Tyne.