ARMAGH WRECKED.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17983, 29 January 1924, Page 10

ARMAGH WRECKED.

HER BACK BROKEN. RESCUE OF ALL ON BOARD. (FBOH OUR OVTI7 COEEESFOKDENT.) -LONDON, December 17. On Saturday evening the Union Steamship Company's s.ac Armagh (12.209 tons), out-ward bound to Australia, ran on to the revetment wall in the Crosby Channel at the month of the Mersey, and could not be refloated. The vessel was heavily laden, and, the tide ebbing, she broke in two, but did not sink. Tho crew of ninety-nine men, with three passengers—a man, his wife, and child—and four stowaways, were rescued by the New Brighton lifeboat and several tugs. There was no confusion on board, and while waiting to be taken off the wrecked ship the crew sang songs. It is difficult to understand how the steamer came- to grief, as the sea was calm and the weather clear when she struck the revetment. In Clear Atmosphere. The Armagh, with Captain S. "Vint in command, and a pilot aboard, left the Saridon Dock at three o'clock, when the weather and sea were calm and the atmosphere clear. She proceeded to shape a course through the Crosby and Queen's Channels, always a matter of concern in navigation, especially so on Saturdays, when outward-bound ships are numerous. In this case the Armagh did not succeed in reaching Queen's Channel, for, when within easy distance of the Crosby lightship and the revetment, by some means not apparent, she grounded. By this timie—s.lo p.m. —it was dark, and the dangerous situation was at once realised by the officers. The fact that the vessel was heavily laden imposed a severe strain upon her, and the peril waa enhanced by the ebb of the tide. No Panic on Board. There was no confusion, however, on board, and the behaviour of the crew, was exemplary. In the hope of getting the steamer off the revetment the engines were put full speed astern, but the effort proved unavailing. Meanwhile the strain upon the vessel increased with the falling of the tide, rivets were dislodged with a noise like pistol shots, and steam-pipes burst, causing considerable danger to the crew, particularly those engaged below. Fortunately, the electric dynamo continued to function, and danger from this source was minimised. That no one was injured is attributed to the fact that the lights kept burning, and . they continued to do so until after everyone aboard had been rescued. "Yes, We Have No Shortly after seven o'clock it became apparent that the vessel * was doomed, and signals of distress were fired. In response to these the lifeboat Queen was launched, and the Dock Board tender Vigilant and a number of tugs went to the rescue. When tho lifeboat got alongside, a rope ladder was slung 'over the side of the Armagh, and down this the three passengers were first of all lowered to safety. The lady fainted as she reached the boat, but quickly recovered. At the time the members of the crew were marshalled on the forecastle head, and as evidence of their cheerfulness in tho trying circumstances, they sang popular songs, including tho favourite "Yes, We Have No Bananas/"

The bow of the vessel was firmly fixed, job the revetment, and with the heavy weight astern, a gash which appeared on her starboard side gradually expanded until she broke her back. A number of the crew launched the ship's jolly-boat and were taken on board the lifeboat, on to which they jumped from their own craft. The remainder gained safety on the lifeboat by means of the rope ladder. From the Queen the passengers and the whole of the crew were transferred to the Vigilant, which brought them to the stage. The cfew arrived at the landing stage about 2 a.m. on Sunday, and went to the Sailors' Home, where they were cared for. In tho forenoon the section of tho crew belonging to London left Liverpool for their homes from Lime street station. The officers and the remainder of the crew are still at tho Sailors' Homo. The Bursting Si vets. Telling the story of what happened, one of the quartermasters of tho Armagh remarked to a Liverpool "Daily Post'' representative: ''There was <no great crash or shock when we grounded. We were having tea at tho time. We seemed to slide gently on to the bank, so' quietly, indeed, that it might have been a mudbank for anything I knew to the contrary at the time. It was dark, but beautiful and clear. Nobody at first knew what had happened, and certainly nobody thought of anything serious. It was only when the engines, put on full speed astern, didn't back her off, that. we began to suspect it was a serious business. When it was found she would not move we sent up rockets and got the lifeboats ready, although even then we didn't think it was a case of losing our ship. But as time went on and all efforts to back her off were futile, we feared that at any rate we should be held up for another tide.

