Welsh Sailor’s Key Actions in 1874 Shipwreck Disaster

Marking 150 years since the event, Able Seaman Thomas Lewis gained recognition for his role in one of the most severe shipwrecks in British maritime history, an incident characterized by drowning, fire, and cannibalism. In the autumn of 1874, Lewis, known locally as Twm Pen-Stryd, originally from Moelfre on Anglesey, was a crew member aboard the Cospatrick, a vessel transporting emigrant laborers and goods to New Zealand. On the evening of 17 November, near the Cape of Good Hope off southern Africa, an unmanageable fire erupted on the wooden sailing ship. This disaster led to the deaths of all but three of the 479 individuals onboard, comprising both passengers and crew. However, without Twm’s expertise—which notably involved advising others to consume the blood of the deceased—these few survivors might not have endured the ten days adrift in a lifeboat to return to Britain and recount their experience. Twm, whose local moniker translates approximately to Tom, Top of the Street, was born in 1828 into a family within a fishing and seafaring community, one of seven siblings. According to RR Williams in his 1976 publication, The Survival of Twn Pen-Stryd, Twm’s father was blind, which may have necessitated his son’s maritime career to support the family financially. Regardless of his reasons for departing, upon Twm’s return from the Cospatrick disaster at the age of 46, it was reportedly only his second time home in a quarter-century. Williams further noted that details regarding Twm’s early life and naval career are scarce, though he did indicate service in the Navy during his youth. Williams stated, “It is hinted, too, in some newspapers of the period that he had served with Belgian crews in foreign ships, and that as a Welsh speaker, he had acquired a mixture of Welsh and Flemish accents when conversing in the English language.” During the 1870s, rural Britain experienced an agricultural depression, partly attributed to a series of wet summers and insufficient harvests, alongside reduced shipping expenses and the removal of tariffs. This situation led to the importation of substantial volumes of grain from the recently established North American Prairies and the Steppes of Russia, which undermined the livelihoods of British farmers. Concurrently, New Zealand emerged as an appealing destination due to its active promotion of new settlers through offers of assisted or free passage. Unlike the convict transport journeys to Australia, the Cospatrick was advertised as relatively comfortable, possessing an A1 safety certificate and providing adequate food and lodging for its passengers. However, Rhodri Clark, editor of the Welsh history website History Points, who has investigated Twm and the catastrophe, suggests that the Cospatrick might not have been as hospitable as its proprietors intended to portray. Clark stated, “The Board of Trade inquiry into the Cospatrick found the likely cause of the fire was passengers breaking into the hold at night in search of booze, lighting their way with an open candle.” He added, “It seems they got far more than they were bargaining on, as the cargo also contained highly flammable straw, palm and linseed oil, and materials like turpentine, paraffin, paint, candles and varnish, with tons of coal nearby.” Mr. Clark, who has placed a QR code at the location of a former Moelfre shop named after Twm and an audio account of the story on his website, further noted that only six lifeboats were available for the nearly 500 individuals on board, with a combined maximum capacity of 187. He explained, “Incredibly Cospatrick was awarded an A1 safety certificate because her six lifeboats met the rules of the day, which determined the number, not by the amount of passengers, but by the overall tonnage of the ship.” This regulation, he pointed out, remained unaltered until the sinking of the Titanic nearly four decades later. Twm’s courageous actions commenced immediately following the outbreak of the fire; he operated the water pumps and endured the flames and smoke well after numerous fellow officers had deserted their positions. He was eventually compelled to escape for his own safety when the inferno grew uncontrollable, though his efforts had enabled many to evacuate. From the six lifeboats, four were consumed by the fire, and an overloaded fifth overturned, leaving only one that remained upright and operational. Twm, along with his two eventual co-survivors—Second Mate Henry MacDonald and Ordinary Seaman Edward Cotter, aged 18—swam to correct the capsized boat, assisting the 62 individuals who had managed to escape. Lacking food and water, and with damaged oars, they drifted for a period of 10 days,