SS Trevessa

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Apparently, the wreckage of SS Trevessa that sank in 1923 1600 miles off Aust coast was detected during the search for MH370.

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Captain Foster(of Barry) on the bridge, turned the ship round so as to run before the wind and sea, thus easing the pressure on the bulkheads. But he realised the ship was doomed and at 1 a.m. ordered all hands to the boats and told the radio officer to send SOS. Three replies were received, but all from ships a long way off. The Tregenna was 350 miles to the east, and the Trevcan (both sister ships of the Hain Line) was 272 miles to the south.

Captain Cecil Foster, who hailed from Barry, knew how to ration water and condensed milk as well as such strategies as sucking buttons or pieces of coal to keep the mouth moist. The daily ration was one cigarette tin of water, two cigarette tins of condensed milk and one ship’s biscuit. The compasses proved useless and the steering was done with the aid of sun and stars. The Times (28 June 1923) wrote ‘the voyage in so small a craft is one of the most remarkable that has been made for many years’.

The Captain had 21 men in the number one boat; they were composed of six Englishmen, three Irish, two Scots, two Welsh, two Burmese, two Arabs, two Portuguese West Africans and one Indian.

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For some years a lifeboat from the SS Trevessa was displayed at the RNVR site at Hove. It was very famous in its time but is now largely forgotten. However, it is well worth recalling the details.

The ship was built in 1909 at Flensburg, Germany and its original name was Imkenturm. She was a freighter employed in the East India trade and during the Great War she was interned at Sourabaya in the Dutch East Indies. In October 1920 she was sold for £86,000 to the Hain Steamship Company of St Ives, Cornwall. The company then spent an additional £36,000 on having her re-conditioned and British-built wooden lifeboats replaced the German-built steel ones. She was re-named Trevessa and two of the company’s other steamers were called Trevean and Tregenna.

The last voyage of the Trevessa took place in 1923 and there were 44 officers and men aboard her. It seems some of the crew had grave forebodings about the fate of the ship and sailors were known to be superstitious. For instance, the behaviour of two ship’s cats unnerved them. One ship’s cat deserted in New Zealand and the crew adopted another one at Port Pirie where the ship was loaded with concentrates. But this cat too decided not to sail with them. There were further misgivings when the captain disposed of two kittens out of a batch of six black ones.

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THE TREVESSA LIFEBOAT AT WEMBLEY.

By

Mike Perkins

Collectors of Wembley cards will be aware of the card showing the lifeboat from the SS Trevessa, which was on display in the exhibition grounds during both 1924 and 1925. The lifeboat could be found by crossing eastward over Adams Bridge towards the Amusement Park, and proceeding to the Ceylon Pavilion. The lifeboat had been purchased by the Ceylon Committee after it's epic journey in 1923, and was positioned on the right hand side of the Ceylon Pavilion, where it doubled as a collecting box for donations to the R. L. N. I..

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S.S. "TREVESSA" (LIFEBOAT).

HC Deb 27 May 1924 vol 174 c195 195

§ 16. Viscount CURZON asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the boat belonging to the s.s. "Trevessa" is at the British Empire Exhibition, presumably to commemorate one of the finest feats of seamanship ever performed in the mercantile marine; and whether he can take steps to ensure that this boat is exhibited in surroundings and in a manner worthy of it, and preserved for the nation subsequently?

Mr. WEBB I am aware that one of the boats of the "Trevessa" is being exhibited at Wembley, and if the Noble Lord will he good, enough to tell me what he has in mind, I will look into the matter. I doubt whether it will be possible to arrange for the permanent exhibition of this boat.

Viscount CURZON Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this boat is, at present sitting on the top of a rubbish heap?

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SURVIVORS OF THE TREVESSA.

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