Elder Dempster Line & MS SOBO

[Bill Forster]

In April 1937 my father, William Redvers Forster (1900-75), was appointed Chief Engineer on the maiden voyage of MS Sobo under Captain J. R. Jones. One might have expected this to the be the first of many voyages on one or other of the Elder Dempster ships plying to and from the coast of West Africa but, surprisingly, he left the company after only one voyage on the 24 June, possibly due to the declining health of his father, who died, aged 61 on the 23 August.

I am writing an account of his life which I plan to publish as

FORTY YEARS AT SEA: A VOYAGE WITH MY FATHER.

Can anybody help me by recommending a history of the Elder Dempster Line or memoirs or articles by some of those who served on MS SOBO before the war.

"Voyager"

[Gulliver]

A Warm Welcome--Voyager.
Why not type Elder Dempster into your search engine-I'm sure you'll find something?
e.g. here.s 1 Link

www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/Elder_Dempster.html



Regards Davey

[Doc Vernon]

Hi Voyager! Real name please!

Welcome aboard and hope you stay with us all for a long time!
Also hope you get a lot of info on your query!
Cheers

Hope this may help a bit!


SOBO
3652 gross tons, length 354ft x beam 44ft (105.16m x 13.41m), one
funnel, two masts, single screw, speed 12 knots. Accommodation for
63-1st and 40-2nd class passengers. She was also licensed to carry
256-3rd class passengers on deck, but this would be for West African
coastal trade.
Launched on 29th Sep.1898 by Barclay Curle & Co, Glasgow for the
African SS Co, she came under the ownership of Elder Line Ltd (Elder
Dempster & Co) in 1908. In 1915 she was sold to the Admiralty and used
as a torpedo depot ship at Scapa Flow and in 1920 was sold to Soc. Les
Affreteurs Reunis, Le Havre and renamed JUPITER. She was scrapped in
1925. [Merchant Fleets by Duncan Haws, Elder Dempster Lines]

HMS SOBO: depot ship, 4,160 tons, 345 x 44 ft. Purchased into RN Oct
1914. Sold 12 Feb 1920 WR Davies & Co.



Jane's Fighting Ships for 1919 describes the SOBO, 4163 tons, and
SOKOTO, 3870 tons, as Torpedo Sub-Depot Ships (R.F.A.) ; and suggests
the SOBO, had a maximum speed of 9 knots. Janes FS does not include an
image of the vessel

Captain William Casey's name doesn't appear in the Navy List for August
1914, either as a regular or as RNR or RNVR, but those were still early
days.


This site may assist?

http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/

Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

Now Voyager, welcome to the site, hope you enjoy nad with a bit of luck you may get an answer to soem of your question. Tough task I know as I have treid to gain info on my G.F. not easy but you will get some answers.

[Bill Forster]

Wrong ships, Castleman!

------- snip
In April 1937 my father, William Redvers Forster (1900-75), was appointed Chief Engineer on the maiden voyage of MS Sobo under Captain J. R. Jones.
---------

My father was on the maiden voyage of his MS SOBO (ON 164319).

And his ship had accommodation for only 12 passengers according to:

The Trade Makers: Elder Dempster in West Africa, 1852-1972; by Peter N Davies (James Cowdon, 1986).

Can anybody help, further?

Bill Forster
son of
WILLIAM REDVERS FORSTER (1900-75)

[Doc Vernon]

Wrong ships, Castleman!

------- snip
In April 1937 my father, William Redvers Forster (1900-75), was appointed Chief Engineer on the maiden voyage of MS Sobo under Captain J. R. Jones.
---------

My father was on the maiden voyage of his MS SOBO (ON 164319).

And his ship had accommodation for only 12 passengers according to:

The Trade Makers: Elder Dempster in West Africa, 1852-1972; by Peter N Davies (James Cowdon, 1986).

Can anybody help, further?

Bill Forster
son of
WILLIAM REDVERS FORSTER (1900-75)

Hi Bill,
Well did say it may help,so sorry that it is the incorrect Ship,hoppe you get more help from someone else,which i am sure you will.
Cheers

[Bill Forster]

The web site suggested by Castleman is helpful & threw up the following references which I hope to locate and check:

ELDER DEMPSTER
Elder Dempster Fleet History 1852-1985, J. E. Cowden & J. O. C. Duffy, 1986.
The Trade Makers, P. N. Davies, 1973.
Merchant Fleets vol.20, D. Haws, TCL, 1990.

SEE: http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/GenBosunBooks1.html

Bill

[Bill Forster]

I should have mentioned that SOBO was the first of of five similar ships in the 'Sobo Class' built for Elder Dempster and It survived the war (it landed US troops near Algeria in the invasion of North Africa) and only went to the breakers ard in 1963 so there should be some of its officers & crew around who could tell me more about the ship.

Bill

[Sobo]

Hello

Cannot e-mail you direct as the page will not allow me to.

I sailed in the Sobo as Second Engineer from June 1958 to September 1960

You are welcome to anything I can tell you about the vessel

You may contact me at Baffled90@hotmail.com

Brain Robins

[jaktar39]

I also sailed in MV SOBO in 1954 as 4th Engineer. She had a three legged Economy Doxford with all engine driven pumps. I am suprised that she was still sailing in 1958 because, during our trip over to the States, the dome of the engine driven sea water pump parted company with the holding down bolts and we had to strap it down with odd lumps of steel bar and threaded rods ( the dome base had coroded away). She was begining to feel her age then and I'm sure that anyone sailing in her after 1954 must have had an interesting life.