Northam churchyard
In Loving Memory Of
Sarah Jane,
The Beloved Wife Of
Henry Griffiths
Who Died July 5th 1914
Aged 70 Years
Also Two Sons Who Were
Drowned At Sea
John Henry,
Nov. 18th 1893, Aged 25 Years.
Isaac Wilfred,
April 9th 1894, Aged 15 Years.
“So He Bringeth Them Unto Their Desired
Haven.”
John Henry Griffiths had been a mariner since 1882, when he was about fourteen years of age. He gained his “Certificate of Competency as Master” after ten years service on both home and foreign trading vessels, but in 1893 he was serving as Second Mate on board the large and modern steamship the Sir John Hawkins, under Captain John Godfree. The ship had been in the Sea of Azov, at the north-east extremity of the Black Sea, to take on a bulk cargo of about 4,000 tons of grain at Marianopole (which I believe to be Mariupol, in the Ukraine), and sailed from there on 23 October 1893 (not 3 November, as in some reports), bound for Liverpool. All apparently went well until some time after she left the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar on the afternoon of 12 November: nothing was seen or heard of her after that, and it was assumed that she sank with all hands (at least 25 men) during a storm in the Bay of Biscay. The exact date and place of the loss of the Sir John Hawkins cannot be known, and extremely severe weather was reported in the Bay of Biscay over a period of several days in mid-November, as shown in the newspaper items below. One report states that a lifebuoy from the vessel washed up at Brest, on the Brittany coast in north-west France: if correct this suggests that the Sir John Hawkins had almost completed the crossing of the Bay of Biscay when she was lost.
A Board of Trade investigation¹ into the loss of seven steamships, including the Sir John Hawkins, explained why the gales were particularly dangerous: “In the month of November 1893 heavy weather was experienced on the coasts of the British Isles and Western Europe generally, extending south of Cape Finisterre. The gales, though not of unprecedented force, were abnormally dangerous, owing to their cyclonic character, and in the course of a few weeks 15 vessels were reported to have foundered, and 45 as missing; nearly all of which are known to have put to sea shortly before these gales commenced, and were proceeding on voyages which necessarily conducted them into the area of greatest disturbance.”
Both the Board of Trade investigation and an American newspaper report, suggested that the Sir John Hawkins was inherently unstable when fully loaded with a bulk cargo such as maize, and this would have contributed to her loss: once she had heeled over in the heavy seas, she would have been unable to right herself. Even so, she was by no means the only vessel which foundered in the Bay of Biscay in mid-November 1893, as the gales were particularly bad.
John Henry Griffiths was the eldest child of the four born to Henry Isaac Griffiths and his wife Sarah Jane (nee Bowden). He was born in Appledore on 30 September 1868, and still at school and living at home with his mother and siblings at the time of the 1881 census (his father was a mariner, and away at sea). Just over a year later John went to sea himself, on the Bideford registered ketch, the Pride of Taw.
Henry and Sarah Jane Griffiths would, no doubt, still have been coming to terms with John’s loss when his younger brother Isaac Wilfred was also lost at sea, in April 1894.
¹ Board of Trade Wreck Report: http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLibraries/WreckReports/16435.asp
London Standard ~ 16 November 1893
Incoming vessels at Southampton yesterday reported terrible weather at sea. The North German Lloyd steamer Spree was greatly delayed, and encountered heavy seas, mountains high, which swept the decks. The grain steamer Katy, from the Black Sea, reports considerable damage, her lowermost bridge partition being swept away, and also her donkey funnel. She was ten days coming from Gibraltar, and 60 hours crossing the Bay of Biscay. She reports the most severe snowstorms experienced for several years.
Sheffield Daily Telegraph ~ 21 November 1893
Terrible Experience In The Bay Of Biscay.
“Crying And Praying”
The Union Company’s steamer German due at Southampton last Wednesday, only arrived in dock yesterday morning after a terrible experience in the Bay of Biscay. Terrific weather was experienced, and in thirty-five hours a passenger states they only made five knots. As the ship tossed about, women were on their knees crying and praying, with frightened children round them. The captain and officers did their best to console them. The German had a lifeboat stove in, the railings on the upper deck broken, and the canvas of the bridge torn. Her cargo has shifted, giving the vessel a list to port, and at one time so critical were appearances that the lifeboats and belts were prepared for leaving the ship.
