CAWDOR CASTLE was built in 1902 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 6235grt, a length of 414ft 8in, a beam of 51ft 2in and a service speed of 14 knots.

The third of four sisters she was built as an extra intermediate steamer for the emigrant trade to South Africa.

1902 Actually used on West Coast and Mauritius Service

When the emigrant trade slowed down after the Boer War she spent a lot of her time as a fast cargo carrier and in 1914 was used as a horse transport between South Africa and France.

In April 1915 she carried the Chatham Battalion of the Royal Marines to Anzac Beach, Gallipoli.

Towards the end of the War she was again on the west-coast serviceand she was the first vessel to reach Table Bay after the Armistice with repatriated South African troops.

Until 1923 she was employed on her usual South African run but was then laid up for over a year. She was subsequently put back inservice but now purely as a cargo vessel and the colour of her hull was changed to black.

On 30th July 1926 she ran aground at Conception Bay in South West Africa during a voyage from London to Mauritius. The German survey vessel Moewe stood by and gave assistance and the crew of the wrecked vessel were all safely landed. Cawdor Castle could not be refloated and within a short time broke up.

From Salt in My Blood by George Young

Captain Attwood brought the ship out of Walvis Bay at about 11 pm on July 29, when clear he handed over to the 3rd Officer, Ginger Stevens, who at midnight when handing over the watch said to me “The Old Man said to call him at 0400 instead of the Chief Officer (N E Preston) as had been up since 0400 the previous day and must be tired out”.

I checked the course and saw that we were steering to pass about 2 miles west of Hollands Bird Island which looked OK to me. Although we were gradually closing the land, it was a fine clear night or morning and I called the Captain at 0400 as planned. He was soon on the bridge. We discussed the course on the chart, I saw that he had a hot coffee and turned in.

Suddenly I awoke with a jerk. Jumping out of my bunk, I went on deck and saw that the ship had stopped, on up to the bridge and there was the Old Man pulling at the bridge rail with both hands as if trying to pull her off.

We used the engines, Walvis Bay sent down a couple of trawlers and Cape Town sent up the salvage tug, J W Herbert, all to no avail. They pulled and tugged and our engines raced ahead and astern until, at last, the poor old girl broke her back and the upper deck split right across. We waited a few days for a miracle but things became worse. She sagged forward and aft and was making water in all holds and the engine room. Finally we packed our bags and one of the trawlers took us to Walvis Bay. The Captain and Chief Officer stayed at Walvis Bay until the ship was declared a total loss. The rest of the crew, under my command, took the train to Cape Town and later, by mail boat, to the UK.

The ship had a most valuable cargo and although some of it was salvaged a lot was strewn along the skeleton coast for years afterwards.

By 1960 the Cawdor Castle was reported to be about 1 mile inland, the coast in that area, being mostly sand dunes, having extended to the westward. She is probably still there.

A Court of Enquiry was held in Cape Town, where the Captain and Officers were exonerated from all blame. The cause of the mishap was put down to an abnormal current setting towards the land and the fact that the chart showed the coastline about 4 miles further East than it should.

Walvis Bay

Conception Bay

Intended Course

Reproduced from Captain Jack Trayner’s autobiography with permission from his family