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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

S.S. Apapa, 28 Nov 1917, torpedoed off Anglesey


Andrew Hesketh

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Glad you sorted it out, John.

Just in case you didn't notice his death notice:

The Times, Saturday, Dec 08, 1917

DEATHS

ROPER.- On the 28th Nov., at sea, EDWARD

ALFRED ROPER, District Commissioner, Sierra Leone,

elder son of H. A. and Kate Roper, of 27, St. Savour's-

road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, aged 31.

regards,

Martin

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You're welcome, John. I had the other thread bookmarked from when I was researching Greaser William Taylor, whose Victory Medal I have in my collection.

Glad I could help :)

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  • 9 months later...

My husband, Lee, took this photo a while back which I thought might be of interest to you.

The grave of Victor Edward Davies is at the St. Pancras & Islington Cemetery in London.

post-829-1256581935.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

Hi I am Intrested in finding out more about Thomas Jennings 1918 my greatgrand father was thomas married in Falkland islands in 1907 Proffession Sailor

According to family members he left his wife after 1909

His Fathers name on wedding certificate was Edward his profession was stevedore

I am try to work out how to get more info on T Jennings1918 such as his death certificate and were I would Find it

One Question his Rank/Profession was Boots is that as staight foward as i seems

Thanks for any help

Ange

I have at home a mercentile marine pair to Thomas Jennings,

On th eCWGC site 2 are listed

1 died ww1 in SS Apapa

1 died WW2 in MV Apapa

Any info greatly appreciated.

Regards

James

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According to http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/sl/mem/53_1.htm Thomas jennings on the 1940 Apapa Fathers name was Edward Jennings And Mother Jane

James Harvey : "I have at home a mercentile marine pair to Thomas Jennings, On th eCWGC site 2 are listed

1 died ww1 in SS Apapa

1 died WW2 in MV Apapa"

Here are they are on the OVERSEAS DEATHS: GRO MARINE DEATHS INDICES (1903 - 1965) for 1918 & 1940 from findmypast.com

post-5512-1205404278.jpg

post-5512-1205404318.jpg

were they related - father & son possibly? seems a remarkable coincidence to have two men of the same name lost on a ships with the same name 22 years apart.

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  • 1 year later...

The Gwynedd FHS have indexed the graves in Glanadda Cemetery, Bangor and there was an article about some of the names in the society magazine. I have been going through the names to get some more details.

One does not seem to be on the newspaper shown above, must have another look at the newspaper coverage in daylight. She was Ida Mabel JOHNSON, wife of Edward Odlum Johnson who was the Colonial Treasurer for Sierra Leone. He is shown in the newspaper list don't see her. If she died a few days later then it could explain a discrencancy between the date of the sinking and the date of her death on her probate. It would also explain why her probate is shown but not her husband's probate if he died first.

Need to do some more work in daylight!

MB

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Fairly sure now that Edward Odlum JOHNSON was not on the APAPA.

His wife's death has been entered on the BMD once as Ida Mabel JOHNSON and then twice as Mrs E O JOHNSON.

MB

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  • 11 months later...

There is a lot of entries for the ship on British Local Papers on FMP - I think it is the same as British Newspaper Archives.

Obviously local papers carry information on local death, or survivals

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  • 2 years later...
  • 1 year later...

Hi,

 

I work for Bangor University and am leading and coordinating multibeam surveys of many WW1 and WW2 wrecks around the Welsh coast.  Thought you'd like to see the Apapa.

 

Apapa.jpg

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11 hours ago, Michael James Roberts said:

Hi,

 

I work for Bangor University and am leading and coordinating multibeam surveys of many WW1 and WW2 wrecks around the Welsh coast.  Thought you'd like to see the Apapa.

 

Apapa.jpg

Thanks for posting Michael.  Very interesting to see it's still so complete.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Depends on the state of the tide (tidal range around 5-6m) so the seabed colured yellow/green is around 45-50m and the darker blue/purple depressions are 12m deeper.  The top of the hull sticks up (in red) by around 8m. 

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Thank you. I suppose you have seen this?

the link won@t post so I will try copy paste the info.

Edited by johnboy
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THE SINKING OF THE R.M.S. "APAPA."
 
   IT was towards 4 o'clock on the morning of November 28th, 1917, with a choppy sea running - cold, dark and wintry - that the R.M.S. Apapa, one of the 7,000 ton mail steamers of the Elder Dempster fleet, was steaming a good 13½ knots off Point Lynas, bound to Liverpool from West Africa.

   Everyone was in bed; no one save the lynx-eyed officers of the watch and their men, were astir. No doubt to many on the ship the sleep that morning was one of calm contentment, for in another six hours the ship would be safely alongside Liverpool Landing Stage. She had on board 119 passengers, 132 of a crew, mails, and a full cargo of African produce. The Apapa left Sierra Leone in convoy. In due course the convoy was met by six destroyers. some of the vessels were bound for the English Channel, and the remainder - the Apapa, City of Glasgow, and Circassia - were bound for Liverpool.

