Abstract
Arguably the schooner rig achieved its peak of development in the multi-masted examples that plied the east coast of North America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the seven-masted behemoth Thomas W. Lawson the ultimate expression of the form. While the economy of scale inherent in this 5200-ton vessel might have provided her owners with certain competitive advantages in the coastal trade, it did not endow the vessel or its crews with special immunity to the many hazards of transatlantic commerce. Like supertankers in our own lifetimes, even the largest of ships are subject to the forces of the natural world, human nature and luck.
The five year history of the Thomas W. Lawson ended amidst the rock-strewn archipelago of the Scilly Isles on Friday, 13 December 1907. The vessel, her cargo of oil, and most of her crew were lost in the midst of a fierce storm. For most readers then and now that was the end of the story. But like an oddly intriguing mystery, there seemed more to the story than meets the eye.
Enter John Hicks, a self-professed landlubber, but also a descendent of many of the Scilly Isles boatmen who manned RNLI lifeboats and local skiffs at the time of the disaster. As an experienced jurist Hicks brings his impressive research and reasoning skills to the task of considering each and every possible factor bearing on the event, much as a prosecutor or defence counsel might in preparation for the courtroom. Seemingly nothing is too small for the author to overlook and, rather than an invitation to confusion, this is where the reader can easily get caught up in the story. And the story is a compelling one indeed, as it deals with the thoughts, intentions and actions of human beings who find themselves in a desperate situation.
While considerable attention is given to the shipboard decisions made by George Dow, the Lawson’s master, much of the focus falls on the Scilly men manning two RNLI lifeboats and a skiff. For the benefit of the general reader the author carefully considers the boats and their equipment, the policies governing RNLI operations, and most importantly the individual boatmen involved in the Lawson disaster. In addition to the public accounts of the boatmen’s response to the events of 13–14 December, the author had access to personal correspondence as well as oral accounts handed down within his extended family. Careful (and one cannot overemphasize the term) review of legal testimony, media coverage, and personal written and oral accounts by many directly involved illustrates the fact that absolute truth is oftentimes elusive at best. In this regard the author’s formidable skill in teasing out seemingly minor inconsistencies in the story provides a hook that makes this work difficult to put down.
Appendices provide extensive data on such topics as terminology, weather conditions and genealogical information on the islands’ interconnected families. A particularly valuable addition to this work is a pull out Admiralty chart of the Isles of Scilly, which proved of immense value in understanding both the complex nature of the archipelago and the relative movements of the men and vessels involved. Would that more maritime works included this feature.
An Absolute Wreck, then, affords readers an opportunity to revisit what at first glance is a familiar story. But with the invaluable contributions of Mr Hicks the tale of the Thomas W. Lawson assumes the appearance, and the substance, of a story heard for the first time.