Wartime visitor
Additional information courtesy of Malcolm Cook

Technical

Official Number: 123378
Yard Number: 427
Completed: 1907
Gross Tonnage: 192.47
Net Tonnage: 52.38
Length: 115.5 ft
Breadth: 21.75
Depth: 13.4 ft
Built: A. Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen
Engine: T.3-cyl by A. Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen

History

1907: Launched by A. Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen (Yd.No.427) for The East Coast Steam Fishing Co Ltd (64/64), Aberdeen as HORACE STROUD.
2.1907: Completed.
22.2.1907: Registered at Aberdeen (A122). William Anderson & James B. Taylor designated joint managers.
7.4.1910: Registered at Aberdeen as EAST COAST (A122) (BoT Minute No.7644 dated 31.3.1910).
By 1912: James Scott Jnr designated manager.
3.10.1912: At Fleetwood landed 1,200 line caught halibut, £300 gross.
11.1913: Reportedly sold to Portuguese buyers for £500 in excess of original cost; sale not concluded.
1.1.1914: Tonnage altered to 76.73 net under provision of Merchant Shipping Act 1907. Remeasured: 115.5 x 21.75 x 13.4 feet
2.1915: Requisitioned for war service as a minesweeper (1-12pdr) (Ad.No.1172). Based Stornoway.
29.4.1918: Sold to John Thomas Graham, James Bruce Graham and John Thomas Graham Jnr, all Hartlepool (joint owners (64/64).
29.4.1918: Aberdeen registry closed.
1.5.1918: Registered at Hartlepool (HL94).
By 12.3.1919: Returned to owner at Aberdeen.
16.5.1919: Sold to The Friarage Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Hartlepool.
12.11.1919: Sold to Pêcheries des Flandres, Ostend.
1.1920: Hartlepool registry closed.
1.1920: Registered at Ostend (O125). J. de Coninche designated manager.
11.1922: Sold to David Dow Noble and John Duthie, Aberdeen (joint owners (64/64)).
11.1922: Ostend registry closed.
1922: Remeasured at Aberdeen – 192.47g 73.54n.
16.11.1922: Registered at Aberdeen (A935). John Duthie designated manager.
21.11.1923: Sold to David Dow Noble (64/64), Aberdeen. David D. Dow designated managing owner.
3.1.1931: Sold to David Dow Noble and Mrs Jane Noble (joint owners (64/64)). David D. Dow designated managing owner.
16.1.1939: At about 6.30pm. steam trawler CRISABELLE STEPHEN (A374) outward from Aberdeen for fishing grounds (Sk. F. Fraser); nine crew, ran onto rocks at Scaurs of Cruden, south of Peterhead. Stood by and at about 8.00pm. when vessel came afloat under own power, EAST COAST connected and commenced 14 mile tow to Aberdeen. After an hour and a half, Sk. Fraser requested that vessel be beached, but she started to settle and foundered in under three minutes. Men were seen in the water and Wemys, a fireman from the EAST COAST, jumped in to try and save the men but had to be hauled back, one man picked up but died onboard. All nine crew members were lost.
29.8.1940: Sold to David Dow Noble (64/64), Aberdeen.
3.2.1941: Sold to The Don Trawling Co (Milford Haven) Ltd (64/64), Milford Haven.
23.2.1941: First landing at Milford.
1941 – 1944: Landing at Fleetwood intermittently as directed.
14.6.1943: At Fleetwood typical wartime landing. 144 kits. – cod-1, whiting-1, flats-20, roker-74, gurnard-3, dogs-25, sole & prime-20.
22.3.1944: Last landing at Milford before requisition.
3.1944: Requisitioned for war service for miscellaneous naval duties (Hire rate £48.0.0d/month). Assigned to Operation Neptune – Normandy landings. Fitted with portable tanks for employment as a smoke making trawler.
7.6.1944: Sent to Grimsby with defective winch.
12.10.1944: Returned to owner.
25.10.1947: Sailed Milford for Irish grounds (Sk. Sam Larner); ten crew* all told.
3.11.1947: Called Cork for additional supplies.
6.11.1947: In the afternoon on Irish grounds, some thirty miles off the Co. Cork coast, in a moderate southerly gale and confused sea, started to take in water aft. Distress call made at 5.40pm which was picked up by Mrs M. L. Blake, Ballycotton who throughout the service kept the life-boat station informed of all messages. The Ballycotton lifeboat, MARY STANFORD (Cox. Patrick Sliney) was launched at 5.50pm. Several nearby trawlers responded, including CASWELL (SA70), MILFORD VISCOUNT (M196), SLEBECH (M199) and ARTHUR CAVANAGH (M161) and a French trawler which closed and at about 7.15pm took off one crew member. Accompanied by the trawler CASWELL (Sk. Albert Wiseman), providing a radio link, the lifeboat reached the casualty at 9.15pm and found the trawler steaming slowly towards land, escorted by SLEBECH (Sk. E. E. Carter). At 11.15pm. with ingress of water gaining, Sk. Larner decided to abandon the trawler and with difficulty Cox Sliney closed and took of nine crewmen.
7.11.1947: The trawler did not founder overnight and at 6.00am, with the weather moderating, Sk. Larner was put back onboard and SLEBECH closed and connected; Sk. Larner was taken off by the lifeboat. With her after deck awash the trawler was towed to within 500yds of Ballycotton Pier and the skipper and a lifeboatman boarded to secure a line from the lifeboat which towed her into harbour, berthing at 11.00am. The EAST COAST sank alongside ten minutes later. Later salved, repaired, surveyed and returned to service.
3.1958: Sold to Thos W. Ward Ltd, Sheffield for breaking up at Milford Haven.
8.3.1958: Arrived Castle Pill.
16.7.1958: Aberdeen registry closed “Vessel broken up. Advice received from shipbreaker ”.

Crew* – All Milford unless stated. Sk.Sam Larner; E. Harding, Mate; F.R. Williams, Bosun; W. Must, Third hand; R. Perrin, Ch Eng; W. Davies, 2nd Eng; R. Huddlestone, Johnston, deckhand; E. Tippe (Polish) & J. Jones, London, firemen; J. Richards, cook.

Click to enlarge image

S.T. East Coast A935
Picture courtesy of RNLI lifeboat magazine archive

Changelog
08/05/2020: Page published.
25/05/2020: Updated information and added an image.
28/05/2020: Added more information.
11/09/2021: Updated information.