The wreck of the DUNSLEY lies in 73m of water and is orientated 135 (bow)/315 (stern). The wreck is upright, 82m long, 11m wide, and has three visible holds forward, machinery aft (McCartney, 2022: 240).
The wreck was originally designated by the UKHO as 'Unknown'. Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 240) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University May 2019, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the DUNSLEY. The record has been updated to reflect that research.
The wreck was first located and examined by the UKHO in 2014.
Event and Historical Information:
The DUNSLEY was a screw steamer built in 1889 by J. L. Thompson and Sons, Sunderland (Yard No. 250, Official No. 96542). The vessel was 1987 grt, 85.6m long, 11.6m wide, and 5.9m depth. It was constructed from steel and powered by a 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine, single shaft, single screw, by J. Dickinson and Sons, Sunderland. The owner at the time of loss is the ship was owned by M Thomas and Son Shipping Co. Ltd. and registered in Cardiff.
On 30 August 1911 the DUNSLEY was sailing from Appledore to Birkenhead, in ballast, when it developed a leak and foundered at a location given as 10 miles southwest of Bardsey. McCartney (2022: 240) notes the interest around the loss of the ship relating to the fact that it was over-insured and that nothing was done to save the vessel from sinking.
Sources include:
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1911, Appendix C, Table 1, p.85 (383)
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyds Register, Steamers, 1909-1910, D792
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 July - 30 September 1911, p.7 (e)
McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep
UKHO ID 82347: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?216796
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, December 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.