DescriptionThis record comprises a documentary reference to a shipping casualty which has been assigned to the maritime named location ENTRANCE MILFORD HAVEN pending more information which may allow a more precise location for the loss to be assigned.
For information on the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 Act and its administration with regard to vessels, please contact the Ministry of Defence, Wreck Section, Naval Personnel Secretariat, Room 125 Victory Building, HMNB Portsmouth, PO1 3LS.
Event and Historical Information:
The FERNDALE was steam drifter built by Slater of Lossiemouth in 1910 for James Garden, John Allen Garden and J Mitchell, all of Lossiemouth, Scotland. The drifter was been registered at Inverness (fishing number INS 71, official number 131260). Technical and configuration specifications are given as 75gt, 31nt; 85ft long x 19ft breadth x 8ft depth; screw propulsion powered by a single boiler linked to a triple expansion engine provided by John Lewis Shipyard, Aberdeen, producing 25hp. The drifter was on Admiralty service with 9 crewmen under the command of James Garden at time of loss on 27 December 1915. It was returning to Pembroke Dock in company with the LADYSMITH (NPRN 273136) in very heavy seas, when a wave washed one of the crew overboard. Whilst the engine was stopped in an attempt to recover the naval rating, the FERNDALE drifted ashore on the rocks at St Ann's Head and became a total wreck. The rocket apparatus was used in an attempt to get a line on board in order to rig a breeches buoy, but the wind was so strong it proved impossible. The naval officer and all 8 crewmembers were drowned, including James Garden, his brother and nephew.
Sources include:
Dittmar, F J and Colledge, 1972, British Warships 1914-18, pg86
The Fishing News, Saturday January 8 1916, pg12
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, pg102
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Mair, A, Reid, J, Smith, J C, and Williamson, D E, 2000. Steam Drifters Recalled: Porthgordon to Portsoy
Mercantile Navy List 1913, pg196
WWW resources include:
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/495674
Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, February 2016.
