A Norwegian Steamer Wrecked
S.S. Vaaren, 16 December 1914
The ship the men of the Princess Olga witnessed hitting a mine was the brand new 1,090 ton Norwegian collier Vaaren, she was carrying coal and coke from Newcastle to the Sicilian capital Palermo, via Naples. She had left Newcastle at 13.30 on 16 December 1914 and had kept up a speed of between nine to ten knots.
In the pitch black the Vaaren struck a mine around four miles N by NE of Filey at around 20.30. Several of the crew were killed instantly by the explosion. The heavily laden collier went down rapidly and she disappeared beneath the waves within three minutes. The rapidity of a sinking prevented the launching of lifeboats.
In a frantic effort, one lifeboat was hacked free of its davits by the crew, but it overturned when it hit the water. Seven sailors scrambled on top of the upturned hull, but the lifeboat drifted beneath the still turning propellor of the sinking ship, killing three men. It was a horrific sight for the survivors, who now faced a fight for their lives in the dark cold waters.
Four survivors, three Norwegians and a Scotsman, clung to the upturned lifeboat for two hours. In an immense act of bravery, the Grimsby trawler Cleon searched the minefield for survivors. The four men were hauled aboard the trawler and were later landed at Grimsby. They were incredibly fortunate. Inside three minutes thirteen sailors, ten Norwegians, one Dane, one Greek and Tom Davison, a North Sea pilot from North Shields, had been killed in the sinking.
On 21 December 1914, a hearing into the loss of the Vaaren was held at the Norwegian vice-consulate at Grimsby. Peter Henrik Haagenson, the consul for Norway and Sweden, chaired the proceedings, assisted by Thorkild Johannesen, captain of the Norwegian vessel Asturias from Kristiania (Oslo), and Anton Engelbert Sandberg, captain of the Swedish vessel Nord from Stockholm. The loss of the Vaaren was detailed by her senior surviving officer, Magnus Kjelstup of Bergen.
The obituary notice for the captain of the Vaaren, Alfred Walaas, c. Centre for the History of Seafarers at War, Norway
The Men who died on the Vaaren
Captain, Alfred Walaas (37), Bergen
North Sea Pilot, Tom Davison (50), North Shields
First Mate, Anton Wilhelm Olsen (28), Bergen
Second Mate, Hans Simonsen (22), Eggesbønes
Chief Engineer, Alf Dalzel (27), Bergen
Second Engineer, Øivind Johannesen, Bergen
Sailor, Christian Pedersen (24), Skagen, Denmark
Sailor, Askild Steffensen (25), Bergen
Sailor, Olaf Christian Larsen (20), Alstadhaug
Steward, O. Lund Thorsen, Bergen
Cook, Jan Ingolf Kleppe, Tysnes
Fireman, Elia, Greece
Fireman, Johannes Iversen (19), Bergen
The Norwegian sailors killed on the Vaaren are commemorated at the Minnehallen (Seamen's Memorial Hall), Stavern, Norway.
The wreck of the Vaaren was discovered by members of the Scarborough Sub Aqua Club. The ship’s starboard navigation lamp was recovered and resorted by diver Andy Jackson.
Acknowledgements
Arthur Godfrey & Peter J Lassey, Shipwrecks of the Yorkshire Coast, (Clapham: Dalesman Books, 1974)
Carl Racey, East Coast Shipwrecks, research notes, held at Scarborough Sub Aqua Club
Ron Young, The Comprehensive Guide to Shipwrecks of the East Coast, Vol.One (1766-1917), (Stroud: Tempus, 2003)
Arkivet, Peace and Human Rights Centre, Kristiansand, Norway
Minnehallen, The Seamen's Memorial Hall, Stavern, Norway
Norsk Maritimt Museum/Norwegian Maritime Museum, Oslo, Norway
Per Gisle Galåen
Bjørn Tore