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Fish merchant Matthew Stevens recalls a war time story discussed around the family supper table. After surviving an attack by a German submarine; a St Ives skipper battled with insurers to claim for his losses and won.

On 8 February1917, Matthew鈥檚 great grandfather and grandfather were fishing 18 miles off St Ives in their fishing boat, the Mary Ann, when a German U-boat, the UC 65 captained by Otto Steinbrinck came up next to them, took the full crew of seven fishermen out of the boat, set them adrift in a tender then proceeded to bomb the Mary Ann until she sank.

The little sailboat registered SS 495 is among the scores of fishing vessels targeted by German submarines, the enemy determined to scupper any sea going craft as they stepped up their campaign to stop Britain鈥檚 supplies and starve her into submission.

Matthew describes his Cornish ancestors as 鈥済ood Christian local people鈥�. They apparently said a prayer as they got into the tender. Some hours later the crew of the Mary Ann were picked up by a carrier, a coaster called the SS Sheerness and taken to Plymouth.

The curator of St Ives Museum Brian Stevens can find no reference to the incident in newspaper archive - he suggests due to war time censorship.

The museum does have a first-hand account of the incident, the story retold at a Methodist meeting in 1959 where Matthew 鈥楪entry鈥� Stevens used it to help preach the Gospel.

His sermon was recorded on tape.

鈥淎nd the submarine he peered down upon us like a streak of lightening. He said: 鈥業鈥檓 going to sink your boat鈥�. And he did sink her. He sunk our little boat 18 miles out in the Channel and we are seven men and four brothers in the blinkin鈥� breakin鈥� bread and we had to get in that little 12 foot dingy and from three o鈥檆lock in the afternoon when the job 鈥榓ppened and after six in the evening and the sun was gone and we thought all hope was gone and you can look down in the sea and I thought several times well if I鈥檝e got to go there I鈥檓 also going up there.鈥� (Matthew 鈥楪entry鈥� Stevens, 1959)

Insurance documents from the 鈥楥ornish Fishing Vessels Insurance Society, Limited鈥� held at St Ives Museum reveal how the Stevens family fought to get insurance money for their loss. The following is from the initial letter written by Matthew Stevens senior, registered owner of the Mary Ann to his insurers 鈥� short but to the point:

Dear Sir

I regret to report that while on my way to the fishing grounds my boat the 鈥楳ary Ann鈥� SS495 was stopped by an enemy submarine.
The Germans then sunk the boat by means of bombs and left the whole crew of 7 in a small boat but fortunately we were rescued by a passing steamer and landed at Plymouth.

Yours faithfully
Matthew Stevens (owner)
(source: St Ives Museum)

The Stevens family later had another boat built in Porthleven, naming her the 鈥楽heerness鈥� and registered with a new number 鈥楽S 10鈥� after the steamer which rescued them.

Staunch Methodist Matthew Gentry vehemently believed in the 鈥楬and of God鈥�:

鈥淭hen the smoke on the 鈥榦rizon arose and the steamer bore down upon us and as the darkness was settling down dear friend we was rescued from a watery grave.鈥� (Matthew 鈥楪entry鈥� Stevens, 1959)

And almost a century after the sinking by submarine; Matthew 鈥楪entry鈥� Steven鈥檚 great, great grandson, who鈥檚 just 16 and also called Matthew, now has a fishing boat moored in St Ives harbour registered SS10.

Location: 65 Fore Street, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 1HE
Presented by Matthew Stevens

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