Liverpool Echo ~ 29 November 1893
The Recent Gales.
Heavy Premiums Of Overdue Steamers.
Considerable anxiety is felt in Liverpool on account of four steamers which are overdue, and which should have reached port about the 18th inst. It is conjectured that they were caught in the recent cyclone in the Bay of Biscay, and that they have been lost with all hands. The names of the steamers are as follow:- The Harsley, the Sir John Hawkins, the Ossian, the Amoor. The Ossian, 1,869 tons, was built in 1876, and is owned by Glover Bros., of London. She sailed from Odessa on November 1, and passed Malta on November 8 for Copenhagen. She had a cargo of barley, rye, and wheat, and was to call in the channel for coal. The Amoor, 1,934 tons, is owned by the Mercantile Steamship Company Limited, London. She sailed from the Black Sea on October 31, for Dunkirk, and passed Malta on November 8. She had a cargo of about 14,000 quarters of barley. The Sir John Hawkins is owned by Messrs. Priestman and Co., Sunderland, and is 2,693 tons gross register. She sailed from Marianople on October 23, for Liverpool. On November 13, she passed Gibraltar with a cargo of about 17,500 quarters of wheat. The Harsley, owned by Messrs. R. Ropner and Co., of Hartlepool, left Kertch on October 30, for Rotterdam. She passed Gibraltar on November 12, having on board a cargo of wheat and barley. She was 1,677 tons gross register. The premiums advanced to 70 per cent. This morning on the Amoor, the Ossian, and the Harsley, and on the Sir John Hawkins to 90 per cent.
Shields Daily Gazette ~ 29 November 1893
A Plymouth Steamer Missing
Feared Loss Of Twenty-Five Lives.
In Plymouth shipping circles all hope has been abandoned of the safety of the steamer Sir John Hawkins, the chief mate and first engineer of which belonged to Sunderland. The steamer, which belongs to the Sir John Hawkins Steam Shipping Company of Plymouth, was on a voyage from Marianople to Liverpool with 4,000 tons of wheat. She passed Gibraltar on the 13th inst., and has not since been heard of. She would encounter the severe gales of the 17th and 18th inst., but had she broken down she would have been seen and reported by many vessels in whose track she would have been. She had a crew of 25, and her master was Captain Godfree of Plymouth. Her chief officer was W. F. Chisholm of Sunderland, and her first engineer J. R. Adamson, also of Sunderland. The rest of the crew hailed from Padstow, Appledore, and Dundee.
Aberdeen Evening Express ~ 30 November 1893
Severe Storm in the Atlantic.
Supposed Loss of Steamer and 25 of Crew.
The owners of the steamer Sir John Hawkins, of Plymouth, have given up hope of the safety of that vessel. She was on a voyage from the Danube with wheat for Liverpool, and 15 days ago was signalled off Gibraltar all well. She must have been crossing the Bay of Biscay at the date of the last furious gales, and as nothing has since been heard of her, there is too much reason to fear that she has foundered. She was commanded by Captain Godfree, of Plymouth, and had a crew of 25 all told. including Chief Officer Chisholm, of Sunderland; Second Officer Griffiths, of Appledore; Carpenter Tippett, of Padstow; Chief Engineer Adamson, of Sunderland; Second Engineer Richie, Third Engineer Strachan, and Seaman Wilson, all of Dundee. The Sir John Hawkins is insured for £30,000, which about represents her value.
North Devon Journal ~ 7 December 1893
Appledore
Little hope is entertained here now for the safety of the s.s. Sir John Hawkins, on a voyage from Gibraltar to Liverpool. Her captain was Mr. Godfree, of Plymouth, and second son of Mr. Godfree, Lloyd’s surveyor of this place, and her second mate was Mr John Henry Griffiths, a native of this town. She was a new boat and only two years old, and is thought to have perished with all hands in the recent gale. Great sympathy is felt, as both families are greatly respected here.
Mariners and Memorials 