SS ''Rowan'' was a British

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

steamer of the Laird Line which was sunk off

Corsewall Point Corsewall Point, or Corsill Point, is a headland on the northwest coast of Wigtonshire, Kirkcolm near Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. A lighthouse, Corsewall Lighthouse was placed here in 1816, for the directing of vessels from th ...

on the west coast of Scotland on 9 October 1921.

Sinking

''Rowan'' left

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling and Milton beyond) to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel areas ...

for

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...

, in Ireland, early in the afternoon on 8 October 1921, by arrangement waiting at

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

to take on the members of the

Southern Syncopated Orchestra Southern Syncopated Orchestra (SSO), established first in the U.S. as the New York Syncopated Orchestra, was an early jazz group known for bringing Black musicians to the UK. The group was founded by Will Marion Cook. Members of the group includ ...

, a jazz band who had been performing in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. At approximately 12.15AM, in dense fog, ''Rowan'' was following the coast of Scotland southwards when she was rammed in the stern by the northward-bound American steamer in the

North Channel North Channel may refer to: *North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) *North Channel (Ontario), body of water along the north shore of Lake Huron, Canada *North Channel, Hong Kong *Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the N ...

. The passengers were mustered on deck and had put on lifejackets, when the British steamer , coming to the rescue, rammed her from

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which a ...

and cut her in two. ''Rowan'' sank within two minutes with the loss of 22 of the 97 people on board, including eight members of the jazz ensemble. Survivors were rescued by ''Clan Malcolm'', ''West Camak'', and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

destroyer .

References

* 1909 ships Ships sunk in collisions Maritime incidents in 1921 Shipwrecks of Scotland {{UK-transport-stub