SS Accrington

[Tealeaf]

.....Looks like by this voyage things had quietened down a bit. This time, there were only 12 deaths, all children under the age of 3. Statistically, this is somewhat unusual in so far as allowing for the high rates of child mortality at the time, we nevertheless should anticipate some adult mortality over the course of the voyage. Could there have been a child murderer on board?

If there was, no one probably noticed. There were, quote .."to many irregularities on the voyage", such as the "Master's authority being openly defied by the crew".....No surprise, this one, when you think about what happened on the Calcutta Cruise.

But the real shock/horror of this piece surely arose "....in one instance (The Sailors) forcibly entered the compartments of the female sailors..." Whatever did they do that for, we wonder, and why don't we have more details?

[Atarah]

This is from the 1860 London Illustrated News 7th January

[Darby]

65 deaths occurred????

From poisoning? or from ??? We'll never know!!

[Tealeaf]

I got so peeved off with not getting the SS Accy piccy from ebay that I thought I'd barrow it anyway...do you think they'll notice? For those of you who have not seen this thread before, this is a piccy of the second ship to be called "Accrington"








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[Darby]

It looks quite large for a rescue ship, and it cuts a dash doing about 18 knots. Thanks for the view Tealeaf....

[mez]

i didnt know they had female sailors in those days, mm quite liberated wernt they.

[ShortStuff]

If only the Accrington of today looked as stunning as either of the ships. Really interesting stuff everyone - keep it coming.

Mez - I don't think the woman were actually sailors at the time - they seem to have been taken along for recreation purposes!

[Darby]

Originally Posted by ShortStuff

If only the Accrington of today looked as stunning as either of the ships. Really interesting stuff everyone - keep it coming.

Mez - I don't think the woman were actually sailors at the time - they seem to have been taken along for recreation purposes!

I must go back to sea again if that's the case

[Acrylic-bob]

To resurrect a fascinating thread, I have come across the following while searching for something else and thought it might add a bit more to the story.

From the list of Absent Voters (1919) and Record of War Service (1914-1918)
I have found the following names of men of Grimsby who served on the SS Accrington.

Fairburn, Alfred John. 27 Yarborough St, Grimsby.
Goodwin, Frank Arnold. 1 Augustine Street, Grimsby.
Henson, George Henry. 41 Railway Street, Grimsby.

[WillowTheWhisp]

You've reminded me that I'd always wondered how Arago St. got its name too.

[cashman]

fascinating and brilliant thread,just come across it.you deserve a jaffa cake tealeaf,an nobody gets them!

[Tealeaf]

Well, after all this time I finally picked up a report on the trial after the Captain & 1st Mates murder.....here's the link. There is also a secondary link to a passengers letter, well worth reading. Sounds very much like a hell hole to me. Just like Accy town centre every saturday night.

http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/ACCRINGTON.html

[peter drake]

Sorry Tealeaf

SS Accrington was a MN ship not Royal Navy ie HMS All rescue ships were manned by merchant navy crews .My father in law served on all it's voyages during WW11. One of the threads mentioned 18 knots .Not a chance If you want more info let me know
Regards Pete

[steeljack]

fascinating thread , thanks to the above poster for reviving it , sure it will be of interest to many newer Accy-web users like myself who missed it first time around

[patroglov]

Originally Posted by Atarah

This is from the 1860 London Illustrated News 7th January

How can I get an enlargement of this thumbnail? I am researching the Accrington story