Part of the Acorn Archive

Hearts of Oak

 

 

MV San Calisto

 

SAN CALISTO

ON 165406

Built 1937  Lithgows, Port Glasgow

Yard Nr 892

Eagle Oil & Shipping Co.

8,010 grt; 12,150 dwt

462ft 8ins x 61ft 2ins x 33ft 1ins

503 nhp; 13 knots; oilengines.

 

1^st December 1939 Set sail from Hull for Curacao.

On December 2^nd 1939, while under command of Capt A. R. Hicks, she struck mines in the north of the Thames Estuary and sank 2½ miles SW of the Tongue lightship, with the loss of six lives, with seven injured. 

Capt. Hicks was among the survivors.

Christopher John Baxter, steward, died aged 20 on 2^nd Dec 1939.

 

She was the first Eagle Oil fleet loss in WWII;

Eagle Oil lost 16 ships and seven others were damaged during WWII.

 

7^th December 1939 [ Thursday ]

We understand that a Carbis Bay resident, Capt. Albert R. Hicks, was in command of a British tanker, blown up off the East Coast last Friday. Capt. Hicks is the husband of Mrs.May Hicks, who before her marriage was Miss May Stevens, of Nanjizey Terrace, St. Ives. Fortunately Mr. Hicks survived the disaster. It was learnt on Wednesday [ 6^th ] that he had been injured, and was in hospital.

 

Immediately before going to sea on this tanker, Capt. Hicks had command of another vessel of the same type on a dangerous voyage home from South America. He took Mrs. Hicks to sea with him, before war broke out, and keen anxiety was felt by relatives and friends in St. Ives area for her safety. It was only a very short time ago that the tanker arrived safely at Hull, with Mrs. Hicks on board. Soon after arriving Capt. Hicks put to sea again on the ill-fated voyage in which his ship was sunk.

 

This was the second mine barrage by German Destroyers in the Thames estuary,

on the night of  12^th / 13^th  November 1939.

The first was laid 17^th October 1939.

Another 9 were laid, up to the 20^th February 1940.

Operation Destroyers WILHELM HEIDKAMP, HANS LÜDEMANN, HERMANN KÜNNE and KARL GALSTER

 

Ships which were sunk by this mine barrage.

British

MV BLANCHE (13^th Nov), SS PONZANO (13^th Nov), SS MATRA (13^th Nov),

SS WOODTOWN ( 15^th Nov ), SS HOOKWOOD (23^rd Nov),

SS RUBISLAW (28^th Nov), SS SHEAF CREST (30^th Nov),

SS DALRYAN (1^st Dec), MV SAN CALISTO (2^nd Dec), SS MEREL (8^th Dec).

Italian

SS GRAZIA (19^th Nov)

Dutch

SS SPAARNDAM (27^th Nov)

Greek

SS PARALOS (6^th Dec)

Swedish

SS URSUS (15^th Dec)

 

 

 

Raymond Forward