Captain George Frederick Wilson.

                                                  by

                                          Philip Eagles

     At the time of his retirement in 1935 Captain George Frederick Wilson had been a sailor for over fifty years.  Born in 1869 in Lowfield Heath, Surrey, he was the son of grocer and wine merchant Sanderson Wilson and his wife Louisa.  George’s older brother was following in their father’s footsteps, but it seems the family business didn’t appeal to George, as did the adventure of a career at sea.   So at the age of fifteen, he signed up with his father’s approval as an indentured apprentice onboard the “Oneida”.   A three masted iron hulled ex-steamer, she was commanded by sixty-two year old Captain Samuel Clyma, a veteran of numerous voyages to the Far East with the “Caldera”, “Cape City”, “Queen of the Age” and “Caroline”.    
     Carrying a fork a spoon and a bible, George boarded the “Oneida” at Royal Victoria Dock, London in October of that year.  Clearing London ‘in ballast’ she took on cargo in Cardiff before setting out for the Far East making her way to Singapore and Calcutta via Elephant Point on the coast of Burma.   There were five long months in Calcutta’s bustling port, then one of the largest of the British Empire, and another three at sea before George sighted London again in March of 1886.  He returned, no doubt wiser, having been taught, according to his indenture, “the business of a seaman” and provided with “meat, drink, lodging” and, it was noted, “no wages”.   But life at sea must have been to his liking.  With a letter of recommendation that noted: “he has conducted himself with sobriety & entirely to the satisfaction of his Captain”, he left the “Oneida” in April 1886.   By July he had signed on as apprentice on the “Dharwar”, an iron full-rigged sailing ship owned by John Willis & Sons whose fleet also included the tea clipper “Cutty Sark”.  A regular visitor to Australian waters since 1870, the “Dharwar” brought out general cargo beneath her teakwood decks, from pickles and prunes to plate glass and pianos.  Travelling “via the Cape”, she returned to England laden with wool from Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane and Townsville and it was during three journeys, of over two hundred days,  that George learned his trade under Captains Charles Hutchins and Walter Hipgrave.  There were lessons of life and death and of the power of the sea.  Caught in an Indian Ocean storm on May 29th, 1888 she was running under topsails and reefed foresail at 3am when with Captain Hutchins and two crew at the wheel, waves crashed over the stern and swamped her.  Hutchins was swept along the deck and then back again.  He clung on, his leg broken as one crewman lay tangled in the mizzen rigging while the other disappeared  into the darkness of the ocean never to be seen again. With cabins wrecked, stores destroyed and two boats smashed to pieces, chief officer Hipgrave took the helm and steadied the ship.  Limping on towards Australia the “Dharwar” spent five months in Melbourne before she was repaired and loaded for the return to London.  For Captain Hutchins, who had made many voyages to Australia with the “Dharwar” and “Zenobia”, the  voyage was the last of his career.
    By his third voyage aboard the “Dharwar” , in 1889, George Wilson had risen to the rank of 3rd mate and was lauded by John Willis as a “steady determined active young seaman”.  Determined to have a command of his own, he moved between shipping lines over the next few years.  Obtaining his 2nd mate’s ticket he went as 3rd officer on the steamship “Bothwell Castle”, the last of Thomas Skinner’s Castle Line, travelling twice more to Australia in 1890-1891.  Outward bound with livestock and general cargo , she was to return, like the “Dharwar” with a load of Australian wool as well as tons of copper ore.  But before the wool clip was done, there was Newcastle coal and mail bound for Jakarta and Indonesian sugar to be brought back to Melbourne.  There were extremes of weather, from icy winds and squalls of snow as they departed the Thames to the steamy tropics of Jakarta and Surabaya.  Beyond ‘the Cape’, Captain Rob Tod used all his experience to steer the “Bothwell Castle” clear of Indian Ocean storms as the barometer plunged.  But mountainous “roaring forties” seas hit her amidships as she turned into the wind on one occasion.  They hit , reported the “Sydney Morning Herald” of March 30, 1891, “like a catapult” swamping her decks, battering hatches and life rafts and sweeping cargo into the ocean.  Captain Tod barely avoided that fate as the bridge was flooded.  It was a tough school for young George Wilson. And the weekly losses of dozens of ships published in the “Times” testified to the danger of a career at sea.  
    In 1892-93, after five voyages to Australia, George went as 2nd and 3rd officer with British and African Steam Navigation’s “Lualaba” and the African Steamship Company’s “Nubia” on their regular voyages to the southwest coast of Africa.  From the Mersey, from Rotterdam from Cuxhaven, Hamburg and Antwerp they carried mail and general cargo as they journeyed to the Congo, Lagos, Sierra Leone and Accra where they gathered produce such as palm oil, palm nuts, coffee and ivory.
    It was an era of British Industrial might, of domination in trade and merchant shipping and there was no shortage of opportunity for a young ambitious seaman.  George moved on again, this time to the Prince Line as 2nd mate, making one voyage on the “Sailor Prince” before transferring to the “Danish Prince” in October 1894.  Sailing from Antwerp she called at the Mediterranean ports of Turkey, Greece, the Greek Islands, Crete, Lebanon, Egypt and Sicily then took to the open waters of the Atlantic on her way to New York and Jamaica with the fruit of the Middle East.
      But in July of 1895, after obtaining his master’s ticket, George joined the Houlder Line, the company he would serve for the rest of his career.  On their 2,400-ton steamer “Ovingdean Grange” he served initially as 2nd officer and later, 1st officer making nineteen voyages to South America, the mainstay route of that company, over the next six years.  It was in 1897 that he found time to marry.   But it must have been a lonely life much of the year for Harriett Wilson as her husband travelled for months at a time in those days before electronics made the world seem so much smaller. And in December 1901 with one baby and another “on the way”, she kissed him goodbye again.   He had transferred as 1st officer to the recently launched seven-thousand ton “Drayton Grange”, which was serving as a troop and supply carrier for British forces engaged in the Imperial wars against South Africa’s Boers and the Dervishes of Somalia.  Under Captain Joseph Bennett, she first crossed the Atlantic to New Orleans before going on to Cape Town, Durban and East London.  Over the next eighteen months the “Drayton Grange” shuttled between South Africa, Somalia, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand carrying supplies and ferrying troops to and from the wars.  She took on horses, mules and wagons, tons of frozen beef, sheepskins and tallow as well as bales of wool in thousands for the mills of England.  In August 1902, with two thousand returning Australian soldiers on board, she sailed into Sydney as a band played “Home sweet home”.  But many on board were seriously ill, some fatally so and conditions had been appalling with medicine, beds for the sick and discipline all in short supply.  A subsequent Royal Commission vindicated the crew but damaged relations between Australia and London.  Finally returning to England in late December 1903 the “Drayton Grange” had covered over one-hundred thousand nautical miles.

