Canadian Database of Sunderland Ships

An unexpected Christmas present for the project has been contact from Peter Searle of Toronto, Canada. Peter runs an information rich website on Sunderland ships which includes a reference to the T R Thompson. The index to the database can be accessed from HERE. From the index you can either navigate to Page 55 "1st of 2 pages re Short Brothers" or go straight on Page 55 by clicking HERE, Section / Paragraph 25 of that page refers to the T R Thompson.

Peter has done a good job trawling for a huge amount of information on Sunderland ships and his linked references are very useful. I was pleased to see the T R Thompson ship's plans on his site, I recognise the distinctively scanned image, it appears on several other websites which is good as it shows the T R Thompson project blog is used by many enthusiasts, which is exactly what our project brief to the NAS said. Success!

From Peter's website there is a link to the Miramar site which amongst a treasure trove of other information gives a list of Short Brothers ships. Click HERE to view that list.

PADI Cover the Wreck of the T R Thompson

Rather belatedly I noticed that we haven't put a link to the PADI website coverage of the Meridian Divers T R Thompson Project!

So, for the record HERE it is!

Wreck of the T R Thompson in DIVER Mgazine

The Meridian Divers' wreck project on the T R Thompson is mentioned extensively in an article by John LIDDIARD entilted "Newhaven New Identities" that is published in the DIVER Magazine (January 2010 edition, pages 72 to 76).

The article covers several wrecks and in particular the T R Thompson , the subject of the Meridian Divers NAS Wreck Project. John's article has some new pictures and extends our knowledge of the wreck , it really helps to have an expert on the team! We hope that the national publicity will draw attention to the T R Thompson and that it will lead to even more people contacting us with new information . The project blog is a treasure chest of information on the wreck and we hope it will be a benefit to divers with an interest in the wreck's history

If you are visiting this blog from the DIVER magazine article , don't forget that the "Lables for Quick Reference" on the right hand side panel of the screen are a good way of navigating around the site, and we would be really pleased if you would like to add a comment or provide some new information. All comments are moderated and no personal information is published without prior agreement,

T R Thompson on the Wreck Site

Details on the T R Thompson are shown on the WRECK site , click HERE

John Liddiard's T R Thompson Wreck Photos

Professional underwater photographer & diving journalist John Liddiard , dived the wreck of the T R Thompson on 26th July 2009. His photos can be viewed on his webiste :- http://www.jlunderwater.co.uk/ .

To look specifically at his shots of of the T R Thompson wreck , click www.jlunderwater.co.uk/piclib/goto.htm?pic=09_07_26_2338 . The TRT photos are numbered 2338 (and onwards). All of John's photos have captions that identify the wreck feature being photographed.

We hope that in due course , possibly after more dives on this wreck, John will be able to write-up a "Wreck Tour" in the DIVER Magazine.

Many thanks John , and well done on the identification work.

Meridian Divers A Day and A Dive to Remember with Mr Norman Jack and The BBC

BBC Film TRT Relative on Trip out to the wrecksite

Here is the Link to a very special dive on the T.R.Thompson we were joined by Mr Norman Jack who is a relative to Lesley Francis Jack who died when the ship was sunk in 1918, Lesley was 16.

Once again we were joined by a film crew and reporter John Young from BBC South East to follow up their earlier report back in April when we did the 90th anniversary dive.

Watch the BBC Coverage of the Dive here!

T.R.Thompson on BBC Local History Web Site

BBC Wear have been kind enough to put the Meridian Divers and T.R.Thompson Project blogs on their local history website along with a brief account of the ship. Their web pages features a selection of images taken of the wreck by Meridian Divers Clicking on the link below will take you there:-

Read the BBC Web pages on the T R Thompson Project Here!

BBC T.R.Thompson coverage South East edition

Click on the link to watch the BBC SE Today coverage:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7320000/newsid_7329600/7329626.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&news=1&nol_storyid=7329626&bbcws=1

Contacting the T.R.Thompson Group

If you have come to this site due to the recent radio and TV coverage of the T.R.Thompson N.A.S project and can provide or would like further information on the T.R.Thompson please leave a comment with a way to contact you. The comments are moderated by the blog author so no personal infromation will be shown on the blog before posting.
We will then get back to you as soon as possible

Thank you
Tad
Meridian Divers

Welcome to DIVER readers !

A big welcome to you if you have navigated here as a result of the "Between the Winds" article by John Liddiard published in DIVER magazine (May 2006, pp84-89). It was a great shame that the weather prevented John diving the TRT.

As you will see this blog is devoted to collating information on the TRT. If you can contribute to the work please let me know by adding a comment to this post.

Take time to look through the blog, there is quite a lot material and much of the easily found on the www stuff has been found (but I'm sure not all of it!). Ideally we like info on the TRT itself even if this indirect, pictures of the ship are always welcome, either before or after she sank.

If you have a lot of information to share add your email to the comment. All comments are brought promptly to my attention , I will contact you and if need be edit comments.

Hope you enjoy the information and that you can contribute.

Chris-P

How the Survivors were Rescued ?

Avid blog follower, Jim H has been surfing the www again and found this little gem (well, extract from DIVE Magazine of 4/1/2003, written by Simon Volpe) :-

The TR Thompson sank so quickly that 33 of the crew were killed outright. There was a tremendous explosion and the next thing that the three survivors could recall was that they were in the water. Those on a nearby trawler heard the blast and headed it to the debris field and found the three men. The sinking occurred at 3.50am, which is probably why most of the crew perished. Many would have been trapped below, as the ship fell to the sea floor.

Check the site yourself on :-

http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=2210&v=5&sp=332140698295342633356

All we need now is details of the nearby trawler, it's crew and what happened to the survivors. We could ask Simon Volpe I suppose but sometimes journalists are relucatnt to reveal the sources!

Dolphins on the T R T

Way back on August Bank Holiday (29th Aug 2005) Dolphins were spotted on the wreck of the TRT , this was something special as dolphins are rarely seen of the Sussex coast at all. The local paper, the ARGUS reported the sighting.

TRT Dive Cancelled!

Everything was set for the "Wreck Tour" , dive team ready , boat ready but unfortunately no one had remembered to sort the weather out! Force 5 winds, low surface vis, rain and recent poor underwater vis sealed the fate of the dive - cancelled! John Liddiard used the freed-up time well by providing the dive team with insights of work & techniques along with some helpful tips on identifying steam ship faetures. Another date will be planned!

She's no. 52 in the 100 Best Wrecks rated by DIVERNET (from Diver Magazine)

100 Best Wrecks 51-60 - DIVERNET from Diver Magazine: "52 T R THOMPSON
3538-ton cargo steamer, built 1897. 360ft x 47ft. Armed with 4.7in gun on stern. 301hp triple expansion engines. Cargo: 5600 tons iron ore, Algeria to Middlesbrough. Position: 50 40.17N; 00 05.63E. Depth: 30m.
Sunk: 29 March, 1918, by single torpedo from UB-57. Three saved from crew of 36.
Diving: Superstructure collapsed. Highest point stern, stands upright and 14m proud. Big break amidships. Gun fallen into wreckage. Shellcases nearby. Sand encroaching. Bell recovered by Bromley BSAC in 1989.
Launch: Newhaven."

T R Thompson ~ DIVER Magazine May 2004

Page 101 of the May 2004 announces the T R Thompson project under the NAS 'Adopt a Wreck' scheme. Since the publication of the DIVER mag item a diver has contacted us to say that he has possession of the "Range Finder" from the TRT. The diver has said he will deliver the items to Newhaven Scuba Centre, who will report it to the Receiver of Wreck.