Hello Expats Forum;
I wonder if anyone can help me?
My name is Jessica, I am researching the story of the Garthpool,
an old four masted square rigged 'windjammer,' that was wrecked
off the Cape Verde Islands, on the 11th of November, 1929.
I have discovered a lot in the course of my research, working towards
the first draft of a book; I have many archives, including articles,
a growing photo collection and various other snippets and records.
There were 34 crew members, who all survived the wrecking;
my main inspiration for researching this story, is that amongst
the crew was my great grandfather, Christopher Bedford Steel, (1907-1943)
one of 4 passengers.
I've been looking into the stories of all the crew, i.e. who they
were, their time on the Garthpool & the adventure they had in
the Cape Verdes, and ultimately, what became of them long after
the wrecking; I've been discovering a lot of fascinating and interesting details.
I am writing here as one of the 8 apprentices, Edward Earnest Fenwick,
ended up here in Singapore, an 'ex pat', who died in 1989 aged 75.
I wonder if anyone may of known him circa 1950's-1980's?
Captain Edward Earnest Fenwick was born in Hull in 1914;
his first ship was the Garthpool, that he joined in September 1928.
He went on to serve on various ships through the 1930's/40's.
(Source; Ancestry)
References to Singapore begin circa the late 1940's/early 50's;
he lived at Joo Chiat Place in the 1950's, maybe into the 1960's.
He was part of The Straits Steamship Company, as he was
Captain of the ''Bruas'', circa 1955/56 and much later, circa 1978,
he was Captain of the ''Rajah Brooke.'' (Source; a local newspaper
and Marine News, a journal found through a google books search.)
He was married twice and had two children; I'd love to possibly
contact his descendants, to discover more about him, his character,
any relics or record of his time on the Garthpool, namely any photos
or a diary, etc.
Any information would be most appreciated.
I look forward to hearing from anyone who may be able to help.
All the best,
Bye for now,
Jessica S. Fox
London, England