      George’s new daughter was over a year old when he returned, but even though he had just completed a marathon voyage of two years, it was only a matter of weeks before he went to sea again in January 1904.  Were there words of complaint or did the wives of Edwardian England stoically accept their lot?  Whatever may have been the case, there was career and duty, and this time, at the age of thirty-five and with eight years experience as first officer, he was promoted to Master of the “Ovingdean Grange” on a first brief voyage to the European coast.  Later that month he took command of Houlder’s  2,700 ton steamer “Thorpe Grange” plying the South American trade route departing from Liverpool, Newport and Gravesend.  She travelled the seven thousand-mile journey via Madeira, Las Palmas and Fernando Noronha to the busy Argentine ports of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Bahia Blanca and La Plata as well as Uruguay’s Montevideo and Chile’s Punta Arenas.  Equipped for refrigerated cargo, she brought frozen meat back to the United Kingdom in addition to carrying passengers, mail and livestock.
    Though the company’s principal focus was on the growing trade with Argentina, they had since 1902 carried migrants to Australia and in 1911, after seven years of trans-Atlantic crossings, Captain Wilson was given command of the “Everton Grange” an 8,000 ton twin screw steamship.  Capable of a speed of 12 knots and carrying up to 204 third class passengers, she had been engaged since 1905 in migration from the United Kingdom to Australia and New Zealand as part of the Federal-Houlder-Shire Line partnership.   During 1911 and 1912 he was commander on two voyages to Australia via the Cape of Good Hope, taking English, Scottish and Irish migrants to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.  After visiting the northern Queensland ports of Bowen and Townsville gathering cargo such as frozen beef, hardwood and hides, the “Everton”  turned south again picking up passengers for the return trip via Egypt’s Port Said and Malta.  The voyage to Liverpool, according to the Melbourne ‘Argus’ of 7th October 1911, featured  “excellent accommodation for third class passengers.... electric light throughout” for a fare of between thirteen and seventeen pounds.
     Shortly after though, the Houlder Line withdrew from the partnership, the “Everton Grange” was sold to New Zealand and Captain Wilson returned to the familiar trans-Atlantic route.   The journeys to Australia had taken over five months, a long time away from his wife and three young daughters in Merseyside Liscard.  When he was at home, there were trips to Port Erin, walks on the West Kerby Promenade and rowing on the river Dee where the girls were ordered to ‘ship oars’ as they approached the shore.  But with voyages to South America lasting around two months, Captain Wilson was still away from home for up to eight months each year.   And in the following years between 1912-1935 he made near eighty journeys to South America in command of various Houlder Line vessels.  These included the steamers “Sutherland Grange” between 1912-1918 including nine voyages during the hostilities of World War One, “El Paraguayo” (1919-1921), and “Hardwicke Grange”(1921-1925).
      In 1923, the Wilson’s moved to the London suburb of Upminster, a short trip from Gravesend, from which the Captain’s ships usually departed in those years.  Shortly after, motor vessels such as “Upwey Grange”(1925-1928) began to replace the Line’s fleet of coal-fired steamships.   In February 1928 he was appointed Captain of the Houlder Line’s newest motor vessel “Dunster Grange” on its maiden trans-Atlantic voyage and more than twenty voyages were to follow under his  command.  Featured in the “Times” of October 12th 1929, the “Dunster Grange”  was the last of  Captain Wilson’s commands.   At the age of sixty-six, after seven years at her helm he retired in December 1935, at which time he was senior Master of the Houlder Line.
  
