# Garthpool Re introduction/re freshing my enquiries



## Scuppers Grand daughter (Sep 26, 2009)

Hello, 

I haven't visited the forums since November so I thought I'd refresh my enquiry regarding my Garthpool research. 

I am the great grand daughter of Christopher Bedford Steel, (1907-1943) who was a passenger/apprentice onboard the Garthpool for the experience of the voyage. (Nick named Scuppers by the crew as they thought him quite unusual)

He was one of the last crew members to sail aboard the Garthpool; it left Hull in October 1929 bound for Australia, but in the evening of Armistice Day the ship got into trouble and after the crew struggled for a time to save her, she finally hit the reefs with a great thud and soon all hands were ordered to abandon ship. 

They all survived and had a bit of an adventure, spending several rough days and nights at Canto Beach, Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands, then they were eventually shipped to a more civilised part of the island, Sal Rei, and then onto another island, Sao Vincente, where they stayed at Mindelo, in John Oliveira's London Bar. 

They were wined and dined by the British consulate and other companies based there (Wilsons Oil co, Western Telegraph co) before finally being shipped home as distressed British seamen, arriving at Plymouth, London and Liverpool in two parties; the first included the Captain, 2nd mate and other crew, Passengers and Apprentices, (aboard Avelona Star) and the other group was the rest of the crew (who landed at Liverpool in the Deseado)

I have already discovered a range of articles and archives about the Garthpool, ships and the historical background; further to this I am looking to discover the full stories behnd each of the crew members, who they were, where they came from, their experiences and what became of them. 

I already am begining to build a picture of certain individuals but I'm always looking for more details and some crewmen only have names and dates of birth and little else. 

Any information would be most appreciated. 

All the best, 

Bye for now, 

Jessica S. Fox 

Scuppers Great Grand Daughter


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## fred henderson (Jun 13, 2005)

Jessica

Please forgive me for moving your thread, but as you said hello last year, I feel that this forum is more appropriate and it may generate a wider response. I wish you the best of luck in your continued research.


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## ray1buck1 (Sep 4, 2005)

Jessica 
Not sure if this is of any help you may already have most of the info:
There was a Christopher Steel Apprentice arrived back in London as a DBS passenger aboard the “Avelona Star” on the 5th December 1929 boarded in St Vincent, C.V. he was aged 22, his address was given as “Woodside” Brimscombe Glos, there were 9 other DBS’s aboard

David Thomson Aged 63. Master
Stanley Butcher Aged 24. 2nd Mate
Peter Ker-Smiley Aged 50 Purser
Edward Fenwick Aged 15 Apprentice
Felix Mines Aged 17 Apprentice
William Dawson Aged 17 Apprentice
Robert Harrison Aged 18 Apprentice
Edward Smith Aged 17 Apprentice 
Thomas Herbert Oats Aged 19 Apprentice

There address are also shown on the passenger list 
Ray


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## Locking Splice (Oct 28, 2006)

Hi Jessica,

You may well already have info on Shantyman and Author the late Stan Hugill who was also aboard her on that fateful voyage, if not then, he is well worth looking up.

Best Regards

Yuge


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## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

The attached "thumbnail" is scanned from a bound volume of the Blue Peter magazine dated 1930. What a pity the apprentice, who took the photo, is not named.


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## stein (Nov 4, 2006)

Maybe he was the guilty one?


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## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

Seriously, Stein, what do you think happened? There's a big sea and it's streaked with foam which would seem to indicate that the wind had not just sprung up from a different quarter: is it incompetence on the part of the watch officer? An apprentice might very well have been at the wheel but you could hardly blame him for causing what could have had very serious consequences.
It could have been incompetence that caused her loss a year later!
P.S. I sent this picture to Stan Hugill many years ago-thinking he might have been in her at the time, as he was when she was lost-I can't remember what he replied but I don't think he was aboard during this incident.


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## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

See Gallery for a newly posted photo of the GARTHPOOL.


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## Scuppers Grand daughter (Sep 26, 2009)

Thanks everyone for your comments. I know I've been in touch with a few of you before; hello Ray and Hugh and thanks Hugh for the photo of the Garthpool. 

Yes Ray, I do have the full crew list but I don't think William Dawson was a crewmember of the Garthpool, from what I can tell; there was only 34 crew men and I think I've accounted for most of them. I'll re check just to be sure...there are a couple of names I have wondered about if there were extra crew...thanks! 

That's probably what I should have added also to my posting, but it is quite a long list, so well, I'll add it here; I wonder if any relatives will spot this and get in touch? 

