War Bulldog

The steamship Tregenna, originally built as the War Bulldog. 

Master: 1940 William Thomas Care.

In convoy HX-71 on a voyage from Philadelphia for Newport with a cargo of 8,000 tons of steel & a crew of 37  Tregenna was torpedoed by German submarine (U-65) & sank 78 miles NW of Rockall in 58.22N/15.42W on 17 September 1940. 4 survivors were picked up by HMS Fleetwood. 33 lives lost.

Lives lost September 1940: Africa, John, donkeyman, 45, b. Sierra Leone, resided Cardiff; Campbell, Joseph Fullham, 3^rd engineer, 20, Edinburgh; Care, Thomas William, master, 45, Barry, Glam.; Cole, John, fireman, 47, West Africa; Cole, Ross Charles, able seaman, 24, Kalinga, Queensland; Cooper, Lincoln Redvers, 1^st radio officer, 40, West Kirby, Cheshire; Cruz, Antoni John Da, fireman, 57, St Vincent; Dizon, Tom, fireman, 56, Sierra Leone; Duff, Robert Buchanan, apprentice, 20, Alerton, Liverpool; Edwards, Wilfred, fireman, 49, Jamaica; Fisher, Stanley Benjamin, 3^rd officer, 24, Newport; Gibson, John George, 2^nd engineer, 28, North Shields; Goddard, T, mess room boy, 19, Redcar; Grech, Emanuel, carpenter, 42, Malta; Greenway, James, boatswain, 62, Kinsale, Ireland; Hopkins, Edward, seaman, 21, Cardiff; Karlsson, Hugo, able seaman, 53, Nalmo, Sweden; Laurent, Joseph, fireman, 34, St Lucia; Mercia, William Francis Joseph, assistant cook, 20, Cardiff; Newberry, Thomas David, able seaman, 28, Cardiff; Nicholls, Charles, chief officer, 33, Plymouth; Nicholson, James Bruce, steward, 50, Middlesbrough; O’Brien, Michael, seaman, 26, Arclow, Ireland; Olin, Anton, able seaman, 47, Russia; Reynolds, Godfrey Charles, able seaman, 30, Merhyr Tydfil; Roberts, Trevor, 4^th engineer, 19, Aintree, Liverpool; Rouncefield, Kenneth, apprentice, 16, St Ives; Smith, James, fireman, 45, Jamaica; Swalwell, Dennis, cabin boy, 15, Middlesbrough; Thomas, Arthur Edward, cook, 26, Trecyon, Aberdare; Trybest, John, fireman, 56, Grangetown, Cardiff; Veal, William Cox, chief engineer, 45, St Ives, Cornwall; Walker, Samuel, fireman, 61, West Africa.

Survivors September 1940: Murray, F, 2^nd radio officer, 18, Buckie, Scotland; Pearson, Harry, 2^nd mate, 44, Aston-under-Lyne; Ramsey, Phillip, able seaman, 56, East Haven; Thomas, William John, seaman, 22, Bargoed, Glamorgan.

The following appeared in the Northern Daily Mail on Tuesday, July 8^th, 1919:

"The S.S. Tregenna, built by Messrs. William Gray and Co. (1918) Ltd., West Hartlepool, left West Hartlepool on Sunday on her maiden voyage.
She was originally ordered by the Shipping Controller, but the contract was subsequently transferred to Messrs. The Hain Steamship co. Ltd., St. Ives, Cornwall. A “B” type Standard ship, she is over 400ft in length b.p., by 52ft breadth moulded, by 31ft depth moulded, with a deadweight carrying capacity of 8,200 tons. Several modifications have been effected to fulfil the particular requirements of the owners.

Triple-expansion engines have been supplied by the Central Marine Engine Works of the builders, having cylinders 27ins, 41ins, and 73ins, by 48ins stroke, and three boilers 15ft 6ins diameter by 11ft 6ins long, 180lbs working pressure. The engine room auxiliaries include feed and ballast pumps, and evaporator, all of the ‘CMEW’ type.”