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HOGARTH

Shipbuildervessel built by Hall, Russell & Company, Limited (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1864 - 1992)

OwnerOwned by Aberdeen Steam Navigation Company (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1821 - 1962)

Date1893

Object NameSCREW STEAMER

MediumSTEEL

ClassificationsShip

Dimensionslength 253' x breadth 32'7" x depth 17'6"
Gross Tonnage: 1226 ton

Object numberABDSHIP001918

Keywords

Aberdeen Built Ships

About MeYard: Hall, Russell & Co.
Yard Number: 275
Official Number: 99647

Fate: torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UB 107 off the Longstone Light, Farne Islands on 7 June 1918.

Propulsion: Steam
Description: Cargo and passenger vessel, 2 decks, forecastle 47', bridge deck 65', poop deck 71'.

Owners:
Aberdeen Steam Navigation Co., managed by Edward J. Savage, 87 Waterloo Quay, Aberdeen.

Masters:
1893-97: Master H. Dowman
1898-99: Master J. F. Black
1910-11: Master F. Ward

General History:
06/12/1892: Launched. Named by Miss Hogarth, daughter of the owner’s chairman.

21/02/1893:
Steamer HOGARTH arrived London yesterday afternoon. All well. Pleasant passage.
(Aberdeen Weekly Journal)

09/01/1894:
Steamer HOGARTH passed Flamborough head today bound north and signalled "Have been in collision, serious damage to watertight compartment." (10/01/1894: Arrived Aberdeen with starboard bow badly damaged in collision with steamer SIKS)
(Northern Echo)

23/06/1896:
Aberdeen seaman drowned in London - Alexander Morrice, of Aberdeen S.N. Co.'s steamer HOGARTH drowned at Limehouse Wharf. He was cleaning brass work on side of vessel Friday evening when he lost his balance, fell into the water and is supposed to have suffocated in the mud. Of 25 years, he was married and leaves widow and 2 children.
(Dundee Courier)

12/08/1896:
Aberdeen S.N. Co.'s steamer HOGARTH brought 279 passengers on last voyage from London, a record. (Previous largest was 260 last summer.)
(Aberdeen Weekly Journal)

ABS Hogarth (1893) additional material

Operating the Aberdeen Steam Navigation Co. service Aberdeen – London, HOGARTH’s sailings were from time to time affected by weather delays. A notable one was in October 1905, when it arrived Aberdeen 26 hours late, having encountered the roughest passage within the memories of most of the crew. Although the engines were run at dead slow most of the way from Yarmouth to the Forth, the propeller was racing when it was on crest of waves, sending uncomfortable shivers through the ship. The other major weather hazard was fog. In May 1893 because of dense fog it missed the tide to enter Aberdeen harbour and had to lie in the bay from 8am till 2pm, making it 13 hours late.
HOGARTH experienced a number of collisions in the course of its career, some influenced by the weather, others by the weight of traffic in what were then busy waters. In January 1896, when being towed out of Aberdeen harbour, it was caught by a combination of wind and tide and driven against the quay wall. The stem was started from deck level to below the water line, with some plates stove in. A few days in the graving dock were required to carry out repairs. Two collisions had tragic consequences. On 22 November 1905 in clear but dark conditions off Lowestoft, HOGARTH ran down the Portessie fishing boat POMEGRANATE. The fishing boat, which it was claimed had not been showing lights, was not seen until immediately beneath the steamer’s bow. Part of its stern was cut away and it immediately sank with the loss of 8 lives. Two were picked up after 20 minutes by a by a boat lowered by the steamer, one of whom died while still in the boat. HOGARTH’s bow was considerably damaged.
Apart from the launch of a local appeal for the dependents, little more was made by the newspapers of the fate of the POMEGRANATE. By contrast, probably because the accident occurred on the Thames and resulted in the death of three young sea scouts and a scoutmaster, very extensive coverage was given when HOGARTH ran down and sank the ketch MIRROR in the dark in Gravesend Reach on 25 October 1913. Extensive reports were carried of the subsequent Board of Trade enquiry meetings. Capt. Thomas Ward, master of HOGARTH, said that the first he saw of the ketch was a red light in the starboard bow and that he then ordered hard a port and full steam astern. The verdict of the enquiry was that the collision was caused by an error of judgement by the master of HOGARTH not amounting to a wrongful act. It held that he ported helm to try to pass under MIRROR’s stern when the vessels were too close together for this to be successful. A contributory cause was the failure of those aboard HOGARTH to sight MIRROR’s stern light until there was imminent danger of collision. Some witnesses reported having seen mist patches on the river. Possibly because of wartime reporting restrictions, only a brief reference was made in the Aberdeen Journal to a collision between HOGARTH and the steamer PITZARRO at Gravesend in September 1915. HOGARTH was said to have arrived safely at Aberdeen, appearing to be none the worse.

