The Bosun's Watch
S.T. Soar FD155
Information courtesy of Ross Littlewood
| Official Number | 136902 |
| Gross Tonnage | 219 |
| Length | 117 ft |
| Built at | Aberdeen 1915 |
| Owner | Wyre Steam Trawling Co Ltd |
| 1915 |
Registered at Fleetwood.
|
| 1914 - 1919 |
In service as a minesweeper. |
| 1935 | sold to Aberdeen as A284.
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| March 18 1940 | On a stormy night in March 1940, the trawler "Soar" of Aberdeen foundered on the outlying reefs to the East of the rocks known as the "Black Waughs", half a mile south of Gourdon. Her crew of six all perished. |
| Notes |
Soar had been south for bunker coal and was on her way back to Aberdeen when disaster struck. It being wartime there were no costal lights to help the skipper navigate and the strong South-Easterly wind must have forced his vessel too far in.
The first sign of the wreck was discovered by a villager “raking the beach”. Daylight was just breaking when he stumbled on a body. He quickly ran back to Gourdon and alerted the Coastguards and villagers.
Just as the coastguards and fisherman reached the scene they saw the trawler's small boat drifting shorewards. Coastguard John Penny & skipper John Stewart dashed into the water and with some difficulty managed to reach the boat – sadly – it was empty. At the time there was no sign of the vessel itself, but at low water the ship's boilers could be seen to the east of the "Black Waughs". Most of the bodies were recovered during the day.
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