SS Montrose (1897)

SS ''Montrose'' was a British merchant steamship that was built in 1897 and wrecked in 1914. She was built as a cargo liner for Elder, Dempster & Company. In 1903 the Canadian Pacific Railway bought her and had her converted into a passenger liner.

''Montrose'' is notable for being the ship on which Hawley Harvey Crippen and his lover Ethel Le Neve fled Britain after Crippen murdered his wife in 1910. ''Montrose'' was wrecked in the early months of the First World War after she broke her moorings.

Building

In 1897 the African Steamship Company, part of Elder, Dempster and Company, had a pair of steamships built. Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company in Jarrow built '' Montcalm'', launching her on 17 May 1897 and completing her that August. Sir Raylton Dixon and Company in Middlesbrough built her sister ship ''Montrose'', launching her on 17 June 1897 and completing her that September.

The dimensions of the two ships were almost identical. ''Montrose''s registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . As built, her tonnages were and . of her cargo space was refrigerated. She was primarily a cargo ship, but she had berths for 12 passengers.

''Montrose'' was a coal-burner. She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple expansion engine built by T Richardson and Sons of Hartlepool. It was rated at 632NHP and gave her a speed of .

The African Steamship Co registered ''Montrose'' in London. Her UK official number was 108251 and her code letters were PTWV.

Elder, Dempster & Co ordered a second pair of ships from Palmers, built to the same design. ''Monteagle'' was launched on 13 December 1898 and completed in March 1899. ''Montfort'' was launched on 13 February 1899 and completed that April.

Elder, Dempster career

In September 1897 ''Montrose'' began her maiden voyage from Middlesbrough to Quebec and Montreal. On 29 October she began a regular service between Avonmouth and Montreal. In 1900 her ownership was transferred to the African Steamship Co's parent company, Elder Dempster. On 14 March that year ''Montrose'' began the first of eight voyages from Liverpool to Cape Town as a troop ship for the Second Boer War.

In 1901 ''Montreal''s tonnages were revised to and . That year Elder, Dempster formed a new subsidiary, the Imperial Direct West India Mail Service Company, to run services to the Caribbean. By 1902 Elder, Dempster had transferred ''Montrose'' to this new subsidiary.

Canadian Pacific career

In 1903 the Canadian Pacific Railway bought Elder, Dempster's shipping service to and from Canada, with 14 ships including ''Montrose'' and her three sisters. Canadian Pacific had ''Montrose'' refitted with berths for 70 Second Class and 1,800 Third Class passengers.

Canadian Pacific changed ''Montrose''s route a number of times. On 20 April 1903 she left Liverpool for Quebec and Montreal. On 7 April 1904 she left London for Antwerp, Southampton and Saint John, New Brunswick. On 28 May 1904 she left London for Antwerp, Quebec and Montreal.

In 1905 ''Montrose''s tonnages were revised to and . By 1911 they had been revised again to and .

By 1910 ''Montrose'' was equipped for wireless telegraphy, which the Marconi Company supplied and operated under contract. By 1911 she was equipped for submarine signalling. By 1913 her wireless call sign was MLJ.

Arrest of Crippen and Le Neve

In 1910 the US homeopath Hawley Harvey Crippen and his lover, Ethel Le Neve, fled England shortly after the suspicious disappearance of his wife. After a body was found in the basement of their London home, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Walter Dew sought Crippen and Le Neve on suspicion of murder.

Travelling in disguise and under false names, the couple had left Antwerp aboard ''Montrose'' on 20 July. ''Montrose''s wireless telegraph equipment had a normal range of only . A wireless signal about Crippen and Le Neve reached ''Montrose'' while she was still just within range to reply. Her master, Captain H G Kendall, identified the disguised Crippen and Le Neve, and got his wireless operator to reply to this effect. Dew sailed west on the White Star liner , which was quicker and overtook ''Montrose''. When ''Montrose'' reached Quebec, Dew arrested the couple and brought them back to England to stand trial.

First World War

In August 1914 ''Montrose'' and another Canadian Pacific ship, ''Montreal'', were in Antwerp as the German army was advancing into Belgium. ''Montreal''s engine was under repair, and ''Montrose'' had been waiting to bunker. Captain Kendall, who was now working at Antwerp as Canadian Pacific's marine superintendent, arranged for ''Montreal'' to bunker ''Montrose''. He filled both ships with Belgian refugees, and ''Montrose'' towed ''Montreal'' to England.

Loss

On 28 October 1914 the Admiralty requisitioned ''Montrose'' to use as a reserve blockship at Dover. On either 20 or 28 December she broke her moorings in a gale, where she was wrecked.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose
1897 ships
Maritime incidents in December 1914
Ocean liners
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built on the River Tees
Ships of CP Ships
Steamships of the United Kingdom
World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea