Pollockshields
Cargo Steamer · United Kingdom · Lost 1915 · Bermuda
A World War I munitions ship wrecked in the great 1915 hurricane off Elbow Beach, remembered for a heroic whaleboat rescue that saved all but her captain.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Originally built in Hamburg in 1890, the vessel was captured by the Royal Navy in 1914 and pressed into service as the munitions carrier Pollockshields. On September 7, 1915, after days battling a major hurricane, she ran onto a reef near Elbow Beach, Bermuda, while carrying a cargo of live ammunition. Rescuer Antonio Marshall made repeated whaleboat trips through heavy surf to bring the crew ashore; only Captain Ernest Boothe was lost, swept overboard while fetching a lifebelt for a crewmate.
Vessel
- 1890
- Not established
- Hamburg, Germany
- Steel
- 323 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, triple-expansion engine, single screw
- British Government (requisitioned munitions carrier)
Loss
- September 7, 1915
- Storm
- Reef near Elbow Beach, Paget, South Shore
- Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda South Shore
- Cardiff, Wales → Bermuda
- 350 tons of live ammunition, shells and gunpowder
- 37
- 1
- Captain Ernest Boothe
The Wreck Today
- 15-40
- Scattered wreckage including two boilers, a propeller and a triple-expansion engine; superstructure demolished in 1960 for safety.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 32.271° N 64.770° W
- Surveyed position
- Elbow Beach, Paget, Bermuda
Position from the Bermuda Government's Historic Wreck and Mooring Locator dataset.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Bermuda 100 Project, UC San Diego
Build history, cargo, loss narrative, later demolition.
Rescue details, casualty account.
