The wreck of the SPENSER lies in 74m of water and is orientated 045 (bow)/225 (stern). The wreck is upright on the seabed and is 121m long, and 15m wide, the stern area has collapsed (McCartney, 2022: 188).
The wreck was originally identified by the UKHO as the BIRCHWOOD (NPRN 516139). Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 189) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University in May 2019, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the SPENSER. The record has been updated to reflect that new research.
Event and Historical Information:
The SPENSER was a steel-hulled steamship built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co. Ltd in 1900 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 4186gt, 2649nt; 385ft 2in length x 51ftr breadth x 25ft 6in depth; 2 decks, shelter deck; 6 bulkheads, 4 masts; screw propulsion powered by twin boilers linked to a triple expansion engine producing 475hp; machinery by NE Marine Eng Co Ltd., Newcastle. At the time of loss on 6 January 1918, the vessel was owned by Lamport & Holt Ltd and registered at Liverpool.
The intelligence reports gathered by the Admiralty noted that the ship was on passage from Dakar - having left there on 16 December 1917 - and was part of a convoy (HD16) for Liverpool. The ship was carrying some 7000 tons of cargo, principally hides and 3000 tons of Quabracho extract. It was also carrying mail from Brazil (Buenos Aires being an earlier destination). The master's name was William Warriner Watson. The ship was still in convoy and had reached position 52 25N 5 20W when, at around 10.40am on 9 January 1918, it was torpedoed without warning by U-61. The ship had posted lookouts on the bridge, in the fore and aft mast crows-nests, and on the gun platforms. The torpedo was seen approaching 3 points abaft the port beam and struck around the number 5 hatch fairly deep below the water. The explosion threw the propellor shaft out of line and caused a huge rent in the ship's bottom.
The crew comprised 42 British, Spanish, Scandinavian, and Dutch mariners. The ship was also carrying two distressed British seaman from Buenos Aires and two gunners - William Hay, Leading Seaman, RNR, and Booth Leslie, Able Seaman, RNVR. The crew took to 4 boats, which were picked up by patrol yacht LADY BLANCHE. The U-61, under the command of Kapitanleutnant Victor Dieckmann, had departed Helgoland on 23 December 1917, passing through Dover Straits to the south coast of Ireland, and during its patrol the submarine had already sunk the American Q-Ship USS SANTEE, the armed steamer BIRCHWOOD (NPRN 516139), and the ROSE MARIE. The SPENSER was attacked on the same day as the HALBADIER (NPRN 274779) which was sunk 3nm to the SW, 3 hours later (McCartney, 2022: 188).
Sources include:
ADM137/4008 Home Waters Ships Attacked January 1- 15 1918, The National Archives, Kew
Armstrong, P and Young, R, 2010, Silent Warriors: Submarine Wrecks of the United Kingdom, Vol 3, pp.41-51
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost At Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p.78
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1918, p.10 (i)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1915 - 30 June 1916, number 1773 in S
McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea
UKHO ID 9954: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, November 2023.
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.