Avis Gallery

Official No. 86968: Code Letters HWQR: Code Letters HMLK.

Owners: 1883 Brewis Smith & Co, West Hartlepool: 1886 Hardy & Joseph F Wilson & Co, Hartlepool: 1895 J.F. Wilson & Co, West Hartlepool; 1896 Dampskibet Avis’s Rederi (CB Blumer Hofgaard) Christiana: 1914 Actieseslk Avis (W Gorrissen) Christiana: 1915 Dampskibet-Akties Avis (Th Halvorsen) Bergen

Masters: 1883-87 Smith: 1888-90 W Turner: 1890-92 Symonds: 1893-94 PH Petersen: 1894-95 W Turner: 1879-1902 MA Larsen: 1904 C Bjonnes: 1905 N Nilsen: 1907-15 K Olsen.

Voyages: July 1895 Cardiff for Cronstadt.

Western Mail, Thursday, December 22^nd, 1892:
OVERLOADING AT NEWPORT. A CAPTAIN FINED. At Newport Police-court on Wednesday Captain P. Peterson, master of the steamship Avis, was summoned at the instance of the Board of Trade for allowing his ship to be overloaded. Mr. I. Vacheli (Ingledew, Ince, and Vacheli) prosecuted, and Mr. L. H. Hornby defended. Mr. Vachail, in opening his case, said the vessel was the steamship Avis, of West Hartlepool. In July last she loaded a cargo of iron ore at Decido, and left that port on July 5, arriving in the Tees at Middlesborough five days, less four hours, afterwards.
During the voyage 45 tons of coal was consumed. The freeboard was taken and found to be 1ft. 2in. mean, which, allowing for the difference between fresh and salt water, would give a freeboard of 4¼in. The summer freeboard was 1ft. 4½in., so that when the vessel left Decido she was 3¼in. too deep. Captain Johnson, Board of Trade surveyor at Middlesborough, corroborated the opening statement, and Daniel Murphy also gave evidence. Mr. Hornby said he had no witness to call, and the Bench, after considering the case, decided that the vessel had been overloaded to the extent of 3in., and fined the captain £25.

Royal Cornwall Gazette, Thursday, December 29^th, 1892:
Fined for Overloading.— At Newport Police court, Captain Petersen, master of the steamship Avis, belonging to West Hartlepool, was fined £25 for allowing his vessel to be overloaded. Avis loaded a cargo of iron ore for Middlesbrough at Decido, Spain, in July last. On arrival in the Tees the Board of Trade measurements shewed that when the vessel left Decido, the summer freeboard was submerged three and a quarter inches, , the vessel being 45 tons over-laden. Consideration was asked for the captain owing to the difficulty of loading at Decido. The Mayor said that captains should take extra precautions when loading in open roadsteads. If they erred, it should be on the side of safety.

Cheltenham Chronicle, Saturday, March 18^th, 1899:
ALLEGED FRAUDULENT PRETENCES IN CHELTENHAM. A PLAUSIBLE STORY. At the Cheltenham Police-court on Thursday morning, a fireman of no fixed abode, giving the name of William Mason, 61, was charged with obtaining by false pretences from Lucy Dodwell. The prisoner is a man standing about 5ft. 11in. high, with grey hair and beard, and fresh complexion with grey eyes. In the police description of the man, it is said he bears a burn mark on the outside of the left forearm, and a scar across the knuckle of the right thumb.
Supt. Hopkins said prisoner called at the house of Mrs Dodwell, Tewkesbury Road, the previous afternoon, and introduced himself as Josh. Rawson, steward of the steamship Avis, now lying in the Cumberland dock at Bristol. He represented that he had been in Australia, where he had met some friends of her’s, whom he mentioned name. He added that on the ship at Bristol were a parrot, a box of ivory, and box of china, which had been commissioned by the friends to bring to her, but said he could not bring them until 4s. 6d. duty had been paid on them.
Believing his tale, she gave him the 4s. 6d., but afterwards became suspicious and informed the police. Detective Corbett immediately made enquiries and arrested the prisoner. There was similar charge against him for obtaining a similar amount of money from a woman at Cleeve, and next week witness would able to show that prisoner was a complete fraud, and that he had been getting money in this way at various places. The accused was remanded in custody for a week. It is stated that the man is wanted similar charges at other places.

