Page 24 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven

Samson left a young widow, Elizabeth Susan Strike aged 24: they had been married
just three years. Elizabeth was the daughter of another Porthleven master mariner,
Solomon Symons another of whose daughters – Emily Jane – married one of
Samson Strike’s other brothers, Edward Carter Strike.

The Hain Line connection

Another Strike son, Edward, first went to sea with his elder brother, Hannibal, in
about 1878 when the ‘Brothers’ was first owned: this seems to have been a voyage
from Falmouth to Cadiz and thence to the Rio Grande when Edward is listed as a 17
year old able seaman. Remarkably the young seaman’s life was spared when, in
heavy weather, he was swept from the fore lower yard into the sea. It was the quick
thinking of Hannibal that saved Edward’s life, as he threw the end of the mizzen
halyard to the man overboard before hauling him to the deck and safety. However,
Hannibal was unable to save another crewman five years later when he was master of
the Porthleven-owned schooner ‘Wideawake’. On December 15, 1866 the Falmouth
Packet newspaper reported receipt of a telegram from Captain Hannibal Strike then at
Dundee with his ship,that he had lost a crewman called John Rowe Eddy. It was
reported that the young crewman had been knocked over by the main boom and
drowned. The newspaper continued by reporting that ‘…although the hatch and ladder
were thrown to him…the poor fellow sang out ‘all right’, but before the boat could get to
his assistance he had sunk’.

Eventually Edward moved from sail and joined the Hain Line, of St. Ives. Ultimately
Edward Carter Strike gained his first command in 1904: the 3066 ton
‘Trevelyan’.

After three more commands, Edward Strike was appointed master of the
4198 ton Hain freighter, the ‘Trematon’ in 1914. Whilst on passage from Karachi to
London with a cargo of grain, the ship was sunk on January 20, 1916 after enduring
nearly three hours of shell fire from a German submarine. After Edward Strike had
abandoned ship the crew and officers took to the boats; after drifting for some time
rescue occurred when the British destroyer ‘Rifleman’ arrived and took everyone to
Malta. At the beginning of July 1916 Edward Strike was back at sea, in the first of five
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