Here's a transcript of an article clipped from a newspaper that I found among the various Snowling papers and photos that I have at home. Unfortunately, I don't know what year it is from.. but it must be 1933 or later, as Thomas is not shown in the 1901 census as part of the Snowling menage, so he must have been born later, and he was reportedly 32 when he died.
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VANISHED OVERBOARD
Shields Captain's Fate on Oil Tanker Voyage
Captain Thomas T. Snowling (32), master of the London oil-tanker British Advocate (6,994 tons), who vanished overboard on the night of March 22-23 when 300 miles south-west of Ireland on a return voyage from Texas, was well known in South Shields, where he lived with his widowed mother in Crondall Street. A single man, he first went to sea in 1918 as an apprentice with the British Tanker Company, and made remarkable progress. When only 31 he was given command of the British Consul, and eight weeks ago, after having been home on leave, he was appointed captain of the British Advocate, which was then lying in the Tyne.
His father, Captain John Snowling of South Shields, lost his life when the steamer Vernon, of which he was in command, was torpedoed by a German submarine in the North Sea in August 1917. All hands were saved with the exception of Captain Snowling, who went down with his ship.
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Here are some details about the loss of the SS Vernon in 1917;
BRITISH MERCHANT SHIPS LOST AT SEA DUE TO ENEMY ACTION, 1914-18, Part 2 of 3
Vernon, 982grt, defensively-armed, 31 August 1917, 22 miles SE by S from Spurn Point, torpedoed without warning and sunk by submarine, 1 life lost - the Master
MARINERS – BRITISH WORLD WAR I MERCHANT SHIP LOSSES - V
VERNON; Owners: Cory Colliers Ltd, London; 982tons; date: 31.8.1917; position: 22 miles SE x S from Spurn Point; destination: Seaham Harbour – London; details: Torpedoed by submarine UB.30.
(The two references above were supplied to me by a correspondent on the ancestry.co.uk message boards after I posted a query a day or so ago.)
Here's an entry I found on the Web with the same information. The wartime career of the U-boat UB.30 can also be traced on the Web; the UB.30 was finally lost as a result of British action. She was sunk (depth-charged) by armed trawlers off Whitby on 13th August 1918.
Interestly enough, there's also information about the later career of the British Advocate easily available; she was captured in a dramatic action by a German auxillary cruiser in 1940.
EDIT: Further interesting information from wrecksite.eu about the wreck of the UB.30.
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5 comments:
The Newcastle metro goes to South Shields-- it's eminently reachable for a day out.
I shouldn't imagine that it would be much later than 1933 as he first went to sea in 1918-- presumably if he advanced to captain he went to school until at least 15 or so.
According to the National Archives, the British Advocate was still sailing in 1939, at least. Unfortunately, the information available online doesn't give the name of the Captain.
Josh, the British Advocate was captured by the German Pocket Battleship Admiral Scheer on February 20, 1941. On Google Books and Google, there are some pretty detailed descriptions & related info. The Germans put a prize crew aboard and took her to Bordeaux, then she spent the war in the German service. She was destroyed by allied bombing sometime later in the war.
There is a reference to the master of the British Advocate.. he spent the war at Milag Nord, the German Merchant Marine POW camp. If you Google "British Advocate" and "Panama Canal" you'll find his name and other interesting details.
My guess would be that Thomas Snowling was born in 1903 (or within one yr either way.) 15 was the usual age to go to sea, and he'd be following in the footsteps of A.E. Snowling, his older brother & my grandfather. A.E.S. went to sea as an apprentice with the same company, the British Tanker Company, when he was 15.
More fascinating information about the British merchant vessel Vernon, sunk on 31 August 1917 with the loss of the Master, John Snowling. The book British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-boat in World War One
by A.J. Tennent has a listing with the details of the incident mentioned in the post; but with the additional fact that the ship was built in 1878.
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