Making History: Radio 4
Tuesday 31 October 2006: the loss of SS Waratah
The 'Making History' team had received a maritime enquiry from listener Annette Kelly, whose great uncle, Joe Kelly, was believed to have been a crew member on the passenger liner SS Waratah, which went missing in 1909.
The brief for the programme was to prove his presence on the ship, look at his role onboard and find any information that might help Annette to trace her family tree in more depth. There was also great interest in the ship itself, the circumstances of its loss and subsequent efforts to find what happened to it.
I met Annette and the 'Making History' producer in central London and spent a day guiding them around the following record offices, where we located these fascinating documents:
The
Principal Registry: High Holborn
Administration for the death of Joseph Kelly – Indexes 1910.
The
National Maritime Museum: Caird Library
Lloyd’s Weekly Shipping Index Volume 2 1909, entries July 29 – Sept 30, Dec 16.
Lloyd’s Register of Shipping 1909 – specification of vessel
P&O Company: Ships: Individual Ships, miscellaneous material: Waratah 1908
Sea Breezes XLIV Vol 44 Jan-Dec 1970 & 1997 Edition
Dossier on the Waratah
The
National Archives:
BT 369/16-30 Board of Trade and successors:
Marine Department and successors: Shipping Casualty Investigation Papers
1910-1988: Passenger Steam Vessel Waratah Lost Between
BT 100/244 Admiralty
and Board of Trade: Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen and predecessor:
Agreements and Crew Lists, Series III: Ship’s Name: Waratah 1908-1909
HO 45/10632/201093
Inquiry into loss of S.S. Waratah 1910-1911
BT 334/46 Register of Deceased Seamen January 1910
A few days later, I visited the BBC studios at GB Western House to have a chat about our findings with presenter Nick Baker. The resulting programme was broadcast on 31 October 2006.
