Hms Ben Heilem

Steam Trawler-(1917)

What is recorded here

The hired minesweeping trawler HMT Ben Heilem grounded beside Berwick pier in poor weather on 8 October 1917. Attempts to save her failed, but nobody died. Her dangerous wreck was charted close to the pier.

Read the whole record

The vessel and voyage

Ben Heilem was a 196-ton Aberdeen steam trawler built by Hall, Russell and Company in 1912 for Richard Irvin and Sons. The Admiralty hired her in August 1914, armed her and used her as a minesweeper under Skipper John Henry Lawrence. She was one of many fishing vessels doing dangerous but essential coastal work.

How it was lost

On 8 October 1917 Ben Heilem ran aground close to Berwick-upon-Tweed pier in poor weather. Crews tried to salvage her, but continuing bad conditions defeated the attempt. The trawler was abandoned as a wreck rather than sunk by a mine or enemy attack.

Deaths and survival

No lives were lost. The public account does not give the exact number aboard, but the whole human result is clear: the grounding destroyed the vessel without killing the crew.

What remains

The wreck was charted in 1919 about 0.13 mile from Berwick pier light and was marked dangerous in 1926. Later records refined the position. Its closeness to a working harbour entrance explains why the wreck was recorded and monitored even though the ship was small.

Why it mattered

Ben Heilem adds a different kind of wartime loss: weather and grounding could remove a minesweeper without enemy action. The failed salvage also shows how quickly conditions near a harbour wall could overwhelm both a vessel and the effort to recover it. For Berwick, it became a charted local hazard as well as a naval wreck.