           

      It was no doubt with regret that he learned in later times of the demise of the “Hardwicke Grange” and “Upwey Grange” amongst the heavy losses of Allied shipping during World War Two.  But in the following years of retirement he could reflect on a career of over fifty years.   There were stories told.   Of Krakatoa’s ash settling on the Oneida’s deck, of pickpockets dealt harshly with in foreign ports, of River Plate Pilots losing their cool,  and of the time in Australia when he thought of giving up on the sea to take up boxing.  How much more was there to tell?  His was a career that spanned the eras of sail, steam and motor vessels and included over one hundred voyages in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans during which he spent near twenty years of his life at sea.

 

See also -

  http://home.iprimus.com.au/phillipeagles/GFWilson.index.htm

There is also an article on Captain William Storey Croudace.

At:  http://home.iprimus.com.au/phillipeagles/white_eagle.html

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“The Log” March 1936.

The “Bothwell Castle” 1890-1891 voyage:

22/12/1890 dep London

29/3/1891 arr Sydney

8/4/1891 dep Sydney for Java via Newcastle

24/5/1891 dep Java for Sydney

26/6/1891 dep Sydney

1/7/1891 dep Newcastle for Batavia Sourabaya

3/7/1891 Brisbane

30/9/1891 Sydney

7/10/1891 Newcastle

29/10/1891 dep Newcastle for London via Sydney, Geelong and Melbourne

The crew of the Bothwell Castle: Sydney 29/3/1890.

Captain R.J.Tod

Name - Station - Birth Year - From .

