View source for SS Yarmouth (1903)

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Yarmouth (ship, 1903).jpg
|Ship caption=TSS Yarmouth
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag=[[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px]]
|Ship name=SS ''Yarmouth''
|Ship owner=[[Great Eastern Railway]]
|Ship operator= Great Eastern Railway
|Ship route=[[Harwich]] to [[Hook of Holland]] and [[Rotterdam]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Gourlay Brothers]], [[Dundee]]
|Ship yard number=208
|Ship cost=£35,0000
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=18 March 1903
|Ship completed=4 June 1903
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship out of service=
|ship registry=[[Harwich]], United Kingdom
|Ship identification=United Kingdom [[Official Number]] 116175
|Ship fate=Foundered on 27 October 1908
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header =
| Ship class = 
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|805}}
| Ship displacement = 
| Ship length = {{convert|245|ft|3.5|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|31.15|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship height = 
| Ship draught = {{convert|15|ft|4|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship depth = {{convert|15.35|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
| Ship decks = 
| Ship deck clearance =
| Ship ramps =
| Ship sail plan =Schooner
| Trial length = 
| Ship power = Two [[Triple-expansion steam engine|reciprocating steam engines]], 170 [[nominal horsepower|NHP]]. Effect: 1,650 [[Indicated horsepower|IHP]]
| Ship propulsion = Twin screw propellers
| Ship speed = Cruising: {{convert|14.5|kn|km/h|lk=on|abbr=on}}.
| Ship capacity =
| Ship Crew = 21
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

The '''SS ''Yarmouth''''' was a steel-hulled steamship owned by the [[Great Eastern Railway]]. She was built in 1903 for use on their cargo service between [[Harwich]], [[Essex]], and the [[Hook of Holland]] and [[Rotterdam]], the [[Netherlands]].  She was lost at sea with all hands on 27 October 1908.

==Description==
''Yarmouth'' was {{convert|245|ft|3.5|in|m|2}} long<ref name=Gourlay/> with a beam of {{convert|31.15|ft|m|2}}. She had a draught of {{convert|15|ft|4|in|m|2}} and a depth of {{convert|15.35|ft|m|2}}. The vessel was powered by two [[triple expansion steam engine]]s of 170 [[nominal horsepower|NHP]] (1,650 [[indicated horsepower|IHP]]) driving twin screw propellers. Steam was supplied by two boilers working at a pressure of 180psi. These gave her a speed of {{convert|14.5|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=Report/> She was rigged as a [[schooner]].<ref name=Gourlay/>

==History==
''Yarmouth'' was built in 1903 as [[yard number]] 208 by [[Gourlay Brothers]], [[Dundee]], [[Perthshire]].<ref name=Gourlay/> Built at a cost of [[Pound Sterling|£35,000]],<ref name=Report/> she was launched on 18 March 1903 and delivered to the [[Great Eastern Railway]] on 4 June. Her port of registry was [[Harwich]], [[Essex]].<ref name=Gourlay>{{cite web |url=http://www.fdca.org.uk/pdf%20files/Gourlays%20Y.pdf |title=Gourlay's Ships - Dundee 1856 - 1904. Name of Ship starting with Y |publisher=Friends of Dundee City Archives |accessdate=13 March 2015}}</ref> The United Kingdom [[Official Number]] 116175 was allocated.<ref name=Report>{{cite report |title= (No. 7248) Yarmouth (S.S.) |publisher=Board of Trade |location=London |date=26 March 1909 |url=http://www.plimsoll.org/images/80055_tcm4-324304.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074517/http://www.plimsoll.org/images/80055_tcm4-324304.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

''Yarmouth'' had an uneventful five-year career on the Harwich–Hook of Holland route. She underwent a routine inspection and minor repairs by [[Earle's Shipbuilding]], [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire|Yorkshire]], between 13 and 17 September 1908.<ref name=Report/><ref name=Times301008/>

==Loss==
''Yarmouth'' was lost in circumstances that have never been fully explained.  The ship left the Hook of Holland having taken on cargo both there and at [[Rotterdam]]. At Rotterdam {{convert|343|LT|MT|lk=on|abbr=off}} of varied cargo had been loaded and at the Hook a further {{convert|88.65|LT|MT|lk=off|abbr=off}} of meat was loaded and as the holds were already quite full, some of this cargo of cased meat was stowed on the [[forecastle]] and [[poop deck]].  Carrying a crew of 21 and one passenger (a relative of one of the ship's engineers) the ''Yarmouth'' sailed from the Hook at 10:30&nbsp;am on 27 October 1908 and was next observed at 4:30&nbsp;pm the same day  by the crew of the ''[[Outer Gabbard Lightship]]''.  The lightship crew observed that the ''Yarmouth'' was listing heavily to starboard, so severely in fact, that the master of the lightship made a specific comment to this effect in his log.  At about 5:30&nbsp;pm the lightship crew lost sight of the ''Yarmouth'' in misty rain, this was the last known sighting of the ship.<ref name=Report/> Four hours later, the crew of a Norwegian ship, the {{SS|Fredheim||2}} en route from [[Honfleur]], [[Manche]], France to Hull,<ref name=Times301008/> saw debris in the water and heard cries.  The crew of the ''Fredheim'' searched for two hours but found no sign of the ''Yarmouth'' or its crew.<ref name=Report/>

The following morning, the ship was reported to be missing. It was initially thought that there had probably been a problem with her engines being the reason she had not arrived at Harwich. No distress signal having been received.<ref name=Times291008>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Great Eastern Steamer Missing |date=29 October 1908 |page=12 |issue=38790 |column=D }}</ref> A [[Royal Navy]] [[cruiser]], [[HMS Blake (1889)|HMS ''Blake'']] recovered a body wearing a lifebelt marked Yarmouth, and sighted wreckage not too far from the ''Outer Gabbard Lightship'' at {{coord|52|00|06|N|2|07|00|E|display=inline, title}},<ref name=Report/> and {{convert|20|nmi|km}} east of Harwich.<ref name=Times301008>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Wreck of a G.E.R. cargo boat |date=30 October 1908 |page=10 |issue=38791 |column=A }}</ref> Another of the Great Eastern Railway's ships, the {{SS|Vienna|1894|2}} sailed from Harwich and recovered further debris and wreckage identified as being from the ''Yarmouth'' at a location {{convert|7|nmi|km}} north east ½ north of the ''Outer Gabbard Lightship''.<ref name=Report/> She returned to Harwich flying her flag at half-mast.<ref name=Times301008/>

==Court of inquiry==
A [[Board of Trade]] inquiry into the loss of the ''Yarmouth'' was held at the Caxton Hall, [[Westminster]], [[London]] in February and March 1909.  The court reported its findings on 4 March 1909 and concluded that the loss of the ''Yarmouth'' be attributed to carrying deck cargo (the crated meat on the poop and forecastle) which caused the ship to list to starboard and eventually causing the ship to capsize before the crew could attempt to save themselves. As a result of the loss of the ''Yarmouth'' the Great Eastern Railway discontinued the practice of carrying deck cargoes on all its vessels.<ref name=Report/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{GER Ships}}
{{1908 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarmouth}}
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships of the Great Eastern Railway]]
[[Category:1903 ships]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1908 disasters in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the North Sea]]
[[Category:Ships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1908]]
[[Category:Ships built in Dundee]]
[[Category:Schooners]]