# SS Oribita - Deserted Crew Family Member



## Poppet75 (Dec 31, 2016)

Dear all,

I wonder if you could help with a near 100 year old family mystery. My great grandmother's brother, Silas Emmanuel Wilkes (b.25/12/1886 in Suffolk) disappeared, presumed drowned at the beginning of August 1923. He lived in Portsmouth with a wife, son and extended family and worked as a bootmaker. His clothes (and some personal identifying effects) were found in a pile on a Portsmouth beach and he was seen to go into the water. However, no one saw any kind of struggle and no body was ever recovered. His family never knew what happened..

A couple of years ago I found out.... At least what happened between August and December 1923. He was listed as Crew on SS Oribita, position Scullion. He did a number of crossings before being listed as a Deserted Crew Member on 5th December 1923, whilst Oribita was docked in New York:

7th Sept: Leaving Southampton
17th Sept: Arrived Hamburg
10th Oct: Departed Hamburg
22nd Oct: Arrived New York
1 Dec: Also listed as arriving in New York (not sure where the ship was between 22/10 and 1/12

The SS Oribita was due to sail for Hamburg via Southampton on 5th December 1923 and Silas was listed on the Deserting Crew list (with another 6 crew members!).

No trace of him can be found after this. I have trawled through US and Canadian Censuses. No trace of him here in U.K.... Can't find him on any other ships lists in or out of the US. I can't understand how he could just disappear. In the 1920's the US were starting to clamp down on illegal aliens, so it wouldn't have been easy for him to just start again.

I guess he could have assumed a new identity and we will never know. But I wonder if he could have been murdered in NY maybe (a little far fetched!?). He obviously planned to disappear, with the drowning stunt in August and then getting a Scullion position on the Oribita on 7th September in Southampton. Would ships have made any efforts of find crew members missing from their lists in foreign ports?

Any other ideas, or would additional records from these ships be available anywhere?

Any ideas gratefully received as this mystery is driving me mad! 

Many thanks!


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## R58484956 (Apr 19, 2004)

Greetings* Poppet75* and welcome to *SN.* Bon voyage.


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## Poppet75 (Dec 31, 2016)

R58484956 said:


> Greetings* Poppet75* and welcome to *SN.* Bon voyage.


Thank you!


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## wightspirit (Feb 15, 2008)

Is this him?: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10539718

If it is, it might precede his trip on the Orbita. On the other hand...

Dave W


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## Poppet75 (Dec 31, 2016)

Yes, this is him. He was a Corporal in the Royal Flying Corps and served in WW1. I think it possible things were not right for him upon his return from action. He married in 1910 in Portsmouth and had one son, who was born and died in 1911. He later had an adopted son, who he left with this wife when he disappeared. Who knows what nightmares plagued him from his son's death and his service in WW1. 

Such a sad story and in lot's of ways selfish as the family who were left never knew what happened to him - they certainly did not know of his trips on the Orbita. I have spent a number of years trying to find what happened to him and have always hoped new record transcriptions may come to light..... I feel an inner disappointment I will never know.


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