Forum PAGES 14-18

□ Le voilier dénommé Gallia était un trois-mâts goélette terre-neuvier attaché au port de Cancale. Il sombra le 7 août 1919 dans le Sud-Est de Terre-Neuve, par 46° 22’ N. et 55° 35’ W, après avoir été abor-dé par le cargo War Wich, qui se rendait à North Sydney.

□ Le 7 août 1919, dans le Sud-Est de Terre-Neuve, par 46° 22’ N. et 55° 35’ W, le trois-mâts goélette Gallia fut abordé par temps de brouillard par le cargo War Witch (Captain BONNETT), bâtiment pro-priété du Shipping Controller britannique, mais exploité en gérance par la société Furness, Withy & Co. établie à Hartlepool (Sunderland, Royaume-Uni). Ce navire de charge allait alors de Wabana (Province de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador, Canada) à North Sydney (Nouvelle Écosse, Canada).

Le Gallia avait appareillé de Saint-Pierre (Îles Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) le 6 août 1919, à 17 h. 00, à destination de Bordeaux, ayant en cale 7.575 quintaux de morues vertes. Se trouvaient à son bord 9 hommes d’équipage et 16 passagers, dont 12 marins du chalutier Saint-André (Capitaine DAUSSY), ar-mé par la société en nom collectif Acher, Duhamel & Veuve Gournay, et immatriculé au quartier de Fé-camp F. 217, qui venait de s’échouer sur l’île Saint-Pierre.

Disparurent avec le Gallia 6 hommes d’équipage et 12 passagers, dont 8 marins du chalutier Saint-André. 7 survivants, soit 3 hommes d’équipage et 4 passagers, furent recueillis par l’abordeur qui les déposa à North Sydney. Par la suite, ils furent rapatriés par le paquebot La Lorraine qui les débarqua au Havre, le 8 septembre 1919.

Le naufrage fit donc au total 18 disparus, dont le capitaine Jean Marie Laurent LELOUP, capitaine au cabotage, inscrit au quartier de Dinan, n° 196. Le 13 octobre 1917, ce dernier s’était illustré, à bord du trois-mâts goélette Germaine, bâtiment de l’armement nazairien Maurice Gallet dont il assurait alors le commandement, à repousser l’attaque d’un sous-marin allemand.

• The Toronto World, n° 14,150, Saturday Morning, August 9 1919, p. 2.

“ NINETEEN DROWN IN GALLIA WRECK.

War Witch, Which Collided, Arrives at Sydney With Report.

Sydney, N.S. Aug. 8. — The steamer War Witch, which was in collision with the schooner Gallia near St. Pierre the night before last, arrived at North Sydney early this afternoon, and was immediately visited by J. G. L. Cooke, representing the company in which the steamer is insured, and Mr. Isner, local repre-sentative of the Furness Withy Company, who are handling her.
From statement of the officers of the War Witch, it appear that the collision occurred about 1.30 Thurs-day morning in the vicinity of St. Pierre, while the steamer was running throu a dense fog. At the time she was on her way from Wabana, Nfdl, to North Sydney. The Gallia was bound for St. Pierre from Con-caps [Lire : Cancale], France, carrying a crew of nine and seventeen passengers.
The captain of the War Witch cruised around the vicinity of the collision for over one hour, but after the first crash nothing more was seen of the ill-fated schooner. She must have sunk immediately, taking with her six of the crew and thirteen passengers. The remainder were picked up by the War Witch and lan-ded at North Sydney yesterday afternoon on the steamer arrival.”

« NOUVELLES MARITIMES. — Marine de commerce. — Une goélette cancalaise a sombré.

NEW-YORK. 8 août. (Du correspondant particulier de l’Ouest-Éclair). — Un télégramme sans fil reçu par la marine, des Fisheries Agency à Halifax, et envoyé par le vapeur War-Witch, allant à Sydney, an-nonce la collision de ce vapeur avec la goélette Gallia, de Cancale, par 40° 22’ de latitude et 43° 35’ de long., au Sud-Est de Terre-Neuve. La goélette Gallia a sombré. Voici les noms des rescapés, qui se trouvent sur le War-Witch : Hospis, Nay, Castor, Cuvellier, passagers ; Criquet, Derbas et Le Corre, faisant partie de l’équipage. »

• Le Journal de Rouen, n° 224, Mardi 12 août 1919, p. 2.

« FÉCAMP. — Morts en mer. — Douze hommes du chalutier Saint-André, de Fécamp, échoué le 16 juillet dernier, près de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, avaient pris place, le 6 août suivant, sur le transport Gallia, a destination de Bordeaux. Le 7 août, le Gallia était abordé dans la brume et sombrait avec une partie de son équipage dont huit des marins du Saint-André, presque tous du quartier de Fécamp. »

• Le Petit Havre, n° 13.881, Mercredi 13 août 1919, p. 2.

Les suites contentieuses de l’abordage du trois-mâts goélette Gallia
par le cargo War-Witch

Quebec Telegraph, n° 191, Wednesday August 13, 1919, p. 8.

“ SINKING OF THE SCHOONER GALLIA

Certificates of Both Captain and Mate of the War Witch Withdrawn.
Pending Decision by Wreck Commissioner.

(Canadian Press Service)

Sydney, Aug. 13 — The inquiry into the sinking of the schooner Gallia by the steamer War Witch was concluded by Dominion Wreck Commissioner Capt. L. A. Demers, on Tuesday afternoon, and as a deci-sion could not be given at the close of the investigation, the certificates of both Captain Bonnett and Mate Christopher Carrol of the War Witch were withdrawn pending a finding from the evidence.
Capt. Bonnett of the War Witch, was represented by Hugh Ross, K.C. of the city. The crew of the Gallia by N.A. McMilan of North Sydney, and the owners of the ill-fated Gallia by Mr. McDonald, of Halifax.
Stress was laid upon two points by Mr. McDonald, in laying the case of the Gallia before the Commission.
“The excess rate of speed at which the War Witch was travelling through a dense fog ” contributed to the disaster as well as the negligence of Capt. Bonnett, in not keeping a proper look-out on his vessel. Mr. McDonald stated another point brought out by him was the failure of the captain to properly keep his own watch on the bridge. The second mate was in charge of the bridge at the time of the collision and according to the law governing such case the captain’s presence on the bridge is compulsory during a watch kept by the second mate on a vessel. Referring to what he called an improper lookout, Mr. McDonald said that during the heavy fog Capt. Bonnett should have placed more than one member of the crew upon watch. This point was disallowed by Capt. Demers, who stated that according to marine laws, it is only compulsory to place one member of the crew upon watch.
Summing up the case for Capt. Bonnett, of the War Witch, Hugh Ross, K.C., pointed out that in foggy weather the liability for the observance of marine laws on the part of the steamer was no greater than the liability of the schooner. While there was contradiction in the evidence as to sounding of the fog horn of Gallia, the crew of the fog horn of the Gallia was not War Witch gave evidence that the heard by them until the collision took place. Evidence given by the crew and passengers of the Gallia was not to the effect that they had not heard the siren of their own vessel blowing more than once in the time immediately preceding the accident.
According to Capt. Demers the finding of the court will be given out in two weeks time.”