Stephen Nulty Posted 11 July , 2006 Share Posted 11 July , 2006 PaAls One of the men I am researching, Harry Reginald Vercoe, died on 15/09/1918. CWGC has him on the above ship. I'm struggling to find anything about the ship or what may have happened on that day. Grateful for anything that you can supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spithead Posted 11 July , 2006 Share Posted 11 July , 2006 Hi Stephen KENDAL CASTLE was torpedoed without warning and sunk by the German submarine UB-103 four miles S.E. of Berry Head on September 15th 1918. Casualties were 18 including the master. She was built in 1910, a 3,885 gross tons steamship owned by the Lancashire Shipping Co. Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted 11 July , 2006 Share Posted 11 July , 2006 Hi Stephen, Just a little further information to add to what John has already told you. Re: Kendal Castle: Managed by James Cambers & Co., Liverpool and owned by Lancashire Shipping Co. Ltd. She was enroute from Le Harve to Cardiff in ballast. Regards Arthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Nulty Posted 11 July , 2006 Author Share Posted 11 July , 2006 Arthur Many thtnaks for the information, it's just what I needed. That's what I love about the forum - you have a query that you can't resolve, so you post it on GWF. pop out for the afternoon, and when you return, all your questions are answered. Now what are tomorrow's lottery numbers going to be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Lowrey Posted 11 July , 2006 Share Posted 11 July , 2006 The sinking of Kendal Castle has recently been reassessed and credited to UB 104. Best wishes, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historydavid Posted 11 July , 2006 Share Posted 11 July , 2006 Stehen, according to A. J. Tennent in British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-boats in the 1914-1918 War the Kendal Castle was owned by Chambers, James & Co - Liverpool and managed by Lancashire Shipping Co Ltd. Best wishes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Nulty Posted 12 July , 2006 Author Share Posted 12 July , 2006 Thanks for the additonal information, chaps. Michael....I'm intrigued by your comments. Who carried out this reassessment and why? Is there any "official" credence to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Lowrey Posted 12 July , 2006 Share Posted 12 July , 2006 Stephen, Both UB 103 and UB 104 sailed and did not return home (lost with no survivors). The key to determining which one sank Kendal Castle and Gibel Hamam is how you view the loss of UB 103. UB 103 sail on her sixth patrol on August 14, 1918 from Flanders. The British claim made immediately postwar, based upon the Royal Navy's incomplete knowledge of German submarine operations, was that she was sunk on September 16 off Griz Nez. There was also a British claim that the wreck was found by divers. From an U-boat operations standpoint, this is an extremely ugly attribution. Flanders-based boats didn't do 33 day plus patrols going through Dover. The longest patrol for a Flanders UBIII-based operating through Dover that returned home was only 22 days. UB 103's orders where to stay out no more than 18 days. UB 103's commander was Kplt. Paul Hundius, an extremely able and aggressive submarine commander. Just after UB 103 sailed for the final time, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. The only sinkings linked to UB 103 on her final patrol are the Gibel Hamam and Kendal Castle on Septemebr 14 and 15 respectively. The attribution seems to be a case of working backward from a presumption that UB 103 was sunk off Griz Nez on the 16th. Robert Grant examined the September 16 claim in his recent book U-Boat Hunters. He rejects it, noting the excess patrol length. Grant also examined British primary source documents. These show that the Ropyal Navy did NOT find an U-boat wreck when they searched the area where UB 103 was supposed sunk. The official German history by Admiral Arno Spindler also notes the excess patrol length and does not accept the British claim. (The Gibel Hamam and Kendal Castle attributions (like all others) actually come from Spindler, but this is a misinterpretation -- Spindler says that IF the Griz Nez claim where true THEN UB 103 could be credited with the two sinkings.) A few years ago, Dr. Axel Niestlé (author of German U-Boat Losses During World War II) and I sorted through the Flanders UBIII losses. Axel had done some research in this area as part of an effort to identify an UBIII found off the Cornwall coast for a TV program. I was working with Belgian divers to identify a number of UBIIIs off the coast there. We agreed, and I have no doubt that Robert Grant would concur, that the sinkings of Gibel Hamam and Kendal Castle should be credited to UB 104. (We also agreed that UB 103 in all likelihood hit a mine soon after sailing and is one of the UBIII found by divers off the Flanders coast. The locations match British minefields lain in June and July 1918.) UB 104 sailed on September 6 for the English Channel via the north of Scotland (not through Dover). She radioed after crossing the Northern Barrage and is credited by Spindler with a number of sinkings, beginning on September 16 with the Ethel, which was sunk very near where Kendal Castle went down. Best wishes, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Smith Posted 6 January , 2009 Share Posted 6 January , 2009 My name is David Smith and I am the Grandson of the first officer, Henry Stuart Gray Smith of the Kendal Castle. I have some detail of my Grandfather including a photograph of him in uniform. I also have a photo of the Kendal Castle. Other details include her current location off Berry Head. I am sure that this information is known by many who are interested in her but I would be appreciative of any further detail which I may not have Sincerely, David Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 6 January , 2009 Share Posted 6 January , 2009 Welcome to the forum David Here is the UK National Archives, Kew, research guide to Merchant Seamen: Officers' Service Records 1845-1965. As chief officer you grandfather probably had a mate's and master's certificate. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalog...?sLeafletID=131 Both Vercoe and Smith would have been eligable for the Mercantile Marine and british War Medals; if their family claimed them the index cards are on microfiche at Kew in BT 351. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulSeed Posted 20 February , 2009 Share Posted 20 February , 2009 My name is David Smith and I am the Grandson of the first officer, Henry Stuart Gray Smith of the Kendal Castle. I have some detail of my Grandfather including a photograph of him in uniform. I also have a photo of the Kendal Castle. Other details include her current location off Berry Head. I am sure that this information is known by many who are interested in her but I would be appreciative of any further detail which I may not have Sincerely, David Smith Hi David, I recently visited a pub on the Isle of Wight which is filled with shipping artefacts... one of the items is the steering 'column'/machine from SS Kendal Castle. This prompted me to search on the internet, where I found your posting. I won't publish the pub details here, but if you'd like to know more, please message me. I also took some pictures. Regards, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrecktec Posted 21 February , 2009 Share Posted 21 February , 2009 Found these men who died with her, but the other nine are missing from my files for some unknown reason ? BATH, Stanley Rossiter 4th Engineer MM SS Kendal Castle (Liverpool) drowned 15.9.18 CHING LING Chief Steward MM SS Kendal Castle 15.9.18 HANNAH, Frederick William Master MM Kendal Castle (Liverpool) drowned 15.9.18 MOORE, George 2nd Engineer MM SS Kendal Castle (Liverpool) drowned 15.9.18 SMITH, Henry Stewart Gray Chief Officer MM SS Kendal Castle (Liverpool) drowned 15.9.18 VERCOE, Harry Reginald Apprentice MM SS Kendal Castle (Liverpool) drowned 15.9.18 WILLIAMS, Robert 3rd Engineer MM SS Kendal Castle (Liverpool) drowned 15.9.18 JONES, Robert Howard Ordinary Seaman RNVR BnstolZ.10099 (D) SS Kendal Castle killed 15.9.18 CRUICKSHANK, Alexander Raffan Bmdr RMA RMA.7364 (PO) SS Kendal Castle killed 15.9.18 Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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