The Scotsman, Saturday, July 18^th, 1903:
BURNS & LINDEMANN v. KOMMANDIBOLAGET J. FENDER KROG & CO . The Division pronounced judgment on a reclaiming note which brought under review the decision of Lord Stormonth-Darling in an action by Krog & Co ., merchants , Gottenburg , Sweden , against Burns & Lindemann , coal and coke exporters , 104 West George Street , Glasgow . Decree was asked for £79 9s. 5d. in name of demurrage.
In July 1902 the pursuers, Krog & Co., chartered the steamship Avis, of Tonsberg, to load a cargo of coal at Methil , the loading to take place in 72 running hours from the time the vessel was ready to receive the cargo, with demurrage at the rate of 12s. 6d. an hour for every hour thereafter. It was said that the defenders failed to load the vessel within the time.
The defenders stated that owing to holidays and restriction of output at the collieries, they were unable to get delivery of the coal, and they offered £3, 11s. 11d. as the amount of demurrage due. The Lord Ordinary found that the defenders were liable for demurrage for 52 hours , and decerned against them for payment of £26, 14s. 6d., with expenses.
The defenders reclaimed, and the Division adhered to the interlocutor of the Lord Ordinary, and found the reclaimers liable in additional expenses. Counsel for the Reclaimers and Defenders—Mr Clyde , K.C. and Mr. Younger. Agents—J. B. Douglas & Mitchell , W. S. Counsel for the Respondents and Pursuers—Mr. Salvesen K.C. and Mr. C.D. Murray. Agents—Beveridge, Sutherland, & Smith , S.S.C.

Preston Herald, Saturday, November 29^th, 1902:
The Norwegian steamship Avis, bound from Sundsvall to Preston, put into Stornoway on Tuesday last, having in tow the steam fishing trawler Mayflower, which vessel she picked up at sea in a disabled and helpless condition. It appears that the Mayflower was out on her regular fishing trip and the boiler became defective, and she began to drift at the mercy the waves.
Shortly afterwards the steamship Avis hove sight, and, seeing the signals, bore down upon the trawler, when the captain informed Captain Bergsen that his vessel had become disabled through the breakdown of the boiler. It was decided to tow the vessel into Stornoway, and accordingly hawsers were passed between the vessels, and towage was commenced, both vessels heading for Stornoway.
On Tuesday morning Captain Bergsen had the satisfaction towing the Mayflower into Stornoway, where she was taken to a safe anchorage, after which the Avis proceeded on her voyage to Preston. No agreement was made between the respective captains, consequently the towing in of the Mayflower will prove a valuable salvage for the owners, captain, officers, and crew of the Avis, as the Mayflower is a steel screw trawler of 258 tons gross and 98 tons net register, built in 1900 by the Larne Shipbuilding Co., Limited, and owned at Shields. The Avis is owned by Mr. P. Blumer Hoffgaard, of Christiania, Norway.

Brewis, Smith & Co., owned one ship, the Avis, from 1883 until it was to be sold by auction in April 1885. It was purchased by Hardy, Wilson & Co., in 1886.

Robert Hardy and Joseph Forster Wilson founded Hardy, Wilson & Co., owning 20 ships from 1879 to 1894. The company was dissolved on 30 June 1894 and Robert Hardy continued trading as R. Hardy & Co., owning 11 ships until the company ceased trading in 1913. Joseph Forster Wilson continued trading as J.F. Wilson (Wilson Shipping Co. Ltd.) owning 15 ships between 1894 and 1919.

R. Hardy & Co., also owned the steamer Uplands built by Ropner in 1890. she was sold in 1912 to Stettin owners and renamed Belgravia. In May 1918 she struck a mine and sank.

Family History:

Robert Hardy was born 1853 at Trimdon to parents Robert and Elizabeth (nee Appleby). In 1871 he was boarding at Stranton. By 1881 he was listed on the census as married and boarding at Roath, Glamorgan and by 1901 he was living at St Martin in the Fields. In 1911 he was a widower staying at Earls Court Hotel, Tunbridge Wells.

Robert died aged 81 on 6 September 1934 at Northbrook, West Hartlepool leaving effects of £129,979.

This section will, in time, contain the stories of more than 450 merchant ships built or owned in the Hartlepools, and which were lost during the First World War. As an illustration of the truly global nature of shipbuilding, these ships were owned by companies from 22 different countries, including more than 30 sailing under the German flag at the outbreak of war.

J.F. Wilson formed his own company when his partnership with Robert Hardy was dissolved on June 30th, 1894, and the company of Hardy, Wilson & Co., ceased trading.

From 1894 J.F. Wilson & Co., owned 15 ships until the company ceased trading in 1919.

In 1904 the company became Wilson Shipping Co. Ltd

Family History:

Joseph Forster Wilson was born in 1853 at Stockton-on-Tees to parents William and Ann (nee Forster). He was married in 1876 to Emily Tassell who was born in Seaton Carew. By 1881 they were living at 139 Station Lane, Seaton Carew with two sons and a daughter and by 1891 the family had moved to Craiglands, Stranton and had a third son. By 1901 they were living at Pangbourne, West Hartlepool. Joseph was Mayor of Hartlepool in 1896.

Joseph died aged 60 at Pangbourne on 14 July 1914 leaving assets of £56,516.