This record consists of a documentary reference to a shipping casualty which has been assigned to the maritime named location HOLYHEAD OUTER HARBOUR pending more information which may allow a more precise location for the loss to be assigned.
Event and Historical Information:
The BEN-LEE was a steel-hulled, full-rigged ship built by Barclay, Curle & Co Ltd in 1893. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2341gt, 2204nt; 284ft 5in x 42ft 2in x 24ft 5in; 3 masts, 1 deck, 1 bulkhead, passenger deck 38ft, forecastle 34ft. At time of loss on 29 January 1916, the vessel was owned by J & J Rae & Co , Liverpool , and was under the command of master E R Brown. The BEN-LEE was outward bound to Santos and then onto Sydney, Australia. It was in collision with the American steamship PHILADELPHIA and foundered in the Holyhead Outer Roads.
Sources include:
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1916 Part II Table A p.33 (3)
Y Clorianydd, 2 February 1916, p.2
Haverfordwest and Milford Haven Telegraph, 2 February 1916, p.3
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1916, p.12 (f)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping 1 July 1914 - 30 June 1915, number 87 in B
Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, October 2009
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.