The loss of SS Creemuir
09 April 2010
Just seen Betty Treacy's posting about the sinking of this vessel which we identified and dive once last season. I'll post a summary of what I have about the Creemuir's sinking.
On 11 November 1940 the Creemuir was passing Stonehaven in ballast part of a convoy bound for Oban. A German plane from a Norwegian airbase staged an attack to draw off the convoy's air escort. A 2nd German plane then attacked at 1646hrs flashing random morse signals to hide his identity whilst he closed the Creemuir at 200 feet. The plane's true identity does not seem to have become apparant (according to survivor reports) until a torpedo was dropped which hit the Creemuir's side - there was a colossal explosion.
About a minute later the ship's decks were awash and the crew were heading for the boats. A survivor, seaman Luckham, reported the port boat had 12 men in it and that he was trying to pull himself into it when the Creemuir went down, pulling the boat with it - around 3 minutes after the explosion.
The bows of the Creemuir rose almost vertically as she sank by the stern. Luckham grabbed some floating wreckage and then scrambled onto the upturned starboard lifeboat. As the crew struggled in the water the German aircraft turned on the SS Trebartha and it became a raging inferno. Survivors confirm Betty's father's comments and talk about the German aircraft coming back and machine gunning the life boats.
Betty, I hope this helps fill in some of the missing pieces for you. If you want any further information you can contact me directly through my website www.shipwrecksofscotland.com
2 comments
Written by Betty Treacy (nee Bowe) on 08 May 2010 at 15:24:00
Dear Rod, Many thanks for your response and for putting me in touch with Mr. Blacklock. I have just looked at my late dad, Patrick Bowe's Certificate of Discharge, and he sailed from Barry on the S.S.Creemuir on the 20th July, 1940 and was discharged "at sea on the 11.11.1940". He always spoke about being on the raft and listening to his friends calling in the water, and we are sure that he was the fireman who was on the raft, Sadly I was only 16 years when he died on the 1st January, 1963 and didn't pay much attention to his stories of the war. My late mother however always said he was not the same man after the sinking of the S.S.Creemuir and was haunted by it for many years. Without your help and assistance my brother, sister and I would never have known anything about the sinking, as I had made a search on google but I had put in the S.S.Creemore and not Creemuir. Daddy's book was in the water with him, so it is difficulty to read the writing on it. I have now sent e-mails to my nephews and nieces, telling them about their Grandad's experience. i was the eldest in the Bowe family and he never knew any of them or they him, and I was able to let them know about his time at sea, through your kind help. God bless for now and many thanks, Yours sincerely, Betty Treacy P.S. Did I mention that I was a legal secretary for 35 years, with the one firm, retiring two years ago aged 62.
Written by betty treacy on 28 June 2011 at 21:12:00
Hello Rod, its been some while since you heard from me. On the 11th November myself, my brother Danny and sister Anne went to London, and marched in the Remembrance Sunday Parade, laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in memory of all who sailed on the S.S.Creemuir. Being the 70th anniversary of the sinking, it was very emotional for us. Last week I was in Birmingham and paid a visit to the National Arboretum but while its a beautiful site, I was disappointed that there was no tree for the S.S.Creemuir and was told that there are 2500 tress planted in the names of ships sunk in the war, this must be requested by an association or someone else. I will try to rectify this by writing to the lady in charge, and hopefully will see what the planting entails. That's all my news for now. Many thanks for all your help during my search. Betty Treacy