W. Tozer 1st mate 1843 Devon

E.B.Evans 2nd mate 1844 Bristol

G.F.Wilson 3rd mate 1869 Surrey

H.A.Selby Carpenter 1841 Poplar

C.Bishop Bosun 1856 Bkhead

Peter Avery Lamps 1837 Cape de Verde

C.Davis AB 1857 Haalisand

A.Sjorhand AB 1861 Sweden

H.Bandar AB 1847 Hamburg

H.Sharley AB 1854 Bulin

C.Luisson AB 1862 Gothenburg

C.Smaumahl AB 1866 Finland

Hans Sanrier? AB 1858

Ponsberry A.B.? AB 1859 Calmar

E.R.Porter 1st Engineer 1856 Liverpool

James Ferguson 2nd Engineer 1860 Wiglon

Charles Day 3rd Engineer 1846 Somerset

Alex Nicholl 4th Engineer 1859 Dundee

A.Piggott Fireman 1867 London

J.Roads Fireman 1866 York

H.Cott Fireman 1867 London

H.Dean Fireman 1863 London

N.Barter Fireman 1867 London

R.Burke Greaser 1862 London

Flannigan Greaser 1849 London

J.Cochrane Greaser 1865 London

J.Hopwood Dkyman 1864 London

R.Hopwood Trimmer 1871 London

Barter Trimmer 1870 London

J.Griffins Chief steward 1858 London

Curd 2nd Steward 1869 Kent

James Reid Ass’t Steward 1870 Brighton

Albert Smith 1st Cook 1854 Nassau

Fred Clark Coal trimmer 1870 Poplar

Charles Wilkins 2nd Cook 1867 Devon

Total crew 35

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The voyage of the “Drayton Grange” December 1901-December 1903.

10/12/01 George Frederick Wilson appointed 1st officer.

1/1/02 Thessalonica, Greece

21/1/02 dep New Orleans for Cape Town

10/2/02 Ascension

21/2/02 dep Table Bay South Africa

20/3/02 arr Sydney

14/4/02 dep Auckland

19/4/02 arr Sydney

28/4/02 dep Albany

29/5/02 dep Natal for East London (South Africa)

9/6/02 arr Table Bay

2/7/02 dep Table Bay

11/7/02 dep Durban

31/7/02 Albany

7/8/02 Melbourne

9/8/02 arr Sydney dep late August to northern ports

29/10/02 arr Natal

15/11/02 dep Natal

22/11/02 arr Table Bay

24/12/02 dep Table Bay

10/1/03 arr Buenos Aires

6/2/03 dep Buenos Aires

9/3/03 dep Table Bay for East London

30/3/03 arr Buenos Aires from East London

14/5/03 dep Buenos Aires for Table Bay

30/5/03 arr Table Bay.

23/6/03 arr Natal

18/7/03 dep Natal for Berbera (Somalia).

12/8/03 dep Aden for Albany.

6/9/03 passed Breaksea Island for Sydney.

14/9/03 arr Sydney.

19/9/03 dep Sydney for Townsville.

24/9/03 arr Townsville.

4/10/03 arr Gladstone

9/10/03 arr Broadmount near Rockhampton.

13/10/03 dep Broadmount for Brisbane.

15/10/03 arr Brisbane.

20/10/03 arr Sydney.

24/10/03 dep Sydney for Natal.

19/11/03 arr Natal.

28/11/03 dep Natal for Table Bay.

1/12/03 arr Table Bay.

4/12/03 dep Table Bay.

28/12/03 arr Gravesend.

