Another image of SS Athina Livanos (incorrectly named by the printers!) and despite the Greek name; she was a 4824 ton steamer built by Grays of Hartlepool and completed in October 1936. The beaching took place on 28th February 1937, so the ship was brand new and probably en route to its new owner. It ran aground on Redcar beach; which when beached was an attraction for residents and visitors from all around, named after the 2nd daughter of shipping magnate at the time Stavros Livanos. This daughter later married Aristotle Onassis and mother of two children Alexander and Christina. The Athina Livanos was lost on 29th November 1943 when it was torpedoed in the Gulf of Aden by the Japanese submarine 1-27. I wonder how many ships came aground off Redcar?
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, additional information courtesy of ‘Redcar – Past and Present’.
Fred Brunskill advises us: ”The Greek steamship Taxiarchis struck the Westscar rocks during the afternoon of January 14th, 1952 I remember watching the five tugs brought from the Tees as they tried to refloat her. Although the weather had been calm when she became grounded, worsening gales proved too much for the hull and she was holed beyond repair. the 28 crew were taken off by local fishermen and she ended up on the beach opposite the Coatham Hotel. She was eventually dismantled for scrap by Thomas Ward’s of Sheffield.” Kon Budkiewicz tells us: ”Aged 6 years, I was taken to see this ship by my father. I witnessed organised bagging and removal of bunker coal through a low-level access door.” Dave Cusson tells us: ”My father was a well-known Redcar butcher. One of his customers, and elderly lady as I recall, was walking her dog along the sands during a sea fret. Seems she heard this terrible grinding noise from the sea just as the mist cleared – allowing her to see this enormous ship coming for her. She turned and ran as hard as she could all the way through the soft sand and onto the promenade, scared out of her wits!” Alan Etherington tells us: ”I was at West Dyke Primary School on the afternoon Taxiarchis ran aground. The mother of one of the boys came at playtime and told him that there was a ship on the rocks. Word spread like wildfire and at the end of school a lot of us rushed to see what had happened and there it was just off the Coatham Hotel. It was winched to just above the low tide line so that at suitable times of the tide it was possible to walk round it. It was then slowly emptied of coal and dismantled.” Pete Ward tells the Archive: “I remember the Taxiarchis as though it was yesterday: Like the lady previously, I was on Coatham beach with my Granddad (John Charles Thompson of Redcar Gas Works. I must have skived off school that day) gathering sea coal. I was holding my Granddad’s bicycle with a couple of sand bags filled with sea coal when we heard this grinding sound, then out of the mist appeared the Taxiarchis. You could not miss who scraped her, ‘Thomas Wards’ was painted on the starboard side, in big bold white letters facing Coatham.” Michael Henry adds: “I remember this well, we lived in Arthur Street and I was a pupil at the then Sir William Turner’s Grammar School on Coatham Road. Arthur Street is the next street to Henry Street. Henry St and Turner Street, the next one, border the Coatham Hotel. The sea front, is Newcomen Terrace, the names together form the name of the founder of our school, founded in 1691. The locals benefitted from coal being dumped of the Taxiarchis, as I remember as they scrapped her. The Coatham Hotel was one of the centre pieces in the Movie “Atonement” in 2006.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Fred Brunskill and Kin Budkiewicz for this information, also to Dave Cusson, Alan Etherington, Michael Henry and Peter Ward for the updates.
Again the date was on the picture 1957 another ship ashore at Redcar I didn’t think it was so dangerous at Redcar. The next post on the Archive of the same vessel explains all. Craig White commented: “I wondered if this small vessel has been deliberately beached to unload. It has a very large derrick/crane fitted and may have been engaged in scrapping or salvaging a wreck offshore. Just realised that there is another picture of Basalt on here with the comments that it was on salvage work and was deliberately beached after being holed. Amazingly whilst sorting old family photographs today found three pictures of Basalt sitting high and dry on Salt Scar rocks! No name was visible on these so it solves a bit of a mystery.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Craig White for the updates.
This image came to the Archive among a collection of photographs of ’shipwrecks’ off Redcar and the East Cleveland coast and at that time we had no knowledge of the origins! A different view of the Basalt – aground off the promenade at Redcar – in 1957. Alan Etherington tells us: ”This particular picture was taken by me and dated in my album as being taken in 1955, it is a scan of a contact print, the negative being long lost. The ship was being used to dismantle the Dimitris which ran aground on East Scar Rocks at Redcar. The story was that the Basalt had taken a shorter route back to the Tees and tried to get between West Scar Rocks and Salt Scar but had misjudged the tide and tore a hole in the bottom. It turned tail and ran as far up Redcar beach as it could, almost into Marks and Spencer’s. A repair was carried out and the Basalt refloated on a spring tide.”
Image courtesy of Alan Etherington, thanks to Derick Pearson for initial dating, but very grateful thanks to Alan Etherington for the image and an explanation of the situation.
1984 was the date when this barge came ashore at Marske and Karl Elliott tells us: ”This was indeed at Marske just off St. Germain’s church. I remember it well as as a 10 year old, we were hanging on the tug line before the tide came in to refloat her, it was dangerous looking back now; but excellet fun been whipped up into the air when the tug took up the slack on the line. I believe it was used on the first stage of sewer improvements just off the Coast Road.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday and many thanks to Karl Elliott the update.
Another view of the Freja Svea aground 1st March 1993, aground off Majuba car park. Derick Pearson has assisted with: “She was 97,000 tons and was grounded on the beach at Redcar just off Majuba Beach car park on the 1st of March 1993. I went down to take photographs and that is the date I put on the folder.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Derick Pearson for the update.
This was the Freja Svea, weighing 97,000 tons and was grounded on the beach at Redcar just off Majuba Beach car park on 1st March 1993. Derick Pearson assists with: “The vessel could be seen clearly from anywhere on the promenade.” Colin Burns adds: ” Somewhere I have a recording of the Captains conversation with the helicopter during this event, when he realised he was stuck. Strange because at the time I was running a job that had all the gear only a couple of miles from the ship that the helicopter could have lifted to the scene and changed the outcome, it worked out OK in the end though.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Derick Pearson and Colin Burns for the updates.
The Honoria beached in 1901 at Marske, three Redcar fisherman drowned in attempting to rescue the crew of this steam trawler. Fred Brunskill advises: ”The ‘Honoria’ was aground and four of the local Picknett family were amongst the seven aboard their coble which had set out to assist the stricken boat. Long time serving lifeboatman Thomas Hood Picknett was very lucky to survive as their boat was overturned as it was caught up in rocket lines.. On that fateful day, Thomas lost his two sons, John and Edmund and also his brother Richard.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Fred Brunskill for the update.
I wonder if that is what the captain of the ship ’Gaslight ’said in February 1934 when it went into the starboard side of the bridge deck of S.S. Skinningrove at Middlesbrough docks.
Image courtesy of a Northern Echo newspaper cutting.
The reason I posted this photograph is because I love it, now gentlemen or ladies can you tell me anything about it? Fred Brunskill tells us: ”The brig ‘John and Mary’ left Portsmouth for Sunderland carrying ballast when she was forced ashore at Saltburn on 28th October 1880.” Vanessa Liddle asks: “My great grand father was drowned in a brig from Seaham called VINTAGE which ran into difficulties on Saltscar rocks does anyone have any information. A storm on October 10th 1881 . This is all I have managed to find out . Any information would be appreciated.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Fred Brunskill for the update. Also to Vanessa Liddle for her enquiry.
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