On 12 September 1901 the Aberdeen Journal carried an extended narrative of a round voyage from Aberdeen to London aboard HOGARTH by a small group of married gentlemen. Much of it describes the towns and coastal views seen from the vessel. HOGARTH was described as being one of the fastest, safest and best appointed of the many vessels then sailing between Scottish and English ports and the metropolis. Captain Dowling was complimented on the splendid sailing qualities of the vessel and its beautifully clean and smart appearance and ‘the courtesy and kindness of the captain, officers, stewards and whole crew was not the least pleasant feature of the trip, which was of the most enjoyable description’.
Sources (all newspaper refs from British Newspaper Archive, accessed 20 and 26/03/2023):- Aberdeen Journal, 20/01/1896, 12/09/1901, 09/10/1905, 14/09/1915; Evening Express 05/05/1893, 15/01/1914, 10/02/1914 ; Yorkshire Evening Post, 24/11/1905; Peterhead Sentinal, 02/12/1905; Daily Herald, 05/11/1913; Newcastle Daily Chronicle, 03/02/1914; Western Daily Press, 04/02/1914; Manchester Evening News 27/01/1914.

07/06/1918: Torpedoed and sunk by UB 107 off the Longstone Light, Farne Islands
whilst on passage from London for Aberdeen with a general cargo. One survivor was picked up after nearly two days on a raft but 26 men, including the
Master David Stephen, were lost.

Transcript of letter about the sinking:

'Dear Mrs Cooper
I think it well to send you the following particulars now received by our London agent from Gunner Bunting regarding the disaster to the "Hogarth".
"I have seen Bunting, and he says Flamboro' Head was passed 7.20pm on 7th inst. and they would be just north of the Tyne, and what he reckoned about 30 miles south of the Farnes, when the vessel was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side - amidships, evidently striking the boilers, which in his opinion exploded at the same time as the torpedo.
Everything seemed to be smashed, and all was over in 4 minutes; practically no time for anyone below to save themselves. It was a very quiet still night with a smooth calm sea and not dark.
His story is that the "Watch" had just changed at midnight Friday 7th. He was in his cabin under the bridge, whilst his mater Robertson had gone aft to the gun position. He had just got his boots off when all at once he was shot out of his cabin - he thought upwards - and into the water, when he managed to clutch hold of what he ultimately found to be the raft placed on Boat Deck, but was then almost immediately sucked under through the sinking of the vessel, and on coming to the surface and recovering himself found everything vanished - at some distance he heard the cries of two men. He called out to them to "Keep a good heart" and for half an hour or so he heard them, and then all was still. On daylight coming in he saw nothing but wreckage floating about but none of the boats, only portions of these. About an hour after he saw a Patrol boat going north but too far off to hear his cries, and saw nothing more until towards evening when an Aeroplane flew overhead and at some distance saw sweepers working. At the time of the torpedoing it was low water and the flood carried him south, the ebb carried him north to the Farnes, the following flood took him more towards the land, and the succeeding ebb carried him inside the Farnes and into the Forth when he was seen and picked up by an escort of a convoy - "Othello" 8:30am Sunday 9th and taken to North Shields. His right leg was injured below the knee, and the lower portion of leg of his trousers torn off.
His right hand was also injured and a severe bruise on his left shoulder, but these injuries are getting on satisfactorily."
Yours very truly,
Edward ?
Manager
21st June 1918'

The Crew of the Steamship HOGARTH, June 1918:

Adamson, Alexander, Able Bodied Seaman, 1 Bannermill Street, Aberdeen, aged 19, listed as Fireman. Son of William Lindsay Adamson and Jemina Adamson (nee Christie), of 1 Bannermill St., Aberdeen. Born at Montrose.

