Casgliadau Arlein
Amgueddfa Cymru
Chwilio Uwch
S.S. THISTLEGARTH, glass negative
3/4 port bow view of S.S. THISTLEGARTH at Penarth Head, c. 1936.
Built 1929 by Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland for Allan, Black & Co, Sunderland. On 15 October 1940, THISTLEGARTH under Captain Donald Plummer, dispersed from convoy OB-227 and was hit by one torpedo from U-103, 45 miles west-northwest of Rockall while sailing from Scapa Flow to New Brunswick. Initially the crew abandoned ship due to the list, but reboarded the vessel when it remained afloat. The U-boat surfaced and opened fire with the deck gun, but had to cease fire after three rounds and crash dive due to return fire. The ship sank in two minutes after being hit by a coup de grâce. The master, 28 crew members and one gunner were lost. Nine crew members were picked up by HMS HEARTSEASE.