Cambank (UKHO 7331)

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NPRN272145
Map ReferenceSH59NE
Grid ReferenceSH5629396469
Unitary (Local) AuthorityMaritime
Old CountyMaritime
CommunityMaritime
Type Of SiteWRECK
Period20th Century
Description

The wreck identified as the CAMBANK lies in 32m of water with its keel orientated 045 (bow)/ 225 (stern) degrees. It has a surveyed length of 110.5m, a width of 24m, and a maximum height above the seabed of 12m. The wreck is described as degraded, upright, and partially buried with visible structure at the bow and the stern. There are large scour pits to the north and south side of the wreck. The stem of the bow stands upright, creating a pinnacle in the centre of the southern scour pit which extends eastward. The remainder of the bow section and around the foreward hold has collapsed or been flattened as a result of the salvage undertaken in the 1950s. The remains of the central bridge/accommodation block now form the highest parts of the wreck. The stern has now collapsed and largely buried.

This wreck was originally located in 1923 when it was marked by a buoy. It was located and examined by the UKHO in 1971, and again in 1987 when it had a surveyed length of 109m. The ship's bell, engraved SS RAITHMOOR 1899, was recovered in 1991 confirming the identification of the wreck. It was subject to a detailed survey by Bangor University in MONTH YEAR. Associated research was undertaken by Dr Innes McCartney (2022) for the Echoes from the Deep project, which corroborated the existing identification of the wreck as the CAMBANK, and also noted the impact of salvage work in the 1950s on the disposition of the wreck.

Event and Historical Information:
The CAMBANK (ex. RAITHMOOR, 1899-1913) was a steel-hulled screw-steamer built by John Readhead & Sons, South Shields, in 1899 (Official No. 110097, Yard No. 338). It was built for W. J. Runciman, who had been a childhood friend of James, son of the founder. The first vessel built for Runciman was the BLAKEMOOR in 1888 and the association between the line and the yard continued for many years (e.g. CASTLEMOOR 1892, HAZELMOOR 1894, etc). By the start of World War I, the company owned 49 steamships and had changed its name to the Moor Line. The RAITHMOOR/CAMBANK's technical specifications are given as 3112gt; 323ft long x 47ft wide x 22ft depth; 1 deck, 5 bulkheads, quarterdeck 29ft, boat deck 80ft, forecastle 32ft; screw propulsion powered by two boilers linked to 3 triple expansion engines producing 278 hp; cylinder diameters 24in, 40in and 64in, length of stroke 42in. It was sold to the Merevale Shipping Co of Cardiff in 1913, who changed the vessel's name to CAMBANK to fit with the line's own naming tradition (e.g. CAMROSE, CAMWELL, CAMDALE, CAMLAKE, etc). At time of loss, William Evans Thomas, was the nominated manager of 17 Merchants Exchange Bute Street. Surviving crew lists at Glamorgan Archives suggest a regular or 'core' crew often including Thomas R. Prescott as master, W. Williams of Carmarthen as Mate, W. E. Rothbottom of Pencoed, Engineer; George Dring of Carrbridge, Donkeyman; and George Webb of Carrbridge, pilot.

On 20 February 1915 the CAMBANK was travelling from Huelva to Garston with a cargo of copper, when, soon after picking up a pilot, it was torpedoed by German U-30 at 11am. Sources give differing positions for the loss - between 4 and 10 miles east of Point Lynas. The sound of the explosion was heard ashore and was a signal for the lifeboat to be launched. Although three lives were lost in the initial explosion and a fourth man drowned during the evacuation of the ship, 21 survivors made it into the ship's two lifeboats. These were taken in tow by the Bull Bay lifeboat until picked up by the armed yacht ORIANA, which then towed all three back to Amlwch. The CAMBANK broke in two and sank 20 minutes after being attacked. Much of the copper was salvaged in the 1950s.

The crewmen commemorated on the memorial for merchant sailors and fishermen at Tower Hill, London, are as follows: Joseph Wilson Boyle, Third Engineer; Michael Lynch, Fireman and Trimmer; Robert Quigley, Donkeyman; and Charles Sinclair, Fireman and Trimmer.

The ship was included in the multi-beam surveys undertaken by Bangor University in 2018, as part of the Royal Commission's HLF funded Partnership Project - 'Commemorating the Forgotten U-Boat War around the Welsh Coast 1914-18'.

Sources include:

Yr Adsain, 23 February 1915, p.1

CAMBANK, People's Collection Wales

Cambank, U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea

Flintshire Observer, 25 February 1915, p.6

Gater, D, 1992, Historic Shipwrecks of Wales, p.129

Great War at Sea: CAMBANK sunk 20 February 1915, People's Collection Wales

HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-8 and 1939-45, p.4

Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002

Liverpool Daily Post, 22 February 1915

Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1915, p.9 (i)

Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1913 - 30 June 1914, number 177 in C

McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep

Mercantile Navy List 1913, p.455,

Mercantile Navy List 1904, p.342

Port of Cardiff Shipping Register 1912-1916, Glamorgan Archives DRBS1/10, 7 in 1913 (folio 33)

Portsmouth Evening News, 22 February 1915, p.6

UKHO ID 7331: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.

Wynne-Jones, I, 2001, Shipwrecks of North Wales, 4th edition, p.82

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, November 2024.

This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project ‘Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales’. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.