SS ''Gracechurch'' was a UK

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

built by

William Doxford & Sons William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British shipbuilder, shipbuilding and marine engineering company. History William Doxford founded the company in 1840. From 18 ...

Pallion Pallion is a suburb and electoral ward in North West Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for shipbuilders, but also smaller one- ...

Wearside Wearside () is a built-up area in County Durham and Tyne and Wear, England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunderland Built- ...

in 1930. She twice changed owners and names, becoming SS ''Peebles'' in 1933 and SS ''Mill Hill'' in 1936. She was sunk by a German submarine in August 1940.

Engines

The ship had nine corrugated furnaces with a combined grate area of feeding three 180 lb_f/in² single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of .

Names and owners

''Gracechurch'' was first owned by Gracechurch Shipping Co of Newcastle and managed by James, Muers & Co of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. In 1933 she was sold to B.J. Sutherland & Co who renamed her ''Peebles''. In 1936 she was sold to the Mill Hill Steam Ship Co Ltd, which was controlled by

Counties Ship Management Counties Ship Management Co. Ltd. (CSM) was an ocean-going merchant shipping company based in the United Kingdom. During the Second World War CSM merchant ships made a substantial contribution to supplying the British war effort, at a cost of 1 ...

(an offshoot of the Rethymnis & Kulukundis shipbroking company of London) who renamed her ''Mill Hill''.

Loss

On 16 August 1940 ''Mill Hill'' left

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

as a member of convoy HX 66A laden with pig iron and scrap steel for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, England. Between 0220 and 0248 hrs on 30 August 58 miles off

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ky ...

in the north of Scotland ' torpedoed the convoy, sinking three ships. One was ''Mill Hill'', which sank within a few minutes with the loss of all hands.

Replacement ships

''Gracechurch'' was the third of four ships that B.J. Sutherland & Co named ''Peebles''. When Sutherland sold her in 1936, William Doxford & Sons completed a new 4,982-ton cargo ship MV ''Peebles'' for Sutherland. She survived the Second World War and in 1951 Sutherland sold her to Westralian Farmers Transport who renamed her ''Swanstream''. In 1957 Westralian sold to J. Manners & Co. of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

who renamed her ''San Fernando''. In 1965 Manners sold to her to Yong & Lee Timber who renamed her ''Phoenician Star''. She was scrapped at Hong Kong in 1967. ''Gracechurch'' was the first of two ships that Counties Ship Management named ''Mill Hill''. In 1947 CSM bought the 7,219-ton

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

SS ''Samdon'' and renamed her SS ''Mill Hill''. ''Samdon'' had been built by

New England Shipbuilding Corporation The New England Shipbuilding Corporation was a shipyard located in the city of South Portland, Maine, United States. The yard originated as two separate entities, the Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Corporation and the South Portland Shipbuilding Co ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

in 1943. In 1949 she was transferred from CSM to a new Rethymnis and Kulukundis company,

London and Overseas Freighters London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. (LOF) was an ocean-going merchant shipping company that for most of its history was based in the United Kingdom. Counties Ship Management In 1920 Manuel Kulukundis from the Aegean island of Kasos and his cou ...

, retaining the name ''Mill Hill''. In 1951 LOF sold her to new owners who renamed her ''Educator''. She was scrapped in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania in 1961.

References

Sources & further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gracechurch 1930 ships Maritime incidents in August 1940 Ships lost with all hands Ships of Counties Ship Management Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Ships built on the River Wear World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean