Roddam - A Miraculous Escape

Completed October 1887; Official No. 94327: Code Letters KNWC.

Masters: 1887-91 JT Sanderson: 1892-98 Morell: 1899-1902 Edward W. Freeman: 1904 CF Stevenson: 1905 FJ Wilcoz.

Martinique’s Mount Pelee begins the deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century in April 1902. With their thoughts centered on an important election, residents of Saint Pierre failed to heed the mountain’s warnings and did not evacuate.  On 7^th May activity on the volcano increased and the blasts grew significantly stronger. Overnight, there were several strong tremors and a cloud of gas spilled out of the mountain. On the morning of 8^th May a huge blast sent an avalanche of boiling ash down the side of the mountain. The city of Saint Pierre was buried within minutes and virtually everyone died instantly. There were only five reported survivors. In addition, about 15 ships in the harbour were capsized by the eruption. Only one ship managed to stay afloat and this was the Roddam.

Off St Pierre on the morning of 8^th May the Captain noticed that Mount Pelee was smoking. They steered the Roddam slowly in towards the bay and had barely moored when there was a terrible explosion and a wall of fire appeared to engulf the town before sweeping over the bay. The Roddam was struck broadside by the burning mass which almost capsized the ship. Some of the seamen were thrown overboard, others were so badly burned they threw themselves into the sea to stop the pain. Everything aboard the ship was hot and the embers in the air were suffocating. Freeman’s hands and wrists were severely burned but he somehow managed to steer the wheel using his elbows. With a handful of crew they managed to steer the ship out of the bay and to the safety of the port of Castries, St Lucia.

Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette – Monday 12 May 1902

‘CAPTAIN OF THE RODDAM INTERVIEWED. (CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY) New York, Monday. The St. Lucia correspondent of the New York Journal sends a graphic interview with the captain of the steamship Roddam, which was the only vessel saved when the awful visitation fell upon St. Pierre. He states that they had only recently arrived; that they still had steam up, though the vessel was anchored, and then he describes the catastrophe: —"A burning mass thrown up by the volcano struck my steamer broadside on. The shock was so terrible that it nearly capsized the vessel, big as she is. Hearing the awful explosion that had preceded the shock to ourselves, and seeing what looked like a great wall flame rapidly approaching us from the volcano, all of us sought shelter wherever it was possible to get from the terrible hail which then began to fall around us. I myself ran into the chartroom, but the burning embers were borne so swiftly upon us that they swept in through the door, almost suffocating me, and scorching very badly. I managed to reach the deck, where I mustered a few of the survivors and ordered them to ship the cables. Whilst this was being done I leaped upon the bridge, and instantly we were clear. I rang to the engineer for full speed astern. The second and third engineers, as well as the firemen, had escaped injury. They bravely did their part at this awful time, but the downpour on deck was so terrible that the men could not work there. The steering-gear became choked by a mass of debris that bad fallen on the ship, and clogged up every part of her. Accordingly, after running for some time astern rung' again and went ahead, and continued this until the gear was cleared from the ashes and dust that seemed to block everything, but in this running backwards and forwards it was two hours before we cleared the roadstead. Then it was completely dark. All that time a terrible shower had been falling upon us. When we finally laid our course away from the doomed spot the only light we saw was the flames bursting out of the volcano. As we passed out of the harbour we passed the steamship Roraima, which was then one mass of flames, with a cloud of steam rushing from the engine-room. The screams of the sufferers on the doomed ship were terrible to hear, but it was impossible for us to render any aid. When last seen the Roraima was settling down by the stern.’

Twenty-six men were killed aboard the Roddam, ten of whom were crew members.

Crew Killed: H.W. Laws, 1st mate, Great Yarmouth; G. Lawrey, 2nd mate, Penzance; T.H. Walters, 1st engineer, Swansea; F. Poad, steward; T. Larsen, carpenter; F. Jacobsen, cook; H. Johnson, boatswain; P. Pedersen & F. Francesco, firemen; A. Iversen, engineer’s steward.

Survivors: Edward W. Freeman, Captain, Liverpool; George Pyle, 2nd engineer, Warkworth; Mr Schleswick, 3rd engineer, Swansea; H. Fluis, donkey engineman; W. Tesker, L. Anderson & T. Gulf, fireman; N. Jensen, A Antonson, C. Petersen, O.C. Forsberg, A. Johannsen & C. Stross, able seamen.

The Liverpool Marine Board, on behalf of the British Government, awarded Captain Freeman a silver loving cup in recognition of his gallantry. On accepting the gift Freeman gave credit to his crew saying that if they had not stuck to their posts his efforts would have been useless.

The cup, which is in the collection of the Royal Museums, Greenwich has an inscription which reads: 

'PRESENTED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO EDWARD WILLIAM FREEMAN, MASTER OF THE STEAMSHIP "RODDAM", OF LONDON, IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF HIS GALLANTRY AND DEVOTION TO DUTY, ON THE OCCASION OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TOWN OF ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE, BY A VOLCANIC ERUPTION ON THE 8TH MAY, 1902'.

Captain Freeman was also awarded the gold gallantry medal by the Mercantile Marine Service Association and the Lloyds silver medal for meritorious services.

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