Chief Mate
Hugh Sewell CRAWFORD
Mercantile Marine
Died: 29th September 1916 - Age: 49

Commemorated:

    

Awards & Titles:

 

Early Life :

Hugh was born at Newtown, Tasmania, on 25 October 1867 to Lt. Col. Andrew Crawford and his wife Matilda Frederica, (third daughter of Major, later Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel George Carter) who had married in 1840 at Cawnpore, India. Lt Col Crawford was a fascinating character; born in Devonport, England in 1815 he joined the East India Co as an Ensign age 18, spending 38 years in the Indian Army, and died at Deyrah, Castra, Tasmania in 1899.

Deciding not to follow in his father’s footsteps, Hugh chose to pursue a maritime career and signed as an apprentice on 1 May 1884 age 15 with T B Walker’s at London. In 1888 he was issued with his certificate No 019784 as 2nd Mate. He was described as being five foot and nine inch with a dark complexion, dark brown hair and grey eyes. Two addresses were given at this time, Deyrah, Castra, Tasmania, and 1 Plimsoll Street, Poplar, London.

Hugh found himself involved in a court of inquiry with regard to the running aground on 24 March 1896 of the P and O steamship “China” near Azalea Rock, Perim Island, Aden. He found himself severely admonished by the inquiry in Aden, but a rehearing was ordered by the Board of Trade. They had ordered the re-hearing as they believed there was ground for suspecting that a miscarriage of justice had occurred in connection with the findings of the Court of Inquiry. In this re-hearing before the Admiralty Division at the High Court of Justice he was exonerated. Hugh progressed with his seamanship and attained competence as 1st Mate in 1897 and Master in 1898, with his address for this period given as Bigsweir House, Bigsweir, Gloucestershire.

The 1911 census shows Hugh at 71 Balliol Road, Bootle, age 41, born Tasmania and employed as a steam ships officer, with the head of the household being Edith Chadwick, widow. In 1914 Hugh wrote a last will and testament, which still survives, as Second Officer aboard “SS Melford Hall” while in New York, dated to Wednesday 28 January 1914. From the details given it shows Hugh having half-share of a property at 56 Binswood Avenue, Leominster in Warwickshire. He is found aboard the same vessel for 1915 as Second Mate, address given as 71 Balliol Road.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

Unit / Ship / Est.: HMHS Salta 

HMS Salta Salta was chartered by the English Admiralty in February 1915 from the French Talabot Company and converted to a hospital ship (H.M.H.S. according to the nomenclature in force in the Royal Navy - His Majesty' s Hospital Ship). In accordance with the Hague Convention of 1894, the steamer was painted white with a broad horizontal green band with red crosses, theoretically protecting it from attack. On the night of the 9th to 10th April 1917, Salta, accompanied by Lanfranc, Western Australia and an escort of destroyers, steamed from Southampton to the naval base of Le Havre. During the morning of the 10th April, a French patrol craft had found mines drifting in the Le Havre approaches and all vessels entering the port were to be warned. The mines had been laid the previous day by the German mine-laying submarine UC 26. At 11.20am, Salta approached the port entrance and stopped engines. A patrol craft instructed the Salta convoy to follow it towards the English drifter Diamond which checked the identity of each ship before opening the barrage allowing entry into the port. Satisfied, the drifter gives its green light and Salta was authorised to continue. Whilst following the buoyed channel into Le Havre, Salta's Captain Eastaway gave orders to alter course to the north. The commander of the Diamond relayed a frantic message that Salta was now approaching the zone where mines had been seen that morning. One of the Salta's surviving officers reported that Eastaway was concerned about entering Le Havre without a pilot because of the bad weather and had wanted to let the other ships pass. Realising that they were in grave danger, Eastaway tried to re-trace his course back to the buoyed channel. In poor weather conditions, Salta drifted across the mined zone and hit a mine at 11.43am. An enormous explosion breached the hull near the engine room and hold number three. Water engulfed the disabled ship, which listed to starboard and sank in less than 10 minutes, ? mile north of Whistle Buoy. Despite help arriving rapidly, the state of the sea and the strong winds hampered the rescue operation and the human cost was appalling. Of 205 passengers and crew, 9 nurses, 42 wounded and 79 crew perished. In spite of extensive searches, only 13 bodies were initially recovered. There are now 24 burials from the sinking of the Salta in Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, and also a memorial to those who were not recovered. The sinking of the Salta had another victim. The English patrol craft P-26 was involved in the rescue operations and hit another mine, the ship was split in two and sank. Salta is believed to lie in 138 metres of water at 49?32'08N 00?02'18W.

Action : Natural Causes 

Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.

Detail :

The next record of Hugh is aboard “S.S. Salta” which was built in France in 1911 by Societe des Forges & Chantiers de la Méditerranée, at La Seyne sur Mer and launched on 13 March 1911, being completed and handed to the Société Générale des Transport Maritime Steam in the July of that year. In February 1915 it was chartered by the British Admiralty from the French Talabot Company and converted for use as a hospital ship of the Royal Navy as “His Majesty's Hospital Ship Salta”, and operated under control of the Admiralty by the Union–Castle Mail Steamship Company. As required by the Hague Convention of 1894, the steamer was painted all-white with a broad horizontal green band on which were painted large red crosses, to signify it was a non-combatant vessel carrying the sick and wounded which theoretically would protect it from any attack.

On 29 September 1916 the vessel is close to Culver Cliff, off the Isle of Wight, and at this time “Salta” was being used for bringing casualties from the battlefields of France and Flanders back to the southern Channel ports of England for hospital treatment. This is when it is reported that Hugh has died suddenly within his quarters aboard ship.

The Provincial return Sheet for 1916 has Hugh as “deceased 29.9.16. This is collaborated fully in the Registers and Indexes of Births, marriages and Death’s of Passengers and Seaman at Sea in BT334 box 0069. This shows Hugh having died while serving in the Mercantile Marine as Chief Mate aboard “S.S.Salta”. (The age given at death is incorrect)


The Liverpool Daily Post of 7 October 1916 reports simply; CRAWFORD - September 29 suddenly at Southampton. Captain Hugh S Crawford late of Leamington and Bootle. On the same day two Southampton newspapers, the Hampshire Advertiser and the Hampshire Independent carried news of the Coroner’s Report into the death of Hugh.

The Index to Probate and Will’s for 1918 shows; Crawford, Hugh Sewell of 71 Balliol Road, Bootle Lancashire master mariner died 29 September 1916 at Southampton. Administration (with Will) Liverpool 27 February 1918 to Edith Chadwick, widow. Effects £310. 2s.

Masonic :

TypeLodge Name and No.Province/District :
Mother : Goodacre No. 2495 E.C.West Lancashire

Initiated
Passed
Raised
9th November 1911
12th October 1912
17th May 1913
 

Hugh was initiated into Goodacre Lodge No 2495 on 9 November 1911 while residing at 72 Balliol Road, Bootle, Liverpool, occupation given as “Master Mariner”. He was passed to the fellow-craft or second degree 12 October 1912 and raised as a master mason in the third degree on 8 May 1913. His Grand Lodge Certificate was issued on 17 May 1913.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

Additional Source:

Last Updated: 2021-03-08 17:36:42