10 OF THE WORST 01
HMS Natal In 1911-12 the warrior-class armoured cruiser HMS Natal escorted the royal yacht for the newly-crowned King George V’s trip to India. During WWI it was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. On 30 December 1915 in the Cromarty Firth, a series of internal explosions ripped through the rear part of the ship, capsizing it within fi ve minutes. All of the 390 listed crew perished in the tragedy, a fi gure that does not include a number of civilians – including women and children – who were on board at the time.
The cruel sea
War, storms, human error and the sheer destructive power of the ocean have all contributed to a number of tragic losses in Scotland’s waters
RMS OCEANIC
Built for the White Star Line, until 1901 the Oceanic was the largest ship in the world. Like many merchant vessels, it was utilised during WWI, patrolling the waters from the north Scottish mainland to the Faroes. However, as it navigated its way around the island of Foula on its way north, it hit the notorious reef, the Shaalds of Foula, and was wrecked. Fortunately all of the crew were rescued. It was the fi rst Allied passenger ship to be lost in the war.
03 SS Daphne River Dee Ferry Boat
Disaster On 5 April 1876, a heavily overloaded ferry taking passengers across the Dee from Aberdeen to a holiday fair in Torry, capsized, killing thirty-two of the 70 or so people on board. The ferry operated a pulley system, so there was no need for an engine, or sails. The river was particularly high at the time and the fast-fl owing water, coupled with the excessive passenger load, caused the ropes to be cast off and the boat to drift out to sea, before eventually sinking.
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WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 04
THE ORION On 17 June 1850 the paddle steamer Orion left Liverpool for Glasgow with about 110 passengers on board. The following morning, whilst attempting to navigate close to the coastline in a thick mist, the boat struck a rock in the entrance to Portpatrick Harbour, Wigtownshire. It sank within minutes, killing 60 passengers – many of whom were still sleeping in their bunks. The captain and 2nd mate were charged with ‘culpable bereavement of the lives of the passengers’; the former was imprisoned for 18 months; the latter was transported for seven years. One of the passengers killed in the tragedy was the eminent surgeon John Burns.
On 3 July 1883 the passenger- cargo vessel SS Daphne sank moments after it was launched from the shipyard in Govan. At the time there were around 200 workmen on board ready to begin fi tting SS Daphne out as soon as she was afl oat. As it moved into the Clyde, its anchors failed to stop its progress, and the current fl ipped it over. Around 70 lives were saved but 124 lives were lost, many of them young boys, some of whose relatives will have been watching from the shore.
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