- DURATION 60 mins
Event Description
The SS Suevic was one of five White Star Line “Jubilee Class” liners built to service the Liverpool - Cape Town - Sydney route. She ran aground in a storm off the Lizard Point in Cornwall in March 1907. The RNLI rescued 456 people in appalling weather conditions. This is still the largest number of people rescued by the RNLI in a single operation. Another ship, the SS Jebba, ran aground off the South Devon coast the same night and this resulted in the RNLI saving a further 155 lives. Not a single life was lost in either rescue.
This talk describes an extraordinary story: how the Suevic ran aground; how she was salvaged and rebuilt; her service in two wars; and her final years as a whaling factory ship, before being scuttled off the coast of Sweden to avoid capture by German warships. As well as the number of people rescued, both the salvage and rebuilding of the Suevic set records in 1907. The talk is illustrated with fascinating contemporary photographs and accounts from the time. A focus throughout is on the RNLI and its brave crews, as the RNLI celebrates its bi-centenary on 4th March 2024.
This talk is raising funds for the RNLI, if you would like to donate, you can do so here.
- Duration: 60 mins
- Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (no replay available)
Meet the Host, Galen Bartholomew
Galen Bartholomew has been a keen family historian for 50 years. When he
discovered that his great-grandmother and great-aunt were amongst those
rescued from the Suevic, he was keen to find out more about this. Little did he
imagine that his relatives had been involved in one of the most famous of RNLI
rescues. The traumatic events for all the passengers and crew on the Suevic
explain why Galen’s family had virtually ‘forgotten’ that terrible night – 1907 was
well before people were encouraged to talk about difficult experiences! This is a
remarkable account of shipwreck and survival.
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