 

 

   Three of the destroyers accompanied the English Channel vessels, and the other three escorted the Liverpool-bound ships, and remained with them until about 6-30 p.m. on November, 27th, when they signalled that the three merchantmen were to proceed independently; the destroyers then left, probably going into Milford. The three vessels kept in company until 10 p.m., when the Apapa lost sight of the other two. She proceeded alone, making about 13½ knots, zigzagging, and rounded the Skerries in safety. In accordance with instructions received at Sierra Leone, she steered a course to pass Point Lynas at a distance of about two miles. The weather at the time was bright moonlight, with a strong westerly breeze and rough sea. The Commander, Captain James T. Toft, was on the bridge with the second and fourth officers and an apprentice. There were four look-outs, and the gun-crew were at their posts.
   Suddenly the Apapa shook from stem to stern, and the passengers were thrown from their bunks. "The ship has struck something" was the cry as they rushed on deck. She was sinking, that was evident enough, but fortunately she was settling down on an even keel. The engines were stopped to take the "way" off the ship. Rockets were fired, illuminating temporarily the impenetrable darkness of that wintry morning. Captain toft ordered the boats to be lowered away; that was a comparatively eask task while the ship maintained a fairly even keel, though she took a slight list to starboard.
   The cries of women and children were heartrending and were the only sounds that broke the stillness of that early morning, save perhaps the noise of escaping steam. Close examination proved that a torpedo had rent a huge hole in the starboard side, right aft.
   Most of the passengers and crew were in the boats when the figure of a man suddenly disappeared down a companion-way. His errard was one from which he never returned. He was Mr. Harragin, of the Gold Coast Customs, who was coming home with his wife to spend a well-earned rest in England, looking forward to spending Christmas in the old country. He had gone to the cabin to try and save his wife who was lying ill with black-water fever.
   He made an attempt to carry her on deck, but she declared herself too ill and weak to be moved. "Very well," replied Mr. Harragin, quietly; "I will stay with you." He did so - and they passed into the "Great Unknown" together. It is a much too sacred thing to speculate upon the feelings of that hero as he sat there beside his wife, awaiting death. But what a death! Let us picture in our mind's eye husband and wife clasped in each other's arms, who knows! - maybe taking a last long embrace on this earth - and then a sudden rush of water into their cabin, and then . . . .
   When almost everyone was safely in the life-boats, and the Apapa was steadily sinking - still maintaining an even keel - a white streak cut through the water towards tthe ship - another explosion - columns of water shot up ans swamped some of the boats, with a waterfall effect; other boats, all filled with survivors, which happened to be in the wake of the second torpedo were crashed to atoms, and alas, the occupants also.
   But the worst was still to come, the second torpedo found its mark also on the starboard side, but more forward than the first. As soon as the ship was struck a second time she heeled over to starboard, lay on the surface for a second or so, and then took her final plunge, going down stern first.
   In heeling over, the funnel caught a life-boat containing thirty people which, with its living freight, was sent beneath the waves. Other life-boats became entangled in the wireless ariels, while others were smashed by the masts falling upon them; thus is explained the large loss of life which accompanies this ocean tragedy.
   It might be thought that along period intervened between the time when the Apapa was hit and her final plunge. As a matter of fact, from the time the ship was struck until she disappeared only ten minutes elapsed.
   The remaining life-boats pulled away from the scene of the disaster, though one returned to pick up Captain Toft, who after the ship had sunk beneath him, was seen clinging to an up-turned boat. The Commander maintained, to the highest degree, that glorious tradition of British seamanship which impels a Commander to remain on the bridge of his ship until she sinks.
   Six life-boats in all were undamaged and remained afloat, but owing to the roughness of the sea, they were unable to cruise round for the purpose of picking up those still struggling in the water. For about two hours the survivors drifted about, until succour arrived, steam drifters coming to their assistance, and eventually landing them at Holyhead. Captain toft endeavoured to keep the boats together, but when the drifters arrived it was found that one boat was missing. The worst was feared, but fortunately this life-boat was picked up by a passing steamer and the occupants landed at Liverpool.
   But the toll! Out of a complement of 251 passengers and crew, over 70 lives were lost, 40 of whom were passengers.

   No doubt the Huns celebrated another "victory" on board their craft that morning, for it was wonderful into what extravagances their search for the destruction of innocent lives betrayed their judgment

Seems this was taken from the Elder Dempster Book..

Edited by johnboy
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The u boat U 96 [I think] attacked two vessels that day.

Whilst researching another Elders ship i found that on the outward leg the guns were taken off at Dakar. On the return leg they stopped there again to have the guns fitted. Not always did they get the same guns which leads me to believe that either the guns were moved complete with mountings or just the guns.The mountings if left on board must have been compatible with different guns. if just the guns were removed then again the mountings must have been capable of taking more than one size of gun.

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Many thanks for this.  Poigniant that the centenary of this is only a few hours away.  Not aware any official commemorations of this event are planned.  Had the weather not be forecast as it is we would have been on site with the R.V. Prince Madog in the early hours of Tuesday 28th Nov and would have held a minutes silence.  This incident must have had the highest loss of life in WW1 in welsh waters associated with it yes?

Edited by Michael James Roberts
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  • 3 months later...

Hi, sorry to have to ask, for various reasons that I can't go into just yet......has anyone got any advice on where I could obtain a more detailed idea as to the cargo the Apapa was carrying.....for info it's nothing to do with any potential 'treasure hunting' activities.....I'm particularly interested into any ivory that would have been aboard and what form this would have taken (e.g. complete tusks or processed sections).

 

For interest we are still surveying this vessel....was over the site last Friday.  Also here are another couple of images from our multibeam data one from a grid model of the site and another showing the wider area....Apapa is in the lower right hand corner (a lot of time and effort to produce this).

Apapa digital past.jpg

skerries2.jpg

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If you can get to Kew there are some files on APAPA (Official Number 136797) for 1917 in the BT series (Board of Trade).

I see that there are a few files concerning claims on lost cargo and settled in Jan 1918. These are in the BT365 series.

There are also a few Ship's Logs for 1917 in BT165, though they seem to end in Sept voyage.

There may also be a file on the loss with more consolidated info on it's cargoes.

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