Memory Lane
Sailing Vessel “Kindly Light”
Steel Hulled Ketch
116 tons
Built 1896 Pool, Skinner and Williams, Falmouth
Owner: Mrs A. Watkins, Frampton on Severn
🎵Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom,🎵
Mrs Agnes Watkins awoke at Frampton on the morning of the first of
February 1918 not knowing what was to befall her ketch “Kindly Light” that day.
HER ketch, yes her ketch it was often the policy of many coastal shipping families to register the craft in the wife’s name.
It had many advantages. If the husband was lost at sea or went off with a mermaid…the family still had the boat
The husband was a lowly paid employee and was taxed very cheaply. The wife was unemployed so was not taxed at all. For the husband if anything went wrong such as damage or a collision he could say” Well its not my boat”” You claim of my wife if you are lucky”
That day Alexander Watkins was on route from Honfleur to Milford Haven in the Kindly Light and just a day away from finishing his trip. Many of these small sailing vessels were engaged in delivering South Wales and Forest Coal to ports in Northern France.
Captain Carl Siegfried Ritter von Georg of the Imperial German Navy commander of submarine U101 had different plans and to sink as much of the British merchant fleet as possible was his main priority. These old wooden ships were easy prey. They were slow, easily caught and one or two shells would sink them. On February 1st. 1918 they ordered the crew of Kindly Light into their lifeboat and sank the vessel 10 miles WNW of Trevose Head, Padstow and the crew of Kindly Light rowed to safety.
This was the end of the Watkins maritime adventures and after the war ended they were awarded compensation for their loss. The 1921 London schedule of payments forced Germany to pay 132 billion gold marks in compensation ….that did not all come to Frampton but they had been comfortably recompensed for their losses.
By this time just across the road Cadburys chocolate factory was booming and Alex and son Alec saw the opportunity to transport milk from outlying farms to the Frampton depot.
No more hardships of life at sea…. this was working from home and a comfortable bed every night. The business flourished with about four or five lorries on the road every day. In my time they were Morris- Commercials and I am certain at least one was supplied by Silvey Brothers at Saul . In later years the fleet was run by Alec’s Son in Law, Reg Davis up until milk tankers became the norm when KEM transport from Marlbrook took over milk collection.