Saturday, January 15th, 1898, SS Victoria, English Channel

[1:8] P&O SS Victoria,[1] English Channel 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan’y 15/98.

This is the first opportunity given me of commencing my diary since leaving Tilbury[2] yesterday afternoon.

Maybe I should detract from interest were I not to revert to the parting at W. Hartlepool.[3] Willie[4] & I had a very pleasant & cheery set off.[5] The good wishes of the friends there for a happy time & safe return brightened the present & shone on the future.

We had a very pleasant journey to the City, & after a wash & tea, made our way to Cook’s,[6] Ludgate Circus,[7] with a view to making final arrangements. These were, by appointment, very satisfactorily completed the following [1:9] morning. Willie desiring to pay a visit to Putney, we reached there about 8, saw the friends & returned to the hotel.

On Thursday morning,[8] a very dense fog hung over the City & all was lighted artificially till near noon. By a few minutes after 10, we were at Cook’s & completed, then on to pay calls in the City & do some business while on the spot. We called at S. Leask’s office at an unfortunate hour, he having gone to lunch. Left my card with adieu on it, same time feeling a regret we had not seen him. After a little rest we made our way to the West End & to Bedford Gardens but we were unfortunate in our visit, Mr. McCallum having gone to his club, I left Jeff‘s letter & my card but was very sorry not seeing his father as should I be spared to see Jeff on board the [1:10] “Andorinha[9]”[i] in Calcutta, I am sure it would be cheery to say one of the last I spoke to before setting off was his father. However, I feel satisfied I did my part. We called on our return at Gledhow Terrace[10] & spent a very happy hour dinning the while with them. Our obligations were now at an end with one exception viz:[11] Willie appointed to meet Horace Ogden at the hotel & on our arrival found him waiting, “all smiles”, & a very happy hour we spent chatting till the hour drew nigh at which he had to be in his house. Willie set off with him & was not long returning, & informed me that Lord Charles[12] had been returned for York. This news did not surprise me, tho’ I had rather my friend Sir C[13] had gained the honour. The surprise was great indeed when the following morning we [1:11] read the majority: 11, a close contest.

On Friday morning[14] we made a good start & got to Liverpool St. Station to join the Boat Express, due to leave at 11 a.m. for Tilbury. On arrival at the station, 10:30, it was very much crowded with passengers & friends.

We were honoured with the presence of Mr. & Mrs. R.C. Burgis, who did me special tribute to come from their temporary abode, Clapton Common, to wish me bon voyage. I much appreciated their thoughtfulness & kindness too, & here let me say, through Mr. Burgis I received that morning before leaving the hotel from Mr. Duckworth M.P. his book, A Trip Round the World, & a complimentary letter. Many thanks to him.

So very crowded was the special train, a second had to be employed. We were in time for the first & it [1:12] left the station 7 minutes before the appointed hour. However, it gave Willie a longer stay with me on board the Victoria. On arrival at Tilbury, we stepped on to the tender[15] & soon was in midstream alongside the huge steamer, & on stepping aboard her we soon found berth 66, where we satisfied ourselves that my baggage was all there, then hurried on Willie’s account to view the saloon & other parts of interest. By this time the 2^nd tender came alongside & it was interesting to see the commotion, Lascars[16] dressed their best in Oriental costume moving about the deck, officers giving orders &c. &c., made the whole surroundings very thrilling. Soon after the passengers were off the tender, the bell rang “visitors ashore” & then a rush took place. Not many minutes [1:13] elapsed before the tender loaded, steamed away. The scene was moving. The many hats, handkerchiefs &c. waving, & the voicing of parting goodbyes, was a sight we can’t soon forget. Willie & I kept in close touch but the most thrilling scene was reserved for the port side. As the tender steamed round our bows & sailed by us, the same signalling as before from friends then a right good round of hurrahs again & again being reciprocated, till we could no longer distinguish individuals, & so ends the last look on my first born & well beloved Willie till, God willing, we meet again.

At 1:30 the bugle sounded lunch & there was a big muster, every chair being filled, & as we sat 1:55, we felt a silent motion & sure enough looking through the port hole, passing objects were on view & we were on our voyage.

[1:14] Soon the passengers were on deck, viewing the river scenery & bustle till darkness set in & we gradually went below to make ourselves comfortable for the night. The bugle sounded at 7 & dinner commenced under very favourable conditions, tho’ we were nearing the sea & during dinner the remark was frequently made “Who would think we were on board a steamer?” so calm & steady did we move ahead. The tables were loaded & beautifully decorated, & all seemed to enjoy the dinner. Personally I did, tho’ I was not at all hungry. That feeling is now to me only one of recollection – never hungry now – maybe the voyage will reproduce it. We’ll see.

The night was spent in various ways till about 10 when most retired. I slept well but at 2:15 I awoke with the stopping of the engines, tho’ I am well [1:15] forward. I concluded this was to let the pilot off the steamer, as we steamed off again at 2:30, & on deck the first thing I ascertained was that the pilot had left at 2:15.