"Not long afterwards, however, wo began to hear cracking and straining, which we knew was the spine of the ship going. Then we heard rivets bursting through tho plates.just like machine-gun rattle, and we somehow felt within us that our good ship was doomed. And so it proved. About midnight we got a bit alarmed, though not panicky, when we saw a big vertical crack in the hull, which started on the starboard side of the bridge, and gradually grew wider and wider. It was then we realised that it was soon to be a case of taking to the boats. Music-Hail Ditties. "TJp to then we'd all on the forecastle singing miisic-hall " ditties, with ne'er a thought of going ashore. "When the order to quit ship was given it was with some reluctance we obeyed, but it was, perhaps, none too soon, for the after-part of the Armagh, which had a very heavy cargo astern, fell off, at any rate, it was only hanging on by the keep and a few girders of the lower framework. One thing I was very thankful for, that was that the electric dynamo continued to function, and thus allow the ship to remain fully lighted. With steam . pipes bursting up and down the vessel as her back was breaking no one can tell what might have happened if she had 'been plunged into darkness. As it was, thank God, no one was scalded by steam or otherwise injured.'/ Tribute to the lifeboat Men. In an interview one of the ship's officers paid a high compliment to the lifeboat men. "They carried ont their work, most skilfully," he said, and. they were assisted the fine conduct of the men of the Armagh. From the time the vessel struck to the final scenes of the rescue there was no panic or excitement, and to this was due ths

successful removal of all aboard tho doomed steamer.-'' Mr I'\ TV. Harris, chief steward, of London, stated that some of the crew %vere at tea "when the vessel grounded. "I -was sitting in my cabin at the time, when I felt a bump, and then a'grinding sound. I %vent on deck, and found most of the crew assembled in the forepart of the ship. There was nothing in the nature of a panic on board." Describing the rescue scenes, he said: "A ladder was passed over the side from hand-to-hand down to tho lifeboat. Mrs Walter was next lowered to safety, and her husband followed." Lights Kept Burning. Robert Kite, a fireman, said: "I felt the shock of the grounding, and afterwards the engines stopped; All the crew were mustered on deck, and vre were told that the vessel might get off on the full-tide. Shortly after eleven o'clock, however, she broke in two. An explosion occurred later through tho bursting of a steampipc, and the ship was enveloped in steam. Fortunately, the lights kept on, and we were able to avoid accidents which might have occurred if we had been in complete darkness. As a matter of fact, when the last man left the Armagh the ship was still illuminated." The Armagh is a twin-screw steamer, built in 1917 by Messrs Swan, Hunter, Wigham, and Richardson, of Newcastle. She started her present voyage from London, and had called for cargo at Swansea, Newport, Avonmouth, and Manchester, before coming to Liverpool. She was reputed to be the fastest cargo steamer afloat. The Revetment. • The function of the revetment, in the Dock Bdard's scheme of things, i 3 to assist in keeping open the Crosby Channel for navigation. Towards tlio close of 1906 the Board, in order to prevent erosion of the concave bend in the south side of Taylor's Bank, in the' Crosby Channel, and the corresponding northward extension of the Askew Spit, decided ,to "revet" that side of the bank with stone. The work consisted of the deposit along the southern face of Taylor's. Bank, below lowwater level, and well outside the channel, of a layer of small lumps of hard stone in such a manner as to revet, or clothe, its slope, and so protect the underlying _ sand from ' erosion. By these means, it is claimed, the channel has been made straighter nad more easily navigable by largu-.vessels. The work was commenced early in 1909, and by November, 1910, the revetment, two and a half miles, was completed.'Since then, however, it has been found necessary to extend the revetment at its seaward end. Earlier Disasters. There have been several instances of vessels running aground on the revetment. The cases of the steamer Ulstermore, some ten or twelve years ago, and the gunboat Cochrane during the war, both total wrecks, may be recalled. Only a few weeks ago the steamer Ibis went ashore on the revetment. She refloated after her crew tj-pd left her, but went aground at another spot with disastrous consequences.