''Alondra'' was an English steamer owned by Yeoward Bros. Ltd. out of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. She sank on 29 December 1916, in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

after running aground at Kedge Rock in

Baltimore, County Cork Baltimore (, ; , translated as the "Fort of the Jewels") is a village in western County Cork, Ireland. It is the main village in the parish of Rathmore and the Islands, the southernmost parish in Ireland. It is the main ferry port to Sherkin Isla ...

, Ireland. Seventeen men of the crew died while the remaining 23 were rescued.

Construction and ownership

In 1899, David J. Dunlop of

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

, Renfrewshire, Scotland, built ''Alondra'' for the London-based

Rio Tinto Company Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, ...

. She was launched on 9 July 1899, and was classified as a passenger and cargo steamship. She was built of steel and was about long, wide, and deep. She was rigged as a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

and had two masts. In 1915, Yeoward Bros. Ltd. of

took possession of the ship and she was their property the day that she ran aground on 29 December 1916.

Accident and Rescue

The cause of the wreck of ''Alondra'' is not entirely clear. What is known is that the ship ran aground on 29 December 1916 on Kedge Rock, an island off

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, with sheer rock cliffs. After ''Alondra'' struck Kedge Rock, 16 of her crew were able to get aboard one of the ship's

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

, but they drowned before they could reach safety. Another man died on board. Meanwhile,

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

John Richard Hedges Becher, who was serving as the honorary secretary of the Baltimore

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI), set out with a rescue lifeboat. He failed to reach ''Alondra'' on the first or second try. When the sun rose, he and his lifeboat crew set out a third time using a rocket apparatus and managed to reach the vessel. While the lifeboat worked from one position, the crews of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built tra ...

worked from the tops of the cliffs to lift other surviving crew members out of ''Alondra''. In total, 23 men were rescued from the ship. The RNLI awarded Silver Medals for Gallantry to Archdeacon Becher and to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Sanderson for assisting with the rescue. In 1913, the RNLI had established a lifeboat station in Baltimore, which could have been of assistance in rescuing the crew of the ''Alondra''. Unfortunately,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

delayed the official opening of the base until 1919.

Depiction in Film

In 2013, a professional film crew sponsored by

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

created a film based on the events surrounding the ''Alondra'' shipwreck of 1916. The film was made in collaboration with the RNLI and the Baltimore Drama Group, and featured Pat Flaherty, Tadhg Collins, Michael Walsh, Cornie Bohane, Rupert Stutchbury, and Bernie O’Driscoll. The film was included in an RNLI touring exhibition commemorating the organisation's involvement in World War I.

Dive Site

Today,

wreck diving Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...

is popular in Baltimore at sites such as the ''Alondra'' wreck. The ship settled at a depth of and is located at .

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Alondra'' (shipwreck) 1899 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Shipwrecks of Ireland Maritime incidents in 1916