The crew of the “Drayton Grange”, Sydney 20th of March 1902

Captain Joseph Bennett

Name - Station - Age - From

G.F.Wilson 1st mate 33 Surrey

J.E.Blay 2nd mate 38 Soton

F.D.Bluett 3rd mate 35 Belfast

J.McBride Carpenter 24 Bangor

S.Johanson AB 21 Larme

P.G.E.Johanson AB 21 Sweden

O.Rull AB 28 Stockholm

N.Hoglund AB 28 Gothenburg

H.Parkson AB 24 Sweden

H.Knaut AB 26 Leipzig

B.V.Numan AB 22 Finland

J.Nelson AB 29 Sweden

G.Johansson AB 23 Sweden

C.Rasmussen AB 29 Sweden

C.O.Farlund AB 29 Sweden

A.Wesilh AB 29 Norway

C.Rice AB 25 Belfast

R.Rhodes Deck boy 15 London

J.Start Deck boy 16 London

F.Porter Carpenter’s mate 24 Belfast

J.Palmer 1st Engineer 47 Waterford

J.Allison 2nd Engineer 37 Glasgow

J.Russell 3rd Engineer 23 Belfast

G.A.Graves 4th Engineer 24 N?wold

R.Park 5th Engineer 28 Belfast

J.McFaul 6th Engineer 21 Whitehouse

Radford 1st Ref Engineer 34 Dublin

H.J.Tucker 2nd Ref Engineer 31 Dover

P.Harkins Donkeyman 37 Liverpool

Samuel Patterson Donkeyman 42 Belfast

A.Anderson Fireman,trimmer 30 Stockholm

C.A.Bjoppel Fireman,trimmer 36 Stockholm

O.N.Eriksson Fireman,trimmer 33 Sweden

C.Holmberg Fireman,trimmer 23 Sweden

C.J.Jansson Fireman,trimmer 41 Sweden

C.Kohl Fireman,trimmer 29 Sweden

C.Osterberg Fireman,trimmer 20 Sweden

A.Holmstrom Fireman,trimmer 20 Malmo

E.Carlson Fireman,trimmer 28 Gothenburg

M.Mursur Fireman,trimmer 22 Christiania

G.Antonio Fireman,trimmer 25 Austria

J.Norling Fireman,trimmer 28 Sweden

V.Clannoert Fireman,trimmer 21 Antwerp

N.Sterling Fireman,trimmer 21 Gothenburg

N.Abrahmsson Fireman,trimmer 21 Austria

C.Jansson Fireman,trimmer 24 Sweden

P.N.Agren Fireman,trimmer 26 Sweden

J.Lloyd Chief Steward 48 Manchester

H.? 2nd Steward 26 Glasgow

N.Summer 2nd Cabin boy 27 Liverpool

M.Campbell Asst Steward 21 Belfast

J.Duffey Asst Steward 23 Newry

J.M.McKeown Asst Steward 18 Belfast

William Pearson Asst Steward 16 Forest Gate

R.Mann Chief cook, butcher 24 Gloucester

R.Watkins 2nd cook,butcher 26 Wrescham

N.J.Burns Asst cook 15 Belfast

E.Laage Ship cook 26 Hamburg

B.Ward Boatswain 39 London

E.G.Albury Asst Fireman 42 Kent

J.Olalson AB 23 Sweden

N.McDonnah Fireman,trimmer 34 Liverpool

C.Hillebrand Fireman,trimmer 28 Sweden

F.Leinbaark Fireman,trimmer 32 German

A.Marguan Fireman,trimmer 24 German

B.Benjamin Deck hand 26 American

H.Shaney Deck hand 22 American

F.Brown Deck hand 33 Germany

N.S.Bryson Deck hand 22 American

F.Storms Deck hand 22 American

J.F.Viemillion Deck hand 23 American

L.Jackson Deck hand 22 American

J.F.Hopkins Deck hand 28 Newcastle

R.Synders Deck hand 25 America

Fitzpatick Deckhand 21 America

E.J ?ouley Deck hand 26 America

O.Bact Deck hand 26 Germany

O.W.Haskell Deck hand 22 Canada

J.Middleton Asst Steward 23 Belfast

E.Charles Cattleman,Cook 18 St Lucia

Total crew 81

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The 1911 Voyage of the “Everton Grange”

12/6/1911 G.F.Wilson appointed Captain

20/6/1911 Dep Manchester

23/6/1911 Dep Liverpool

14/8/1911 Arr Melbourne via Adelaide

18/8/1911 Dep Melbourne from Breakwater Dock Williamstown.

20/8/1911 Arr Sydney

29/8/1911 Dep Sydney

31/8/1911 Arr Brisbane

2/9/1911 Dep Brisbane

5/9/1911 Arr Bowen

8/9/1911 Arr Townsville

14/9/1911 Dep Townsville

17/9/1911 Arr Brisbane

23/9/1911 Dep Brisbane

25/9/1911 Arr Sydney.

3/10/1911 Arr Melbourne Breakwater Pier

10/10/1911 Dep Melbourne

12/10/1911 Arr Adelaide

18/10/1911 Dep Adelaide

17/11/1911 Arr Suez

18/11/1911 Arr Port Said

22/11/1911 Arr Malta

23/11/1911 Dep Malta

1/12/1911 Arr Gravesend for Royal Albert Dock.

