Salving of ss Glasgow, February 1918

[Archer]

Help please!

 

HMS London Belle, Queen Empress, Southend Belle, Duchess of Kent, Clacton Belle; HM Hopper Watcher; and HM Tugs Diligent, Firm, and Advice, were awarded Salvage Money for the salvage of s.s. Glasgow between 15 to 20 Feb 1918.

 

Anybody know the story? What happened...

 

Extract from The Quarterly Navy List, October 1919, p. 2410

[wightspirit]

Here's a start: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/b3a1e2ec-0f9d-4306-a7e0-6a076a109f70

 

If you contact the Hydrographic Office they'll send what they have - free of charge.

 

Dave W

[Archer]

Thank you Dave, that’s a fantastic lead! If I can trespass on your time a little longer, why does the Hydrographic Office keep these records?

[wightspirit]

Good question - I don't know the answer but someone on this forum might. It's not entirely clear why they keep them rather than TNA, but probably something to do with their responsibilities re charting  coastal waters. As there were so many 'new' wrecks during WW1, many of which were inshore and in shallow water, they had a particular interest in keeping the seaways safe for navigation.  I've obtained a number of reports held by them and some of the vessels were sunk in deep water, the precise positions being unknown, and it's unclear why they've held files on these losses. Having had a look at some of them now it seems to me there is Admiralty influence, so perhaps they and the Royal Navy were closely allied during the war, but I'm guessing.

 

The good news is that these reports often contain information which provides new leads for research, so they're worth obtaining.

 

Dave W

[Archer]

Thank you! I'll give it a bash. I wonder if they are back at their desks yet... 

[Talesofaseadog]

Fantastic link to the Hydrographer.

I have been researching the Royal Navy Salvage Section and specifically RFA Racer.

4 of the records they hold are relevant and I will ask for them.

The RNSS did not get salvage money and I suspect that these records relate to that aspect of the work.

Other ships did get paid, to encourage them, ships were in very short supply.

Tony

[Archer]

On 02/12/2020 at 15:48, wightspirit said:

Here's a start: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/b3a1e2ec-0f9d-4306-a7e0-6a076a109f70

 

If you contact the Hydrographic Office they'll send what they have - free of charge.

 

Dave W

Hi Dave.

 

The service from the Hydrographic Office was incredibly swift and friendly, but - as our American cousins say - I lucked out. Here is the total content of the file.

 

Any idea what NL stands for?

[wightspirit]

That is indeed unfortunate. All the ones I’ve obtained run to 3 or 4 pages. You could try searching the National Archives website using the reference HCA (Higher Court if Admiralty) to see if there was a salvage claim. I can only guess at what NL means - but it seems some pages are missing from the pdf sent to you.   Dave W

[Archer]

Thanks Dave. I've run HCA and Glasgow through Discovery but nothing for my date range.

 

Onwards and ever upwards

[Guest]

Is there,perhaps, anything in the printed law reports of the Court of Admiralty?- often old reports of cases have  detail in them long after anything manuscript has gone.

   Some of the ships used in the salvage operation had been taken up by Their Lordships during the war and,thus, have ship's logs kept in the Admiralty records at Kew (One might reasonably expect that "Clacton Belle" was not a name chosen by Their Lordships for a Queen Elizabeth Class battleship).  The 3 that I can trace may have some details about what actually happened:

 

 

 

Edited 6 December , 2020 by Guest

[Archer]

Thank you General.

 

I'll have to wait till 2021 I suppose, before I can get a researcher to troll through those logs. I can hardly wait

 

:Cheers:

William

[Guest]

Logs can be pretty dull, I grant you-  telephone directories would be a "right riveting read" by comparison. But they have helped me out before now with odd but crucial details. You will just have to contain your excitement.

[horatio2]

23 hours ago, wightspirit said:

I can only guess at what NL means

NL = Naval Law Division of the Admiralty.

[Archer]

Apologies General horatio2, I see I failed to thank you for your advice. In return let me wish you and yours well over the ‘Festive Season’, and a much improved 2021.

 

:Cheers:

William