Even though he was Officer of The Watch at the time the vessel struck the rocks he was not held culpable.

He went on to have a distinguished career in The Merchant Navy and received a medal and a ‘binocular glass’ from the Board of Trade in 1898 “for gallantry in saving life at sea”.

At the time he was 3rd Officer of the SS Lisbon which assisted in the rescue of the crew of the steamship Newminster from the icy waters of The Bay of Biscay after gale force winds had wrecked their vessel.

His brave efforts were no doubt spurred on by the memory of his own helplessness as he had floundered in the sea off the South African coast nearly 20 years before.

He was the nephew of Captain Fred Diver.