The crew of the “Everton Grange” Sydney 21st August 1911

Captain G.F.Wilson

Name - Station - Age - From

S.W.Warren 1st Mate 37 Essex

G.Dixon 2nd Mate 26 London

Ernest.E.King 3rd Mate 19 London

T.P.Ryan 4th Mate 21 London

R.Jones Carpenter 35 Anglesea

G.Zwingmann Boatswain 31 German

W.Camison AB 31 Southampton

William.M.Gill AB 47 Drogheda

John Eustace AB 31 Waterford

Una Lindgian Seaman 22 Russian

Karl Kusik AB 27 Russian

F.Gibson Seaman 22 Russian

H.F.Parker Seaman 20 London

C.Gordon OS 18 Liverpool

John Jones Surgeon 47 Bedford

J.W.Dawson Seaman 29 Rockdale

R.Sedgwick AB 38 W.Hartlepool

R.Riley OS 18 Liverpool

W.G.Evans OS 18 Crisaith

P.Dawdall AB 22 Wooford

O.Nurmista Seaman 19 Finland

J.Simpson OS 17 Invercargill

S.G.Robertson 1st Engineer 47 Sunderland?

H.Groundwater 2nd Engineer 28 Manchester

B.Monaghan 3rd Engineer 26 Liverpool

G.D.Jones 6th Engineer 22 Penbroke

A.G.Hawkesford 2nd Ref Engineer 34 Chifoton

James Murphy Donkeyman 31 Rosti?

Joseph Price Fireman,Greaser, 33 Chish trimmer

E.Gastrum Fireman,Greaser, 28 Swedish

M.Heimes Fireman,Greaser, 24 Russian

H.Doran Fireman,Greaser, 34 Rostrevor

John Spencer Fireman,Greaser, 23 Liverpool

John Yates Fireman,Greaser, 25 Bootle

P.Cleary Fireman,Greaser, 28 Liverpool

Patrick Stafford Fireman,Greaser, 46 Liverpool

John Ryder Fireman,Greaser, 36 Liverpool

M.Donnelly Fireman,Greaser, 26 Liverpool

Max Gunther Fireman,Greaser, 31 German

George Ewing Fireman,Greaser, 26 Forfarshire?

W.B.Liddell Chief Ref Engineer 26 Greenock

R.Westcott Fireman,Greaser 25 Bristol

Trimmer R.Dowell Fireman,Greaser, 47 Newcastle on Tyne

S.Hepburn 4th Ref Engineer 24 Liverpool

Alex Campbell 5th Ref Engineer 22 Leith

B.Lamb Fireman 47 Monaghan

D.Haff Fireman 22 Norway

Alfred ? Fireman 29 London

John Norman Trimmer 34 London

John Wright Fireman 36 London

John Williams Fireman 38 Sisansca

George Smith Chief Steward 32 Hull

Albert Thomas 2nd Chief Steward 29 Liverpool

Thomas Edwards Asst Steward 37 Cheltenham

G.Bent Ships Cook 33 London

W.J.Hicks 2nd Ships Cook 25 Ramsgate

G.E.Nicklin Asst Cook 40 Stoke

Z.Healy Scullion 33 London

A.Bent Baker 33 London

J.Kirridge Butcher 31 Liverpool

H.T.Long Asst Steward 20 Liverpool

Jennie Namland Stewardess 43 Liverpool

Arthur Knight Asst Steward 20 Bristol

Arthur.S.Cooling Asst Steward 20 Redhill

G.Ruger Asst Steward 25 Manchester

R.Broughton Asst Steward 26 Fulham

W.Hayes Asst Steward 21 Bristol

R.Brown Asst Steward 24 Bristol

J.R.Dickson Asst Steward 19 Essex

A.W.Gribble Asst Steward 30 Devon

L.DeLancey Asst Steward 20 Bristol

C.Webb Asst Steward 47 London

W.G.Wright Asst Steward 19 Manchester

J.Brown Asst Steward 25 Bristol

A.C.Cotterill Asst Steward 27 Wolverhampton

E.Abbott Asst Steward 18 Waterloo

A.Hunter Asst Steward 24 Liverpool

D.J.Robertson 2nd Steward 29 Shoalhaven

G.Crone Steerage Cook 28 Liverpool

Edwin Albert Engley Carpenter’s Mate 34 Sunbridge Wells

W.J.Green Apprentice 23 Gillingham

Peter Nolan Fireman,Greaser 32 Dublin Trimmer

Total 84 Crew

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The 1912 Voyage of the “Everton Grange”

