Alfred Cheetham 1866 – 1918 and SS PRUNELLE

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Alfred Cheetham 1866 – 1918 and SS PRUNELLE

Post by aukepalmhof » Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:23 pm

Alfred Cheetham 1866 – 1918 and SS PRUNELLE
Cheetham was already an Antarctic veteran by the time he was serving as the third officer on the ENDURANCE having previously served as part of the Discovery and Terra Nova Expeditions. Worsley referred to him as “a pirate to his fingertips” and his cheerful disposition made him an invaluable boost to morale for the men left on Elephant Island.
On return to England, Cheetham learned that one of his sons had died serving on RMS Adriatic. Despite this personal tragedy, Cheetham enlisted in the Mercantile Marine and served aboard SS PRUNELLE . Just 2 miles from the safety of a port, the vessel was targeted by a German submarine SM UB-112. The ensuing explosion sank the ship, killing 12 of the 16 crew, including Cheetham.
https://www.gov.gs/duty-and-sacrifice-s ... ng-heroes/

Built as a cargo vessel under yard no 114 at Bergsunds Mekaniska Verkstads, Stockholm, Sweden for Ångbåtsaktiebolaget (C. H. Backert), Stockholm.
September 1874 launched as the GÖTA.
Tonnage: 578 gross, 404 net, dim. 47.4 x 8.1 x 4.3m.
Powered by 1 compound 2-cyl. steam engine, 250 ihp, one screw, speed 8.5 knots.
1874 completed.

1878 Sold in March to Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, Bergen. Renamed SATURNUS.
1910 Sold 11/08 to D/S Saturnus (C. Daae-Olsen), Bergen.
1911 Sold 11/01 to Johnsen & Bergman et al., Kristiania.
1912 Sold 20/02 to A/S Tore Hund (L. H. Andreassen), Harstad. Renamed ASBJØRN SELSBANE.
1915 Sold 02/08 to A/S D/S PRUNELLE (Erik Rusten), Bergen.
Renamed 06/12 to PRUNELLE .
1918 Sold 27/02 to Rederi-A/S Harald Grenske (H. Haraldsen), Skien.
Temporarily taken over by The Shipping Controller
(managed by H. W. & C. M. Ezard), London, UK.

Torpedoed and sunk 22/08 by the German submarine UB 112 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rhein) (U-boot net gives Capt. Helmut Patzig.) about 2 nm South East of Blyth, UK while on a voyage from London to Dundee, UK with jute.
12 men lost.
https://skipshistorie.net/Skien/288HHar ... 00PRUNELLE .htm

SS PRUNELLE was a British cargo ship that the German submarine SM UB-112 torpedoed on 22 August 1918 in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south east of Blyth, Northumberland. PRUNELLE was carrying a cargo of jute from London, United Kingdom, to Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Construction
PRUNELLE was built at the Bergsund Mekaniske Verksted shipyard in Stockholm, Sweden in 1874. Where she was launched and completed that same year. The ship was 47.5 meters (155 ft 10 in) long, had a beam of 7.9 meters (25 ft 11 in) and had a depth of 4.3 meters (14 ft 1 in). She was assessed at 579 GRT and had a 2 cylinder compound engine driving a screw propeller. The ship could reach a maximum speed of 8 knots.
Sinking
PRUNELLE left London and set sail for Dundee on 22 August 1917 with a crew of 16 and a cargo of jute on board. One of the crew members, second officer Alfred Cheetham had served on four Antarctic expeditions: Captain Robert Scott's Discovery Expedition and Terra Nova expedition and on Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod and Imperial Trans-Antarctic expeditions.

At 1.40 pm on the same day as it had left London, PRUNELLE was targeted by the German submarine SM UB-112 when the ship was 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) southeast of Blyth, Northumberland. The U-boat fired a torpedo at the ship without warning and the torpedo hit the ship on the port side near the engine room. The following explosion and rapid sinking of the ship killed 12 of the 16 crewmen on board including Captain Storm and second officer Cheetham. The four survivors were rescued shortly after, having clung themselves to the ship's wreckage, and were brought ashore at Blyth.
Wreck
The wreck of PRUNELLE lies at a depth of 24 meters (78 ft 9 in), but the current condition of the wreck is unknown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_PRUNELLE _(1874)
South George & Sandwich Islands 2020 80p sg?, scott?
Attachments
PRUNELLE.jpg
2020 prunelle (2).jpg

Post Reply