Anderson, Alexander G., Engineer, 64 Bedford Place, Aberdeen, listed as Second Engineer. Husband of Annie Jane Anderson (nee Brown), of 64 Bedford Place, Aberdeen.

Barnett, John, Carpenter, 103 George Street, Aberdeen, aged 33.

Binnie, Alexander, Trimmer, 550 Great Western Road, Aberdeen, aged 43. Son of the late Alexander and Isa Binnie; husband of Agnes Donald Binnie (nee Boddie), of 550 Gt. Western Rd., Aberdeen.

Bodie, Alexander Ingram, Cook, 41 Sunnyside Road, Aberdeen, aged 37. Son of John and Margaret Bodie; husband of Jeannie Bodie (nee Sangster), of 28 Jessmine Terrace.

Bowles, Albert Edward, Trimmer, 11 Marischal Street, Aberdeen aged 18. Son of Robertina Fraser (formerly Bowles, nee George), and the late Robert Bowles; husband of Margaret Bowles (nee Wood), of 11 Marischal St., Aberdeen.

Byres, Stephen Reynolds, Able Bodied Seaman, 52 Frederick Street, Aberdeen, aged 58. Son of Agnes Byres, and the late William Byres; husband of Williamina Byres (nee Mackie), of 52 Frederick St., Aberdeen. Born at Peterhead.

Cheyne, George W., Able Bodied Seaman, 18 Rosebank Place, Aberdeen, aged 33, listed as Greaser. Son of James Cheyne and the late Mary Cheyne; husband of Bessie Cheyne (nee Erridge), of 18 Rosebank Place, Aberdeen. Born in Michigan, U.S.A.

Cooper, John, Able Bodied Seaman, 22 Charlotte Street, Aberdeen. Listed as Greaser. Brother of Mr E Cooper, of Jasmine Terrace, Aberdeen. Formerly at 36 York Street, Peterhead.

Cormack, Peter, Fireman, 28 Watson Street, Aberdeen, aged 33. Son of the late George and Margaret Cormack; husband of Ann Isabella Hardie Cormack (nee Scott) of 28 Watson St., Aberdeen. Born at Aberdeen.

Dunlop, James Alexander, Fireman, 22 Hanover Street, Aberdeen, aged 31, listed as Donkeyman. Son of James Alexander Dunlop and the late Christina Falconer Dunlop. Husband of Jessie Ann Dunlop (nee Davidson), of 25 Justice St., Aberdeen.

Gibb, Duncan Forbes, Fireman, 51 Park Street, Aberdeen, aged 33.
Son of the late Duncan Forbes Gibb and Margaret Morgan Gibb; husband of Elizabeth Findley Gibb (nee McBain), of 51 Park St., Aberdeen. Born at Aberdeen.

Main, Harry, Fireman, 14 Hanover Street, Aberdeen, aged 34. Son of the late Alexander Main and Ann Main; husband of Mary L. Main (nee Davidson), of 14 Hanover St., Aberdeen. Born at Aberdeen.

Marr, George, Chief Steward, 55 Albury Road, Aberdeen, listed as Steward. Husband of Helen Marr, of 55 Albury Rd., Aberdeen.

McBain, George, Able Bodied Seaman, 47 Justice Street, Aberdeen, aged 61. Son of George and Margaret McBain; husband of Helen McBain (nee Sutherland), of 72 Commerce St., Aberdeen. Born at Aberdeen.

