Back to Shipping in our Family History
John George Brew made one single voyage on S.S. Hutton, in 1882, as 1st Engineer. The Hutton, reg. no. 67298, was an iron screw steamer of 2323 gross register tons, with a length of 301 feet, 200hp, and accommodation for a crew of some 32 men. She was built in Sunderland in 1871 and was owned by the company H. Clapham & Co. of Newcastle.
Hutton departed Cardiff, Wales, on 12 July 1882, bound for Bombay, India, for a maximum period, according to her crew agreement, of not more than 2 years trading. The master, Joseph K. Henderson, signed on a crew of 28. Besides himself, there were 1st and 2nd Mates, a carpenter, a steward and assistant steward, a cook, a boatswain, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Engineers, a boiler maker, 8 firemen and 8 seamen.
The voyage took Hutton and her crew to Malta, arriving 24 July 1882, to Port Said in Egypt, arriving 31 July, and through the Suez Canal to Karachi in Pakistan, arriving 17 August, to Bombay, arriving 1 September, to Rangoon in Burma, arriving 30 September, then to Calcutta, arriving 24 October, and back to Bombay again, arriving on 21 November. A new crewman was signed on in Malta to replace one who had fallen sick, and an additional five in Port Said to replace one who fell sick and three who were imprisoned, the reason for which is not stated. One member of the crew was discharged in Rangoon due to sickness and left behind, after which the Boatswain was discharged in Calcutta on 30 October and replaced on 1 November. Hutton lost a further 3 men through desertion, and another 5 who were discharged in various smaller ports, so during her stay in Bombay, 1 new seaman and 9 new firemen were signed on, although one of the latter did not show up at the time of departure.
Hutton spent almost 3 weeks in Bombay, before departing on 11 December 1882 with a load of linseed, on her return journey through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, bound for Port Said in Egypt again. She passed off the coast from the Yemeni city Aden probably sometime during the day or early afternoon of 22 December.
It was monsoon season, and one can assume that the weather on this day was rather poor, with wind strengthened rain squalls reducing visibility. During the evening Hutton ran aground on Perim Island, an island belonging to Yemen, on the western side of the Gulf of Aden, lying between Yemen and Djibouti at the narrowest point, marking the entrance to the Red Sea. The accident ripped a gaping hole in her underside allowing sea water to gush in.
Lloyd's Weekly Shipping Index reports the following order of events.
HUTTON. - Aden, Dec 22, 9.25 p.m. - The Soorata reports the Hutton ashore on Azalea Shoal, Perim; did not ask assistance. Later: The Amberwitch, Indian Government steamer has been sent to the assistance of the Hutton. [L.W.S.I., 29 December 1882]
HUTTON (s). - The following is a copy of a telegram received by Messrs. Luke, Thomas, and Co., on the evening of Dec. 25, from their Aden house, reporting position, &c, of the Hutton (s), ashore on Perim: - "Hutton. - 17 feet water forward, 24 feet aft high water; 4 feet water forehold, 3 feet mainhold; engine-room after holds dry. Am sending buggalows. Exposed position." [L.W.S.I., 29 December 1882]
HUTTON (s). - Aden. Dec 29, 5.25 pm. - Hutton ashore south side of Obstruction Point, Perim, not Azalea Shoal. [L.W.S.I., 5 January 1883]
HUTTON (s). - London, Dec 29. - Messrs. Robert Bradford & Co. have received a telegram from the owners of the Hutton, dated Newcastle, Dec 29, 10.52 am. stating that, acting upon the advice of clubs in Newcastle, they wired Glasgow yesterday asking if pumps could be spared from Ischia: also to Suez asking if pumps were available there; if so, to send them to Hutton. [L.W.S.I., 5 January 1883]
HUTTON (s). - Messrs. Luke Thomas & Co. have received the following telegram, dated Dec 29, 12.10 pm. from their Aden house: - "Captain of the Hutton reports landing cargo on beach by wire hawser; buggalows cannot lie along side; doubtful if pumps could be put aboard; tremendous tide and current." [L.W.S.I., 5 January 1883]
C. Yarley, a 19 year old lad from London, and the Hutton's assistant steward, drowned in an accident during the removal of the cargo. The crew agreement simply states, "28/12/82, Perim Island, near Aden, Drowned."
HUTTON. - Aden, Jan 4. - Up to the present time the weather has not affected the Hutton (s), and it is thought that she may last some months. For the position where the steamer lies this is the worst season of the year, and until the monsoon changes there will be no improvement. Master and crew are here. [L.W.S.I., 19 January 1883]
By the 4 January 1883, Hutton had been aground for almost 2 weeks. After receiving the above information, her owners, far away in Newcastle, England, must have decided it was pointless keeping on the crew and decided to have them discharged. Indeed, Hutton's crew agreement shows that the entire crew, except for the Master, the 1st Mate (R. J. McClury), and the 1st Engineer (John George), were discharged in Aden on that same day, 4 January. It is not known how the crew found there way back to England, but it is most probable that they all signed on as crew with the next available ships heading in that direction.
Lloyd's Weekly Shipping Index continues:
HUTTON (s). - London, Jan. 15. - The Salvage Association has received the following telegram from Aden, dated Jan. 14: - "1,400 bags and packets arrived here, about 260 on Perim". [L.W.S.I., 19 January 1883]
Several other reports appear in Lloyd's Weekly Shipping Index during the months of February and March 1883 regarding the continuing salvage operation. It must have then been deemed no longer necessary to keep on the 1st Mate and 1st Engineer, so McClury and Brew were duly discharged on 23 January. Although it is not clear what became of McClury, we find John George Brew signing up as 1st Engineer on S.S. Ross in Cardiff two months later. As his certificate of competency doesn't show him working as crew on another ship between Hutton and Ross, we assume that he paid his way (or had his way paid by the company) as a passenger to return home, and took some time off before returning to sea on S.S. Ross on 19 March 1883.
HUTTON (s) - London, Feb 12. - Hutton (s). - The Salvage Association has received the following telegram from agents, dated Aden, Feb 11 - "Expect salvage finished fortnight, 8000 bags here; might sell wreck with percentage to purchaser on further cargo recovered. No contracts obtainable." [L.W.S.I., 16 February 1883]
It has not been possible to trace what became of the wreck. The "Dictionary of Disasters at Sea 1842-1962", by Charles Hocking, merely states, "The British cargo ship Hutton was wrecked at Perim on December 22, 1882. She was on a voyage from Bombay to Port Said with a cargo of linseed."