The SS Thistlemor was a British build cargo steamer.

She was built in 1906 By Craig, Taylor and Co.Ltd of Stockton on Tees and designed for cargo transport. She is a sister ship to the well known Red Sea dive "Thistlegorm".  Her Launch date was 24th May 1906 Whilst being built she had the yard number 116 and given the off. Number of 123156

She was owned by Allan, Black and Co (Albyn Line) of Sunderland. 

She had a weight in tons of 4008 grt.

Length of 350 feet and a beam of 51 feet.

The engine was a steam triple expansion engine and she had a single screw, the power of the engine was reported to be 316hp.

The ship floundered of the North Devon coast near Clovelly on the 3rd December 1909 during a gale.

23 out of a crew of 30 were lost. She is believed to have been taking coal from Cardiff to Cape Town. 

During my research into the sinking of the Thistlemor I learned that her loss was discussed in Parliament. The concerns were that the loss of the ship could have been avoided if there had been a more comprehensive coast watch, these short questions and answers can be found at

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/search/thistlemoore

This later lead to the building of a coastal watch hut in 1911 that was later taken over by the coastguard.

The repercussions of the sinking were felt worldwide and there was even an article in the San Francisco Call on the 5th December 1909 that mentioned the steamer Arndale recovering one of the lifeboats with ten survivors in it though one of these later died.

The Dive

The Thistlemore is lying in between 20-25m of water

The Dive is suitable for divers of sports diver level and above.  A torch is highly recommended and should be taken as a band of murky water can often make this a very dark dive. Ribs stand proud outlining the wreck site which has collapsed inwards & large parts of engine machines and boilers are exposed along with planking and the prop with a large scour around the stearn section. There is a need to be aware of lines and hooks as this is often a favourite area for anglers mainly down to the wreck providing an ideal habitat for local congers and lobsters along with lots lots more.

 A large number of brightly coloured Plumose Anemonies were reported to be growing on the prop shaft during 2007 and were still their when last dived by the club.

"Divernet" has voted this dive number 54 in there top 100 wreck dives

So it is a must do if you get the chance.