McDonald, John, Boatswain, 77 Waterloo Quay, Aberdeen, aged 54. Son of the late Duncan and Kate McDonald; husband of Jeannie Ann McDonald (Nee Eddie), of 77 Waterloo Quay, Aberdeen. Born at Stornoway.

Porter, David, Able Bodied Seaman, 6 Raeburn Place, Aberdeen, aged 34. Son of A. and Jane Porter (nee Greenlaw); husband of Marjory Ann Porter (nee Munro), of 6 Raeburn Place, Aberdeen. Born at Banff.

Ritchie, Andrew, Able Bodied Seaman, 44 Grampian Road, Aberdeen, aged 45. Son of the late John and Wilhamina Ritchie (nee Naughton); husband of Elspet Anderson Ritchie (nee Watson), of 44 Grampian Rd., Torry, Aberdeen. Born at Aberdeen.

Robb, Alexander, Able Bodied Seaman, 42 Bedford Road, Aberdeen, aged 34. Son of Peter and Mary Robb (nee Gray); husband of Caroline Robb (nee Saxby), of 202 Bankhead Rd., Bucksburn, Aberdeenshire. Born at Collieston.

Robertson, James B. M., Chief Engineer, 6 Caroline Place, Aberdeen, listed as First Engineer. Husband of Caroline Anne Robertson, of 6 Caroline Place, Aberdeen.

Smart, Alexander, Chief Officer, 1 Baltic Place, Aberdeen, aged 45, listed as Mate. Son of the late Alexander and Jessie Metcalfe Smart; husband of Jane Fraser Smart (nee Fraser), of 1 Baltic Place, Aberdeen. Born at Macduff.

Smith, Alexander Walker, Fireman, 24 Park Street, Aberdeen, aged 31. Son of William Smith and the late Annie Smith (nee Knight); husband of Mary Smith (nee Dunlop), of 24 Park St., Aberdeen. Born at Aberdeen.

Stephen, David S., Captain, 7 Springbank Terrace, Aberdeen, aged 55, listed as Master. Son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Stephen, of Ferryden, Montrose; husband of Jane Stephen, of 1 Hawthorne Terrace, Aberdeen.
Presented with Gold Watch from British Indian Steam Navigation Co., on 25th Oct., 1916, for standing by one of their steamers which was torpedoed; also presented with Lloyd's Silver Medal in June, 1918; also cheque for saving another steamer in same position.

Stewart, William. Captain, 113 Crombie Road, Aberdeen, listed as Second Mate. Son of Mrs. Ann Stewart, of 104 King St., Aberdeen; husband of Maggie Stewart, of 113, Crombie Rd., Torry.

Niklasan, Charles: Able Bodied Seaman, Died 07/06/1918. Age 30. Mercantile Marine, SS Hogarth (Aberdeen). Memorial: Tower Hill Memorial
Lost at sea. SS Hogarth which was torpedoed off Northumberland 07/06/1918. CWGC lists as Niels Carl Sofus Niclasen, and death as 08/06/1918. Son of Mrs. Ellen Katrin Niclasen, of Klaksvig, Faroe Islands.

(Details from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. With thanks to Scott Burnett.)

Notes:
Named for Mr A. P. Hogarth, who had been Chairman of The Aberdeen Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.
Engine details: Steam by screw, inverted, surface condensing, triple expansion engine, 26” x 43” x 70” with 42” stroke.
2250 i.h.p. on measured mile, 343 n.h.p., by H.R.
Boiler - 2 steel D.E single boilers; heating area (ft^2) 5526; diameter 13' 6"; length 16' 0"; furnaces 12 Fox’s 3’ 2” mean dia.; pressure (p.s.i.);
Propeller - 13’ 10” diameter, solid cast iron.
140 first class and 60 second class passengers.
Fitted with electric light by W. H. Allan & Co., London.
Cost & extras: £37,600 (Somner)

See also:
History (CS) - http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=51634&vessel=HOGARTH

“The Aberdeen Steam Navigation Co. Ltd”, Graeme Somner ISBN 0 905617 92 4

Half model on display in Aberdeen Maritime Museum.