Custom's Officer killed by Smugglers
Liverpool man's death off Singapore
News has been received in Liverpool from the High Commissioner of the Malay States informing the relatives at Orrell Park of the death of Commander William Ernest WAKEFIELD, on the morning of May 23rd off Singapore, in an encounter with rubber smugglers. At the time of his death Commander WAKEFIELD was in command of the Malay States Customs preventive motor launch LALAT, it is conjectured that he had intercepted one of the many junks which are used in the smuggling of rubber from the Malacca ports to Sumatra, where it is sold at a very high figure. For the purpose of checking this trade motor launches were placed in commission in the Custom's service and Commander WAKEFIELD had held command for about 12 months, having left the service of the Blue Funnel Line, Messers Alfred HOLT and Co, of Liverpool, in Far Eastern waters for the purpose.
While engaged in patrol work off Singapore the LALAT came upon one of these smuggling junks. The smugglers were armed and refused to surrender and in the affray Commander WAKEFIELD was shot dead. He was 27 years of age and held a master's certificate. During the last war he served as an apprentice in the Liverpool sailing ship CARNMONEY and while homeward bound from the River Plate she was met by a German Submarine, whose commander by a strange coincidence had previously served as chief officer on the CARNMONEY, but even his affection for his old ship did not spare her, for he gave instructions that the master and crew had to take to their boats. When this was accomplished the CARMONEY was sunk by shell fire and for three days and nights Commander WAKEFIELD and the crew of the CARMONEY were adrift in the open boats until they were picked up and landed at Glasgow.
Commander WAKEFIELD was an old boy of the Liverpool Institute
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Feb 13th 1928
After a great hurricane one of the worst experienced in this country, which swept the British Isles from Friday night until Saturday afternoon, the wind reaching a furious velocity of 104 mph at Liverpool, resulting in loss of life. Six men forming the crew of a sand-vessel, the CRINKLE owned by Messers William COOPER and Sons of Widnes lost their lives when the CRINKLE was wrecked in the Mersey between Liverpool and Widnes it was not until late on Saturday night that the disaster became known. The victims were Captain James ACTON of Garston, Isaac RATHBONE and James RATHBONE [father and son] of Widnes, Archie CARRMICHAEL of Widnes and Ashley YATES of Runcorn. The CRINKLE which was used for obtaining sand from the river banks was not expected to arrive at Widnes on Saturday morning. No alarm was felt when she did not turn up as it was thought that she had gone into one of the Liverpool docks. On Saturday evening a half-submerged vessel was found lying on its side on the bank off Hale Rd and after investigation it was found to be the CRINKLE, her two lifeboats were missing and have not yet been found. No bodies have been recovered, but if the men had reached safety news would have been received of them quickly.
It is feared that Captain MARTIN of Cornwall, master of the schooner ROTHERSAND, which was anchored off Rock Ferry, on the Cheshire side of the Mersey, has lost his life. Accompanied by two crew members he was returning to his ship in a small boat, which, after being much buffeted about by the waves, was carried to the Lancashire side of the river and thrown against the dock wall at Garston. The two members of the crew were rescued but the captain has not since been seen. Ii is stated by one of the men that he heard the captain, who was in an exhausted state and apparently unable to grasp the lifebelt which was thrown to him, shouting, "Lord save me."
During the height of the gale a coal elevator at the Gladstone Dock was blown over and sank almost immediately. Four men were also blown into the dock and were rescued in a very exhausted condition, they were William MARTIN of Litherland, Richard BODEN of Wallasey, Herbert NEVIN of Bootle, and William MURPHY of Walton, all four were treated at the hospital and BODEN and MURPHY were detained.
The boat in which Andrew MOONEY and Angus McDOUGALL were proceeding to their work in the Bromborough Pool, district of the river was carried away and after drifting helplessly about for some hours was washed ashore at Hale, the men scrambled up the bank and sheltered in a hut until daybreak
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April 16th 1928
Liner strikes iceberg in mid Atlantic collision, two crew killed
Accounts of a remarkable escape of the Canadian Pacific Company's steamer MONTROSE [16,500 tons] in mid-Atlantic was given by passengers and crew when the vessel was berthed in one of the Liverpool docks last night.
About noon on Easter Monday, three days out from St John's, New Brunswick, bound for the Mersey, she struck a great iceberg, resulting in the liner's bows being stove in about 20 feet and two crew members were crushed to death in the wreckage. The victims were Tom JONES, aged 57, deck, store-keeper of Syren St, Liverpool and Jack WALKER, aged 32, assistant electrician of Birkenhead, both men were buried at sea the next day. WALKER was making his last trip before being married.
One member of the crew describes the collision, "We were steaming dead slow in a thick fog, when the lookout man on the forecastle head gave the alarm that there was ice ahead. A voice came back "Then jump for it" Without hesitation the lookout man jumped, but, only in time to save his life. A few seconds later the vessel struck the iceberg which was of tremendous dimensions and towered far above the liner's masts. The impact caused a tremendous noise followed by a deep crunching sound and many tons of ice came tumbling like an avalanche on to the deck of the ship."
A quiver ran through the vessel, she rocked ominously, and all thought she was going down. However, she righted herself, and was slowly backed. It seems, Captain LANDY [master of the MONTROSE] had seen the ice of which there were two bergs. He could either try to go between the two and take the risk of the ship's sides being ripped open, or he could go straight at one of the bergs. He chose the latter and putting the helm hard to starboard, went for the lesser of the bergs".
"It is nothing less than a miracle that the MONTROSE did not become a total loss" was the declaration of one of the passengers. "If Captain LANDY had tried to go between the two bergs nothing would have saved the ship."
There was no panic, and the passengers and crew behaved splendidly. The directions gave by those in command were implicitly carried out by passengers, who proceeded to their boat stations and put on their lifebelts. There they waited in a perfectly orderly manner while the officers went below and made an examination of the damage. After about half an hour's anxious wait the passengers were told that there was no immediate danger, and they went to their cabins. Meanwhile, wireless messages had been sent to ships in the vicinity to keep close in the event of their assistance being required. The vessel eventually reached Liverpool only a few hours late. She steamed into Liverpool her bows were a buckled, shapeless mass of torn and twisted iron, her superstructure reduced to a pile of wrecked rails and splintered wood. Earlier in the day a memorial bearing the signature of every passenger had been presented to Captain LANDY, expressing their gratitude to him and his crew. "Captain LANDY'S presence of mind and navigating skills had saved the ship" was the emphatic assertion of Captain James GILLIES, General Manager of the Canadian Pacific steamers, London.
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