23/12/1911 G.F.Wilson appointed Captain

21/3/1912 Everton Grange arrived at Albany Western Australia

29/3/1912 Arr Adelaide

30/3/1912 Arr Melbourne Victoria Dock No 5

3/4/1912 Moved to North Wharf no 26

13/4/1912 Dep Melbourne

15/4/1912 Dep Sydney

15/4/1912 Arr Brisbane

18/4/1912 Dep Brisbane for Waipara

30/6/1912 passed St Vincent C.V from Lyttelton, New Zealand.

The crew of the “Everton Grange” 6th April 1912, Sydney Australia

Captain G.F.Wilson

Name - Station - Age - From

S.W.Warren Chief Officer 38 Essex

Thomas.C.Nerrall 2nd Officer 29 London

Charles.C.Gill 3rd Officer 26 Bristol

W.H.Grisnam 4th Officer 49 Melbourne

N.Jones Carpenter 35 Anglesea

G.Zwingmann Boatswain 31 German

J. McBride AB 42 Rathmullen

G.Lewis AB 21 Bootle

J.Reynolds AB 23 Drogheda

J.Flaherty AB 23 Bootle

Thomas.Hughes AB 39 Carnarvon

F.Arvis Seaman 21 Finn

H.F.Parker Seaman 20 London

Oskar Freeman Seaman 19 Germany

F.D.Wymer 2nd Engineer 47 Kirch

B.Monaghan 3rd Engineer 27 Liverpool

S.V.Hepburn 4th Engineer 25 Liverpool

Alexander Campbell 5th Engineer 23 Leith

Harold.C.Booth 6th Engineer 22 Sydney

A.G.Harkesford Chf Ref Eng 30 Chepstow

E.J.Curry Seedhouse 2nd Ref Eng 23 Glasgow

Thomas Culshaw Donkeyman 28 Liverpool

Simon Lynch Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 35 Liverpool

W.Booth Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 27 Liverpool

N.Grant Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 29 Liverpool

Peter Parry Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 48 Liverpool

George O’Connell Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 34 Liverpool

S.McMeakin Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 35 Liverpool

Daniel Fearns Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 36 Liverpool

Joseph Elder Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 34 Ayr

J.Spencer Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 23 Liverpool

John Cummings Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 35 Liverpool

J.Hyland Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 38 Liverpool

Francis Gallagher Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 37 Liverpool

