Additional information courtesy of Mike Thompson and David Slinger

Technical

Official Number: 160804
Yard Number: 1023
Completed: 1928
Gross Tonnage: 348.03
Net Tonnage: 138.40
Length: 140.3 ft
Breadth: 24.0 ft
Depth: 13.3 ft
Built: Cochrane & Sons Ltd, Selby
Engine: 600ihp T.3-cyl and boiler by C. D. Holmes & Co Ltd, Hull

History

20.6.1928: Launched by Cochrane & Sons Ltd, Selby (Yd.No.1023) for City Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Hull as BOTANIC.
14.9.1928: Registered at Hull (H463).
14.9.1928: John Arthur Laverack designated manager.
18.9.1928: Completed.
29.3.1934: Sailed Hull for White Sea, last trip before sale (Sk. S. Greaves).
23.4.1934: At Hull landed 1,206 kits grossed £867.
27.9.1928: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to National Provincial Bank Ltd, London (A).
1.1.1932: Fred Crawforth designated manager.
26.4.1934: Mortgage (A) discharged.
26.4.1934: The City Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Hull bought by J. Marr & Son Ltd, Fleetwood along with the two vessels.
26.4.1934: Sold to J. Marr & Son Ltd, Fleetwood. Geoffrey Edwards Marr designated manager.
26.4.1934: Sailed Hull for White Sea, first trip under new owners (Sk. S. Greaves).
22.5.1934: At Hull landed 1,633 kits grossed £1,331.
19.7.1934: Sold to The City Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Hull. Leslie J. Marr, Thornton-le-Fylde designated manager (Fred Crawforth manager and fish salesman at Hull).
6.1.1938: Landed at Fleetwood, 716 boxes grossed £703.
25.7.1939: Insured value £10,500.
29.8.1939: Sold to The Admiralty (ref. M.F. 21516/39 dated September 1929). Fitted out as a minesweeper (P.No.FY.707).
5.10.1939: Sk. Ernest Wilfred Critten RNR appointed CO.
27.10.1939: Hull registry closed “Sold to The Admiralty”.
5.1940: Sk. Edgar Smith RNR appointed CO.
20-26.5.1940: Evacuation from Boulogne, Calais & Dunkirk.
25.5.1940: Sailed Dover for Calais in company with the trawlers ARLEY (P.No.FY.620) (FD44), BROCK (P.No.FY.621) (FD47), CALVI (GY269), FYLDEA (P.No.FY.666) (FD72), MARETTA (P.No.FY.665) (FD45), POLLY JOHNSON (H322) and drifters PLAYMATES (P.No.FY.738) (YH141) and WILLING BOYS (P.No.FY.947) (LT737) with several river launches in tow.
26.5.1940: At 0140 arrived off the French coast. No evacuation order was given, but Belgian river launch SEMOIS transferred ten British soldiers from north wall of harbour to BOTANIC. Sailed for Dover but damaged by air attack en route.
26.5.1940: At 1857 ‘Operation Dynamo’ (Dunkirk evacuation) put into effect.
4.6.1940: ‘Operation Dynamo’ terminated.
4.8.1940: Sk. Andrew Robertson Lees RNR appointed CO. Repaired and allocated M/S Group 50 based Grimsby.
14.10.1940: Ty Lieut. James Guy Badcock RCNVR appointed CO.
5.5.1941: Ty Lieut. James Calderwood Paterson RNVR appointed CO.
1942: Sk. Philip Kay DSC RNR appointed CO.
18.2.1942: Attacked by enemy aircraft off 62D Buoy, 16 miles NE of Spurn Point. James M Yetman, seaman, killed. Vessel badly damaged, FYLDEA (P.No.FY.666) (FD72) connected and commenced tow to Grimsby but en route started to settle and foundered.

Click to enlarge image

HMT Botanic
Picture courtesy of The Greenday Collection

Changelog

11/05/2009: Page published. 6 updates since then.
10/06/2018: Removed FMHT watermark from image.
01/09/2018: Updated information.
17/09/2019: Updated information.