David Thomson, 1866-1949, of Anstruther, Fife; Captain of the Garthpool 1926-29; AKA 'Old man' 

Thomas William Loades, 1860-1933, of Kingsbridge Devon; Chief Mate; an old shellback

Stanley Butcher, 1905-(not sure exactly when he died), of Hull; 2nd Mate; son Anthony

Lester Newman, 1901-1977, not sure where from; 3rd Mate

William Chenoweth, 1884-?, of Aberdeen Scotland; Bo'sun 

Emile Louis, 1861-1940, of Mauritius; Cook; Nick named 'Doe' 

John Mcpherson, 1884-?, of Aberdeen; Shipwright/carpenter; nick name 'Chips' 

Edward James Smith, 1912-?, of Port Adelaide; Sailmaker, nick name Sails; son of Walter Thomas Smith, lighthouse keeper of Point Lowly, Spencer Gulf, Australia circa1890's-1903 
Stanley James Hugill, 1906-1993, of Hoylake, Cheshire; A.B. & shantyman; sons Martin and Phillip 

Christopher Bedford Steel, 1907-1943, of Farnborough, Hants; Passenger/Apprentice; nick named 'Scuppers' by the crew; I am his great grand daughter 

Thomas Herbert Beveridge Oates, 1910-1941, b.South Africa, lived in Dover; Apprentice

Timothy James 'Toddy' O'Sullivan, 1907-after 1970, of Waterville, Co.Kerry, Ireland also lived in Co. Cork; Apprentice; went on to become a successful hotelier, running the Gresham in Dublin from the 1940's through the 1960's

Robert G. B. Harrison, 1911-1942, of Newport, Mon, Wales; Apprentice; wife Enid Y Evans
daughter Pamela, born early 1943

Henry Walsworth Kinney(2), 1910-1989, of Hawaii; Apprentice; son of HW Kinney, writer; His son is the 3rd HW Kinney, lawyer in New Orleans 

Felix Rolph Mines, 1912-?, of Chesterton, Cambridge; Apprentice; emigrated to Australia

William Norman Basson, 1912-1980, of Hemel Hempstead, Herts; Apprentice 

Edward Ernest Fenwick, 1914-?, of Hull; Apprentice 

William Austin Willis, 1914-?, of Bangor, Co Down, Ireland; Apprentice 

George Collas Hocart, 1908-?, pf Guernsey, Channel Isles; Seaman 

Charles Dowman (possibley Charles Darby Allen Dowman); 1905-1997?; of Cork; Seaman; wife Rosemary

James Alfred McBrearty, 1909-1977, of West Derby, Lanc; Seaman 

Edward Vyvyan N Fuller, 1907-?, of Liskeard/lived at Withial Rectory House; Seaman; father Vicar of Withial early 20th century 

Charles McLelland, 1904-?, of Belfast; Seaman 

Archibald McVeigh, 1907-1982, of Belfast; seaman

Albert McMillan, 1887-?, of Argyle; seaman 

William Joss, 1869-?, of Aberdeen; seaman 

William Joseph Reeds, 1902-?, lived at Sailors Home Liverpool but I don't know where he was from; seaman 

Arthur Edward Pearson, 1908-?, of Hull; seaman; possibley one of the 'Hull Pilots' getting certificate (Also Fenwick/Allman possibley one of them Hull pilot too) 

Charles Edward Allman, 1908-1972, of Sculcoates(I think born Hull); seaman 

William Taylor, 1910-?, of Liverpool (grew up at 10 Neil Street); seaman 

William McPherson Hutton, 1876-?, of Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland; Purser; enginner and later at 'Cape Horner' as he sailed on the Viking in 1934, kept a diary and wrote a book 'Cape Horn Passage' where he mentions runiting with fellow passenger, Pazolt... 

Peter Kerr Smiley, 1879-1943, born Paisley, Scotland but family Irish; Major in Boar War; MP for Antrim North circa 1908-1911; purser on Garthpool 

Alfred James Pazolt, 1876-1956, of Boston, USA; purser twice on Garthpool; Artist and wrote two articles on his Garthpool experiences 

Jean Gloro, 1898-?, French Canadian (not exactly sure); seaman; in Pazolt's account, 'the frenchman' or 'Frenchy' was a thief; Captain Thomson found some money and other things were mising and they caught the frenchman but he got away once and was chased and caught again; he appears seperately from the crew on the return voyage, I reckon he was in the brig or something like that...

Anyway, that's the full list! 

Took a while to write that but it's worth it! 

Thanks again 

Take care 

Bye for now 

Jess


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