Craiglands Gallery

Official No. 89456: Code Letters JDTL: Code Letters JHTF.

Owners: 1883 Hardy Wilson & Co, West Hartlepool: 1895 JF Wilson & Co, West Hartlepool: 1898 Rederiaktieb Sundet (A Hulthen) Helsingborg, Sweden-renamed Oresund: 1916 Red A/B Standar (G ak Ekenstam) Norrkoping, Sweden: 1922 Red A/B Aeolus (N Pahlsson) Helsingborg, Sweden: 1937 Inkapool & Nelberg, Tallinn–renamed Toomas.

Masters: 1883-87 Scott: 1890 W Fortune: 1891 Simmonds: 1892-93 SO Northfell: 1899-1908 P Nilsson: 1909-16 MG Mansson: 1919 AOC Jonasson.

Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail, Tuesday, November 16th, 1886:
THE STRANDING OF THE HARTLEPOOL STEAMER CRAIGLANDS. BLAME ATTACHING TO THE MASTER. There has just been issued from the Board of Trade offices, at Whitehall, the finding of the Court which sat on the 26th ult., to ascertain the cause of the stranding of the West Hartlepool steamer Craiglands, owned Messrs Hardy, Wilson, and Co., off the Island of Hjelm, Jutland, on the 25th of September, while on a voyage from Middlesbrough to Aarhuus. The Court reports that the stranding " cannot be accounted for except on the presumption of a heap stones caused by ice being met with, and of a slight error not important considering the data for navigation the chart furnished in the direction the ship was going. The Court, therefore, is of opinion that no serious blame can be attached to Captain Scott, that the navigation of the ship appears to have been carefully conducted, and that his certificate and those of his officers should be returned to them with the above remarks."

Robert Hardy and Joseph Forster Wilson founded Hardy, Wilson & Co., owning 20 ships from 1879 to 1894. The company was dissolved on 30 June 1894 and Robert Hardy continued trading as R. Hardy & Co., owning 11 ships until the company ceased trading in 1913. Joseph Forster Wilson continued trading as J.F. Wilson (Wilson Shipping Co. Ltd.) owning 15 ships between 1894 and 1919.

R. Hardy & Co., also owned the steamer Uplands built by Ropner in 1890. she was sold in 1912 to Stettin owners and renamed Belgravia. In May 1918 she struck a mine and sank.

Family History:

Robert Hardy was born 1853 at Trimdon to parents Robert and Elizabeth (nee Appleby). In 1871 he was boarding at Stranton. By 1881 he was listed on the census as married and boarding at Roath, Glamorgan and by 1901 he was living at St Martin in the Fields. In 1911 he was a widower staying at Earls Court Hotel, Tunbridge Wells.

Robert died aged 81 on 6 September 1934 at Northbrook, West Hartlepool leaving effects of £129,979.

J.F. Wilson formed his own company when his partnership with Robert Hardy was dissolved on June 30th, 1894, and the company of Hardy, Wilson & Co., ceased trading.

From 1894 J.F. Wilson & Co., owned 15 ships until the company ceased trading in 1919.

In 1904 the company became Wilson Shipping Co. Ltd

Family History:

Joseph Forster Wilson was born in 1853 at Stockton-on-Tees to parents William and Ann (nee Forster). He was married in 1876 to Emily Tassell who was born in Seaton Carew. By 1881 they were living at 139 Station Lane, Seaton Carew with two sons and a daughter and by 1891 the family had moved to Craiglands, Stranton and had a third son. By 1901 they were living at Pangbourne, West Hartlepool. Joseph was Mayor of Hartlepool in 1896.

Joseph died aged 60 at Pangbourne on 14 July 1914 leaving assets of £56,516.