Built at William Gray & Company in 1900 for the Pyman Steamship Company of West Hartlepool the steamer Membland was 330' long with a beam of 47' and registered at 3,027 tons. She was owned by the company until Feb. 9, 1915 when she was sold at auction to Macbeth & Company of Glasgow for £30,000. The new owners took possession of the ship at Hull on Feb. 12 or 13th. The ship was inspected and found to be in "as good a condition as you could expect to find a vessel of her age'. It was also noted that the ship carried two lifeboats, two jolly boats and enough lifejackets, distress signals and other safety devices to comply with the regulations of the day.

The new owners planned to sail her to the Tyne and pick up a load of coal for Buenos Aires on the 13th, but a storm prevented her departure for two days. On February 15, 1915 Membland sailed out of Hull into the North Sea, under the control of a Humber pilot. He guided the ship to the Spurn lightship where he disembarked the ship at 10:30 a.m. The pilot reported seeing the ship at 10:40 on course at 8 knots in fine weather. The voyage was about 130 miles and would be overseen by a North Sea pilot, but the ship came to grief for unknown reasons and was never seen again.

It is not known how she sank, but it is assumed that she hit a mine and went down quickly as there were no survivors and none of the boats or life-saving equipment was ever found. In April one Mr. William Wright claimed to have found an oak stave on which was written "Membland, torpedoed engine-room port side. Good-bye dear." The piece of wood was found near Hornsea, which is about half way between the mouth of the Humber and Flamborough Head. It was judged that the piece of wood was a hoax as the hand writing could not be matched to anyone known to have been on the ship (relatives submitted samples to the inquiry). It also appeared to have been in the sea for much longer than two months.

To the best of my knowledge the wreck has not been positively identified to this day. Divers have found wrecks at two positions which they consider could be the Membland. One position given is just off Whitby (north of Scarborough), the other is in the Dogger Bank (which seems very unlikely). The official inquiry thought it to be unlikely that the ship could have passed Flamborough or Scarborough without being seen, but this was just a theory. The board felt that the ship sank before reaching Flamborough. Today, 100 years later, the cause of her loss and the twenty-five souls in her is still unknown.

© 2015 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com

Andersen, E.

Fireman and Trimmer

Danish national

Bergs, Charles

Sailor

Swedish national

Brotchie, John

Master

Ellis, Leonard J.

Ordinary Seaman

Age 17

Finon, John

Fireman and Trimmer

Freer, Thomas

Able Seaman

Grant, Charles

Steward

Guthrie, William

1st Engineer

Guthrie (Mrs.)

Passenger

Wife of 1st Engineer

Husdell, Edward

1st Mate

Husdell, (Mrs.)

Passenger

Wife of 1st Mate

Husdell, (child)

Passenger

Child of 1st Mate

Jansson, John

Fireman and Trimmer

Swedish national

Johnsen, C.

Boatswain

Danish national

Johnson, N.

Sailor

Norwegian national

Lewis, William

Engineer Assistant

Civilian

Mather, R.

Donkeyman

McDermott, William

Sailor

Page, R. E.

Civilian

North Sea Pilot

Porbom, Wemer

Sailor

Swedish national

Richards, Alfred

Able Seaman

Smith, Alex

Fireman and Trimmer

Tattersall, Richard

Fireman and Trimmer

Taylor, Guy H.

Fireman and Trimmer

United States national

Ware, Percy

2nd Mate

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