Hello Chums.

My grandfather was an R.N.R. Engineer on the s.s. "Manuel Calvo" in 1919....I have a letter from the Admiralty expressing their "appreciation of the creditable service rendered" during March / April.

Couple of things I know that happened in 1919 was the "Manuel Calvo" was envolved with repatriating 400 foreigners when it hit a mine off Turkey, with the loss of 150 souls. The ship itself survived this event, and lived on until the early 50's.

Also, my grandfather apparently told stories to the family that he was envolved with the salvage of the "River Clyde".

Does anyone know any details of the salvage / re-floating of the "River Clyde" ?

And, who would these "foreigners" being repartriated have been ??

Hi
www.ozebook.com, pictures and details of SS River Clyde when it was beached.
Regards Barry

re the River Clyde

By 1919 the upper works of the ship had pretty well all been stripped away; including the wheelhouse, bridge etc. She also had large shell holes all over the place, including on the poop where the head of the rudder stock and the stearing gear had once been.
She was pulled off 'V' Beach and towed to Mudros where temporary repairs were effected which allowed her to be towed by a trawler to Malta. For this voyage she had a volunteer crew of about 20 RN ratings and they reached the Malta dockyard in July 1919.
The Times of January 20th, 1920 reported that she had been sold to Harris & Dixon for GBP 11,500. H & D were brokers acting on behalf of 'a Spanish account.' Questions were asked in Parliament in March and again in May, but to no avail; the cost to the nation would have been too great and she could not be saved.
The River Clyde had a long working life and was at last sold for scrap in 1965; the price GBP 42,000. And once again appeals to the British Government were in vain. The 'breaking' of this great ship commenced at San Juan de Nieva on 15 March 1966

Details from an article titled 'Steamship River Clyde - How Britain failed to save a Hero of Gallipoli.'
I deeply regret that at this moment I do not have the author's name to hand.

Michael

further to your - My grandfather was an R.N.R. Engineer... ...told stories to the family that he was envolved with the salvage of the "River Clyde".

A few more details re the tow to Malta, quoting from the article referred to above
"Seaman A Pearlman, one of the Royal Naval running crew of about twenty, wrote of how he volunteered for the job, having been told that it had its dangers but in a calm sea should be safe enough. He described how runners drew rations and clambered on board the River Clyde where there was 'not a rope, hawser, chain or rail'. For safety's sake they sat together in the middle of the deck, away from the shell holes, as there seemed to be no habitable part of the ship's interior. They tried to have a sing-song as darkness fell but the sea got up and some were sea-sick. 'It was' he wrote, 'as much as we could do to sit together without falling off the deck.' The only light they had came from the matches with which they lit their cigarettes. Trawler and tow put into Skyros for the night and the crew sat it out in the darkness. Eventually she reached Malta without mishap"

The article appeared in the 'World Ship Review' [the journal of the World Ship Trust] of June 2005 and was written by Mr Denis Stonham

I found the date for the ship hitting the mine: Saturday, 29 March 1919, damaged by mine off Turkish coast when repatriating 400 foreigners (151 lost). [from http://www.fortunecity.com/littleitaly/amalfi/13/shipm.htm]
But have no further details or any ideas where the ship was traveling from and to. If you find this last, then it may indicate who the '400 foreigners' were

Good luck
Michael

Before she was broken up, she spent time in the early 1960s as a cargo ship Maruja y Aurora, (Mary and Aurora) between Barcelona and Castellon, apparently still bearing pockmarks.

A report in the Sunday Express of 1964 asked whether even then it was not too late to bring her home to Portsmouth or the River Clyde .

Peter