James King Greaser,Fireman and Trimmer 20 Philadelphia

George Smith Chief Steward 31 Hull

C.Webb Asst Steward 48 London

A.S.Cooling Asst Steward 21 Surrey

B.Brown Asst Steward 25 Bristol

P.Browne Scullion 26 Bristol

J.Rowlands Stewardess 43 Wales

J.W.S.Powell Surgeon 27 Sydney

H.Walters Baker 43 Liverpool

Robert Morris Asst Steward 23 Bootle

Benjamin Burroughs Asst Steward 50 Middlesborough

E.Fenton Asst Steward 29 Egremont

A.Marsden Asst Steward 21 Manchester

H.Hibbit Asst Steward 17 London

E.Carter Asst Steward 25 London

F.Fordham Steerage Steward 34 Richmond Qld

Fred Watts Greaser, trimmer and fireman 38 Leeds

John Coleman Greaser, trimmer and fireman 22 Bootle

S.G.Robertson Chief Engineer 48 Sunderland

G.Crone Steerage cook 29 Liverpool

W.O’Donnell Butcher 33 Liverpool

A.Parkinson 2nd Cook 25 Banowin

R.Riley OS 19 Liverpool

W.McGill AB 47 Drogheda

W.Neathercoat AB 21 London

C.Gordon OS 19 Liverpool

G.Fairhurst OS 17 Bootle

J.E.Flaherty OS 21 Bootle

James Murphy Donkeyman 32 Rostrevor

J.Ellis Fireman,trimmer, greaser 37 Liverpool

N.Chambers Fireman,trimmer, greaser 38 Liverpool

James Timmidus Chief Cook 55 Dublin

G.A.Davies Asst Steward 22 Liverpool

J.Gove Asst Steward 23 Liverpool

Sydney Smith Asst Steward 24 Liverpool

Duke Barnby Asst Steward 19 Liverpool

M.Middlebrook Asst Steward 39 Bradford

Hedley Hammond Asst Steward 18 Faversham

Peter Reynolds AB 30 Drogheda

Tom Edwards 2nd Steward 37 Dublin

John Evans Asst Steward 38 Liverpool

R.C.Long Joiner 24 Liverpool

T.Berry Deck hand 31 Armagh

P.McCann Trimmer 21 Liverpool

A.E.Martin Asst Steward 26 Bristol

R.Stephens Asst Steward 23 Sydney

J.Birchley AB 21 Portsmouth

T.Berntsen AB 21 Norway

J.Disby OS 17 Liverpool

W.H.Worthington Fireman 28 Manchester

B.Greaves Trimmer 33 Liverpool

D.Ryan AB 25 London

F.C.Smith Fireman 30 London

T.Kull Fireman 28 Copenhagen

Clifford Piggott Ship’s Cook 29 Gurnsey

Total 90 crew  

                                                   References
“The Log”  March 1936.
“On Hundred Years of Houlders”  Stevens, Edward.F. London, Mendip Press 1950.  
Lloyds Captains Register 1851-1947.
“Australasian Shipping” 1886-1900.                                         
Ubootwaffe.net Kriegsmarine & U-boat history.
The “Times” Shipping Intelligence.
The “Argus” Shipping Intelligence.
The “Sydney Morning Herald” Shipping Intelligence.
The “Brisbane Courier Mail”  Shipping Intelligence.

                                              Sources
The State Library of Victoria.
The Vaughan Evans Library, National Maritime Museum of Australia.
The Public Records Office Victoria.
The State Records Office of NSW.
The Maritime History Archive, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
The Manuscripts Department, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
       

                                                                          The Writing and researching of this article. 

   In beginning to research this story I was fortunate enough to have a copy of an article on George Wilson from the Houlder Brothers Company magazine the “Log”.  Published on his retirement, the article gave a basic summary of his career and most of the ships on which he had served.  As he had reached the rank of Captain, I was able to obtain a copy of his entry in the Lloyds Captains register which was kindly supplied to me by the Vaughan Evans Library, National Maritime Museum of Australia(http://www.anmm.gov.au). It provided details of his appointment to each ship from the rank of 1st mate and above, the date of appointment and the general area of each voyage.  A Web search provided details on virtually all of the ships, most of them being available on the theshipslist (http://www.theshipslist.com/).
From Lloyds list of shipping (available up to 1891 on microfilm at NMMA ) I was also able to obtain a summary of his maiden voyage including dates and ports visited.        
    Much of the early part of his career was spent in voyages to Australia and the State Library of Victoria was a source of  much information.  By searching microfilm of local newspapers such as the “Argus” and the  “Sydney Morning Herald”, it was possible to find information relating to the voyages within the “Shipping Intelligence” section of the paper.  This detailed arrival and departure times and scanning the shipping ‘classifieds’ revealed advertisements for some of the voyages with details of fares, facilities, departure dates and locations.  In addition, for voyages during the 1880’s and 1890’s to Australian ports,  I was able to find  specifics of cargos carried, of incidents and breakdowns which occurred and even dramatic accounts of some of the voyages.   “Australasian Shipping News” also provided valuable information on shipping movements up to 1900.  Also available at the SLV was microfilm of  the “Times” which provided many details of ports travelled to and from though the process of scanning the “Shipping Intelligence” columns was necessarily time consuming.   
   The Public Records Office of Victoria holds passenger lists for unassisted migration during the period 1852-1923 though they do not hold crew lists.  I was able to obtain crew lists for visits to Sydney from the State Records Office of NSW.  For crew agreements, two valuable sources are the Manuscripts Department of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London and the Maritime History Archive, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (http://www.mun.ca/mha) which holds most of the available crew agreements and log books for the period 1863-1938 and 1951-1976.   
     If you would like further information regarding the researching of the article please contact me at philipeaglesrocket@hotmail.com.

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