On Friday the 8th of December, 1916, six men lost their lives at Ardrossan Harbour in the No. 2 hold of the Norwegian steamer S.S. Hjortnes.
The s.s. Hjortnes, laden with wheat bound for Sweden, had run onto the rocks south of the entrance to Ardrossan Harbour on 9th August 1916. Part of her cargo was off-loaded onto lighters and taken to Ardrossan Harbour.
On 5th October 1916, the s.s. Hjortnes was recovered and beached inside Ardrossan Harbour, north of Montgomerie Pier, where work began on removing the rest of her cargo.
On Friday 8th December 1916 at 2pm, four men Patrick McGrier, John Armstrong, Peter Farrell and James McIlhatton descended into the No. 2 cargo hold to continue removing the wheat, which was now black with mould and giving off an obnoxious smell.
As the men began putting the mouldy wheat into a basket to be dumped overboard, everything appeared to be normal at first, but just after the basket was half-filled, Armstrong collapsed. As McGrier went to his aid, McIlhatton also collapsed. Both men were unresponsive. McGrier, now staggering and clutching at his chest, managed to begin pulling himself up the ladder.
The men on deck, observing that something was seriously amiss, rushed to their assistance. William Edward McGraa dashed down the ladder, passing McGrier who was still struggling to reach the safety of the deck. As he reached the bottom McGraa was swiftly overcome and fell near Farrell who had also collapsed. William Templeton also rushed down the ladder to provide aid, but he too succumbed to the deadly gas being given off by the mouldy wheat.
Despite the rescuers being overcome, two other men, foreman Joseph Atkins and Anthony McGowan also attempted to rescue the men. They were quickly affected by the toxic gas, but the vigilant men above shouted to them to grab hold of the ropes and began to pull them back to safety. Sadly, Joseph Atkins lost consciousness and fell back into the hold.
With no safe way of getting the unconscious men to safety, both a diver and medical help were sent for. William Milne who had been diving near the dock gates immediately headed over to provide assistance dressed in full diving gear. He was lowered into the hold in a basket, where he threw a rescue rope around William Templeton, who was pulled up to the deck. Milne now in distress from the rising air pressure within his diving suit, was pulled back up in the basket. Out of options, grappling hooks were used to rescue the unconscious men and raise them to the deck.
Doctor’s MacDonald and Allan of Ardrossan, Dr Gordon from H.M.S. Pactolus and the Ardrossan Police attempted to revive the fallen men. Five of the men were pronounced dead at the scene. James McIlhatton was taken home where he was attended by Dr Allan, but he died at 9.20pm, never having recovered consciousness. Rev. Father John Power was rowed out to the ship to perform the last rites to McIlhatton, McGraa, Templeton and Farrell, prior to their bodies being taken to their homes.
Only Joseph Atkin’s body was taken to the mortuary for examination, where it was discovered that the men had died from Carbon Dioxide poisoning (CO2). A church service was held at the mortuary on the evening of Sunday 10th December 1916, prior to Atkin’s coffin being taken to the Glasgow and South Western railway station to begin its journey back to his family in Hull.
The funerals of the other five men were held on Tuesday 12th December. William McGraa, James McIlhatton, and Peter Farrell were buried in Ardrossan Cemetery. Their funeral procession left Herald Street and Harbour Street, where the three men lived, at 1pm. At the head of the procession was a large number of shipyard workers. Ten carriages followed the hearses, mostly carrying the deceased’s relatives. Two of the carriages held members of Ardrossan Town Council including Provost Chrystie. Bringing up the rear of the procession were members of the Harbour Guard. The route to Ardrossan Cemetery was lined with people, and many shops and houses had their blinds down, as a mark of respect. The graveside services were carried out by the Rev. Fathers Gallaucher and Power.
John Armstrong’s funeral procession left Herald Street at 2.30pm, headed by a large number of shipyard workers. At Paisley Street, it was joined by William Templeton’s, before proceeding along Eglinton Road towards West Kilbride Cemetery.
The soldier sons of McGraa and Armstrong and the brother of McIlhatton were given special leave from the military to attend the funerals.
A public subscription was organised by the Ardrossan Committee to provide relief to the widows and dependents of the deceased until financial aid could be arranged. They also arranged a Grand Benefit Concert for Wednesday 27th December 1916, in the Crown Picture Palace, Bute Place, Ardrossan, with all the proceeds going to the immediate relief of the six men’s dependents. The Navy also organised a benefit concert in the Parish Church Hall, Saltcoats for Friday 15th December 1916.
In March 1917 the dependants of William Edward McGraa and William Templeton who had been employed by the Ardrossan Salvage Company were each given a grant of £90 (approximately £5,430 in today’s money).
A fatal accident inquiry was held at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Friday 22nd December 1916 at which Patrick McGrier gave evidence. He stated that the men made no complaints of feeling unwell before they collapsed. At the time of the disaster, he had been unaware of any practices for testing a ship’s hold for gas. Also giving evidence was Peter Cruickshanks who had overseen the s.s. Hjortnes pumps. He had heard comments about the smell emanating from the hold but was unaware of any smoke helmets (used by the British Army) being available at Ardrossan Harbour. Others examined during the inquiry were unaware of the need to take any precautions in regard to the gas. They had all been in similar circumstances before which had not required any precautions. They simply had no idea that the gas was there!
Sheriff Substitute Robertson concluded that no one had been aware that the condition of the wheat within the No. 2 Hold could produce such toxic gas, or that it could have had such disastrous consequences. Today there are strict rules on ventilation and gas measurements before anyone is allowed to enter a ship’s hold which carries wheat.