The steel steam trawler Protector was built to the order of the Eastern Seas Fisheries Joint Committee of Kings Lynn, to work as a fishery patrol vessel. Her builders, George Brown and Company of Greenock (Yard No 20), launched the vessel on 5th February 1904. She measured 108.8′ x 21.1′ x 9.4′ and her tonnage was 161 gross tons, 21 net tons. She was powered by triple expansion steam engine of 70 registered horse power supplied by Muir and Houston of Glasgow. Her official number was 113744.
SS Protector (Douglas Brown)
The Protector remained in her role as a fishery protection vessel until 1939 when she was taken over by Trinity House as a pilot cutter and the following year was requisitioned by the Ministry of War Transport in March 1940 for service as a dan layer (a dan is a marker buoy which consists of a long pole moored to the seabed and fitted to float vertically, usually with a coded flag at the top ) and her name was changed to Thalia. The vessel was based at Oban and was lost following a collision with an unknown merchant vessel on the 11th October 1942 resulting in her sinking in deep water south of Creag Island in the Lynn of Lorne.
GA Section of Protector
It would appear that Lloyds of London had not been advised of the change of name, as her loss is recorded in their Casualty Report for 1942 under her original name – Protector
Lloyds of London casualty report
The wreck of the Thalia lies approximately 1 kilometre south of Creag Island in position 56°28.055’N 05°31.107’W. The wreck lies on a thick mud seabed in general seabed depths of 48-50 metres, oriented 015°/195°, with bow to north. The in tact hull is canted over to port with the stern the highest point at 46-47 metres. The visibility on the wreck is generally poor and care should be taken when diving as the wreck is netted.
We would like to thank Lloyd’s Register Foundation – Heritage & Education Centre for allowing us to reproduce documents from their archive in this article.
