The Hadwen Family of Lancashire

1871 living with wife, Ruth, and remaining family at 1, Stone Yard, Sunderland.

Probably this was the Benjamin Swinhoe, skipper of "Despatch," who was involved in the following :

Sunk by S.S. "J.M. Lennard" (20/11/1879) while trawling off Seaham. One man drowned (Dixon). Skipper Benjamin Swinhoe and five other crewmen rescued by "J.M. Lennard". At the Board of Trade inquiry the First mate of the "J.M. Lennard" was found to be negligent and his certificate was suspended for 6 months.

On the 19th November 1879 the "Despatch" left Sunderland in charge of Mr. Benjamin Swinhoe, with a crew of six hands all told, for the purpose of trawling off the coast. At 1 a.m. on the 20th, her trawl being down, she was steaming at the rate of about1 1/2 knots, her head N. by E. 1/2 E. The master, who had just come on deck, saw a green light on the port bow, which he took to be that of a sailing vessel, as he could see no mast-head light. He again went below, but coming up in a few minutes he saw a steamer close to them, and immediately afterwards the "Despatch" was struck on the bow by the stem of the strange vessel; they separated for a moment, but the "Despatch" was again struck on the bow, further aft. One man, Dixon, endeavoured to get up the bow of the steamer, but must have fallen overboard, as he was never seen afterwards. The rest of the crew escaped in their boat and reached the steamer, which proved to be the "J. M. Lennard." Finding that Dixon was not on board the "J. M. Lennard" they went in their boat to search for him, and the steamer remained on the spot until daylight, hut no traces of the man were found. The crew returned to the "J. M. Lennard" and were afterwards landed at Sunderland. The "J. M. Lennard" appears to have been on a voyage from the Tyne to Rouen with a general cargo of 340 tons.
When one of the fishermen reached the deck of the vessel he complained to the mate that no mast-head light had been exhibited. No doubt it was not alight at that time but was afterwards relighted and hauled up to its place.
The captain had left the deck at 20 minutes after midnight, leaving the first mate in charge of the vessel. The mate in his evidence swore that the trawler's light was reported to him and that he at first took it to be a stationary light heading 2 points on the port bow, sometime after he found that the light grew ahead and then on the starboard bow. The mate further swore he was on the bridge from the time he was on deck until the collision occurred. The look-out man was called and contradicted the mate on two most material points, he denied that he reported the light, stating that he never saw it until a few seconds previous to the vessels coming in contact, he also swore that about a quarter of an hour before the casualty he had been sent below by the mate to warm some coffee for him and that at the expiration of about ten minutes one of the firemen shouted out to him that there was a light close to the port bow, that he returned to the bridge immediately and heard an order given to put the helm hard-a-starboard but that did not prevent the collision.
The man at the wheel swore that about five minutes before the collision the mate passed him on the bridge, but whether he left it or not he could not say, but a few seconds before the collision he saw him on the bridge and he gave the order "hard-a-starboard."
The fireman who warned the look-out man to go on the bridge charged the mate with not being at his post; this the mate denied and a fight took place between them, and in the meantime the others were searching for Dixon, the lost fisherman.

Probate 23/3/1885. Of 18, Herrington Street, Sunderland.