Breakfast at 9 & nearly all were present. A beautiful fresh morning & all or most indulged in promenading the spacious deck, quite a street in its way, & at night electric lit. Lunch at one, which is quite a dinner ordinarily, & tea at 4. I am now sitting in my deck chair on deck writing this. The sun has gone down & the breeze is freshening. We are getting well down Channel & due for Ushant,[17] which we expect to round late in the evening, & now I finish diary writing for today.

[1] Peninsular & Oriental (P&O) Line Steamship built 1887, scrapped 1909.

[2] Tilbury, 30 miles downstream from London on the north bank of the Thames estuary, has been an international port since the 1850s.  From 1886 until 1990, trains connected the pier’s Tilbury Riverside Station to London’s Fenchurch Street Station.

[3] West Hartlepool.  William’s home in NE England, around 30 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne.  It would appear from the text that he is writing to Barbara Corson, his sister there.

[4] William Gibson Whitehead, eldest son of William.

[5] William and his son Willie left W. Hartlepool for London on Wednesday, January 12, 1898

[6] Thomas Cook & Son (Travel Agent) opened its head office at Ludgate Circus, London, 1873.

[7] A Circus is a usually circular area at an intersection of streets, often containing a statue or monument at its center.

[8] Thursday, January 13, 1898

[9] Four-masted sailing barque built by William Pickersgill & Sons of Sunderland in 1892.  Albion Whitehead, William’s second son, was apprenticed aboard the ship between 1894-1898.  See endnotes for more detail.

[10] A Terrace is a row of houses or apartments.

[11] Viz. means “namely”

[12] Admiral Charles Beresford, 1^st Baron Beresford (1846-1919).

[13] Sir Christopher Furness, later 1^st Baron Furness. Born West Hartlepool, 1852, died 1912.

[14] Friday, January 14, 1898

[15] (1) : a ship employed to attend other ships (as to supply provisions) (2) : a boat for communication between shore and a larger ship.

[16] An Indian sailor.  See endnotes for more detail.

[17] Island off the coast of Brittany, near Brest.

Endnote 1: Andorinha

From Lubbock, Basil. The Last of the Windjammers, Vol. I & II (First Edition 1927). Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, Ltd. Nautical Publishers. Vol. II, Pg. 119-120, 420

“Drumalis,” “Andrada” and “Andorinha.”

These big four-mast barques were built by William Pickersgill & Sons of Sunderland, the first for Peter Iredale & Porter, and the other two for the Roberts brothers.  All three were tall ships with a reputation for speed.  The Andorinha was specially lofty with her three skysail yards.  She had an evil reputation as a wet ship owing to hard driving, and amongst seamen she was spoken of as a man killer, who washed a man or two overboard every passage.

There used to be a dispute between the crews of the Drumalis and the Andorinha as to which of the two held the record from Cape Town to Newcastle, N.S.W [Australia].  In 1898 the Drumalis, on arrival at Newcastle N.S.W., announced her passage from Cape Town to be 24 days.  In 1900 the Andorinha made the same run in 24 days and some odd hours.  The Andorinhians claimed that the Drumalis’s passage should have been 24 Ѕ days, but the matter was never really settled one way or the other.

Andrada’s best performance was from Antwerp to San Francisco, 117 days in 1897.  The ship has been missing since December 11, 1900.  Drumalis came to grief on Cape Sable in August 1902.  The lofty Andorinha was eventually bought by Ant. Dom. Bordes & Fils, and renamed Helene, being the biggest ship in the French nitrate fleet for a number of years.

Date Built, 1892; Name, Andorinha; Rig, Steel 4-m. bk.; Gross Tons, 3440; Length, 346. 8; Br’dth, 46. 1; Depth, 25. 5; Builder, Pickersgill; First Owners, Roberts.

Endnote 2: Ranks aboard ship

	BRITISH	LASCARS
a) Deck	Bosun	Serang
	Bosun’s Mate	Tindal
	Quartermaster	Seacunny
	Carpenter	Mistree
	Lamp trimmer	Kussab
	Able Seaman	First Class Lascar
	Ordinary Seaman	Second Class Lascar
b) Engine Room	Donkeyman	Serang *Note 1
	–	Tindal * Note 2
	Apprentice	Topas
c) Saloon	Second Steward	Butler * Note 3
d) Catering	Cook	Bhandary

Notes

* 1. In larger vessels, such as those of P & O , there was a European Donkeyman and the Serang was separate, but equal, petty officer.
* 2. No equivalent. The Storekeeper, who would normally be next in line to the Donkeyman, was invariably a European. The Tindal usually stood his watch with the Chief Engineer from 0800 to noon and 2000 to midnight.
* 3. In smaller vessels, such as those of the Strick Line, the Butler was also Chief Steward. He had the same rights of engagement and control over the Stewards as the Serangs had in their departments.