Lady Frances - a general history

Owners: 1876 Robert Morton Middleton & Co. West Hartlepool: 1885 Jackson Bros. & Cory (Walter Jackson) London.

Masters: 1877-80 H Dew: 1880-81 JR Williams: 1882-83 J Higgon: 1884-85 J Hetherington.

Voyages: May 1881 Swansea for New York & St Johns, New Brunswick: June 1881 St Johns for Sharpness & Swansea: July 1881 Swansea for Kiel & Lulea: August 1881 Lulea for London & Savona: September 1881 Savona for Carthegena & Baltimore: November 1881 Baltimore for Con Bay, New Brunswick & New York: December 1881 New York for Sydney, New Brunswick & Havana January 1882 Havana for Cardenas & Sagua La Grande: January 1882 Sagua La Grande for Boston, Mass & Baltimore.

On a voyage from South Shields to Alexandria with a cargo of coal Lady Frances was wrecked near Alexandria on 11 September 1885 with the loss of nine lives.

Stockton & Hartlepool Mercury 24 October 1885:

A survivor’s account:

‘She left South Shields on 26 August 1885 bound for Alexandria with a cargo of coal & a crew of 19. About 170 miles from her destination, on 11 September, Lady Frances struck the Ishailah Rocks. Four of the ship’s boats were launched, two in charge of the master & two in charge of the mate. The master’s boats, a gig holding three men & a lifeboat holding seven, stayed by the ship until she heeled over & sunk the following day. The small boats kept to the coastline but on the third day a gale sprung up so the gig was cut adrift & the three men got into the lifeboat. In the early hours of the morning the lifeboat capsized. Eight of the men managed to get onto the keel of the boat ?**but the chief & the 3rd engineer. After extreme effort the survivors managed to right the boat. Most of their clothing had been lost & they had no food or water which caused them to become delirious. The master was the first affected & drowned when he stepped out of the boat thinking he could wade ashore to get some clothes. A fireman & two seamen followed & in the same manner. The steward was almost deranged & kept asking for a knife so the only one aboard was thrown into the sea to avoid any casualties. The steward then tried to get all the caulking from the boat & capsized it twice. Finally he too went over the side & was drowned as was the 2nd officer. There were now only two in the boat Joseph Bennett & Francis Davidson. On 18 September the 2 men were picked up about 5 miles from Alexandria by the tug Whitworth. They were taken to a hospital to recover & then went aboard the Magdale which took them to Liverpool where they were looked after by the Shipwrecked Mariner’s Society'.

The mate’s boats were at sea for five days with the men suffering badly from thirst. On the 6th day the lifeboat tried to run aground on a beach. The boat capsized & one man was drowned but four made it ashore. They were met by Arabs who took them to Alexandria by camels. The subsequent inquiry found that the 2nd officer could not have been keeping a proper lookout & the stranding was due to the vessel being kept too much to the southward. The master had been given his appointment in 1883 but in June 1885 he had been degraded to chief officer & the vessel was under Henry Dew but, after one voyage, Etherington was made master again. There was no explanation for this unusual state of affairs but he may have been demoted for misconduct, perhaps drinking. There was strong reason to suspect he had been drunk during this voyage & it was proven he was in that state when the vessel was stranded. Nine lives lost

Lives lost September 1885: Cole, chief engineer; Hetherington, John, master; Smith, 3rd engineer; Southcote, 2nd officer

Survivors 1885: Bennett, Joseph; Davidson, Francis

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