Commander BALLANTYNE, ERNEST ORFORD
Youngest son of Alexander Ballantyne and Maria Orford of Dalkeith
Brother of Harold S.
Born 1876 in Dalkeith
Baptism:
2 Apr 1876 West United Presbyterian, Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Died 13/01/1915
Aged 29
Served in the 29th Regiment in the Royal Navy on the H.M.S.
Casualty of the Great War, Commander Ballantyne served in the Royal Navy on H.M.S. Viknor.
*Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
In January 1915, the First World War at sea was ramping up as the German submarine and mine technology began to take an ever increasing toll on British naval and merchant shipping.
H.M.S. "Viknor" had been built as long ago as 1888 as a passenger liner, the Atrato, for use on routes between Britain and the West Indies. Capable of carrying 279 passengers, and 421 ft long and 5,347 tons, she was distinctly yacht-like in appearance due to her clipper bow and smartly raked masts and funnels. Under-powered at 1000 hp, her single screw driving her at no more than 14 knots, she still looked a splendid sight on the blue waters of the Caribbean.
In 1912 she was renamed as the Viking by new owners and was used for cruising, an activity for which speed was not an essential.
Thoroughly obsolete in 1914, not to mention slow, it is therefore surprising that she should have been requisitioned by the British Admiralty service on the outbreak of war in 1914. She was armed as a "merchant cruiser" and allocated to the Royal Navy's 10th Cruiser Squadron which was tasked with patrolling between Iceland and Northern Scotland. Minimally armed, these merchant cruisers were not expected to meet enemy warships and their main purpose was to intercept neutral shipping for inspection to detect war contraband destined for Germany.
Considering that during the winter months the ships on this station were likely to encounter some of the worst sea conditions in the world, it is surprising that an old and under-powered vessel like the Viknor was ever chosen for such duty.
On 28 December 1914 Viknor went on patrol from the River Tyne, and on 1 January she joined "B" patrol off the north coast of Scotland. The patrol was ordered to find and stop the neutral Norwegian America Line ship Bergensfjord, which the UK Government believed was carrying a suspected German spy. Viknor found Bergensfjord, detained her and escorted her to Kirkwall in Orkney. There the suspect and six other prisoners, cryptically referred to as "stowaways" were transferred to Viknor, which then left for Liverpool.
During the first weeks of 1915 the Viknor was on patrol off the North West coast of Ireland. She appears to have been in radio contact but she disappeared in heavy weather on January 13th, close to Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal, without sending a distress signal. She took with her the entire 291-man crew.
Some wreckage and many corpses were subsequently washed up on the Irish and Scottish coasts.
Though the exact cause of the Viknor's loss cannot be established with certainty, it is possible that she struck a German mine. This could possibly have been one of the 200 laid in the same general area by the German Bremen-class auxiliary cruiser Berlin, one of which had already sunk the British battleship HMS Audacious on October 27th 1914.
The Viknor's wreck was found by the Irish survey vessel Celtic Explorer in 2006 but the reason for her loss could still not be identified with absolute certainty. Some wreckage and many corpses washed ashore on the northern coast of Ireland.
Her wreck was found in 2006, and in 2011 a scuba diver placed a White Ensign on it in memory of her complement.
Birth Record:
Ernest Orford Ballantyne
Birth
24 Feb 1876
Baptism
2 Apr 1876 West U.P., Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Residence
1876 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Youngest son of Alexander Ballantyne and Maria Orford of Dalkeith
Brother of Harold S.
Born 1876 in Dalkeith
Baptism:
2 Apr 1876 West United Presbyterian, Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Died 13/01/1915
Aged 29
Served in the 29th Regiment in the Royal Navy on the H.M.S.
Casualty of the Great War, Commander Ballantyne served in the Royal Navy on H.M.S. Viknor.
*Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
In January 1915, the First World War at sea was ramping up as the German submarine and mine technology began to take an ever increasing toll on British naval and merchant shipping.
H.M.S. "Viknor" had been built as long ago as 1888 as a passenger liner, the Atrato, for use on routes between Britain and the West Indies. Capable of carrying 279 passengers, and 421 ft long and 5,347 tons, she was distinctly yacht-like in appearance due to her clipper bow and smartly raked masts and funnels. Under-powered at 1000 hp, her single screw driving her at no more than 14 knots, she still looked a splendid sight on the blue waters of the Caribbean.
In 1912 she was renamed as the Viking by new owners and was used for cruising, an activity for which speed was not an essential.
Thoroughly obsolete in 1914, not to mention slow, it is therefore surprising that she should have been requisitioned by the British Admiralty service on the outbreak of war in 1914. She was armed as a "merchant cruiser" and allocated to the Royal Navy's 10th Cruiser Squadron which was tasked with patrolling between Iceland and Northern Scotland. Minimally armed, these merchant cruisers were not expected to meet enemy warships and their main purpose was to intercept neutral shipping for inspection to detect war contraband destined for Germany.
Considering that during the winter months the ships on this station were likely to encounter some of the worst sea conditions in the world, it is surprising that an old and under-powered vessel like the Viknor was ever chosen for such duty.
On 28 December 1914 Viknor went on patrol from the River Tyne, and on 1 January she joined "B" patrol off the north coast of Scotland. The patrol was ordered to find and stop the neutral Norwegian America Line ship Bergensfjord, which the UK Government believed was carrying a suspected German spy. Viknor found Bergensfjord, detained her and escorted her to Kirkwall in Orkney. There the suspect and six other prisoners, cryptically referred to as "stowaways" were transferred to Viknor, which then left for Liverpool.
During the first weeks of 1915 the Viknor was on patrol off the North West coast of Ireland. She appears to have been in radio contact but she disappeared in heavy weather on January 13th, close to Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal, without sending a distress signal. She took with her the entire 291-man crew.
Some wreckage and many corpses were subsequently washed up on the Irish and Scottish coasts.
Though the exact cause of the Viknor's loss cannot be established with certainty, it is possible that she struck a German mine. This could possibly have been one of the 200 laid in the same general area by the German Bremen-class auxiliary cruiser Berlin, one of which had already sunk the British battleship HMS Audacious on October 27th 1914.
The Viknor's wreck was found by the Irish survey vessel Celtic Explorer in 2006 but the reason for her loss could still not be identified with absolute certainty. Some wreckage and many corpses washed ashore on the northern coast of Ireland.
Her wreck was found in 2006, and in 2011 a scuba diver placed a White Ensign on it in memory of her complement.
Birth Record:
Ernest Orford Ballantyne
Birth
24 Feb 1876
Baptism
2 Apr 1876 West U.P., Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Residence
1876 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Commander BALLANTYNE, ERNEST ORFORD
Youngest son of Alexander Ballantyne and Maria Orford of Dalkeith
Brother of Harold S.
Born 1876 in Dalkeith
Baptism:
2 Apr 1876 West United Presbyterian, Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Died 13/01/1915
Aged 29
Served in the 29th Regiment in the Royal Navy on the H.M.S.
Casualty of the Great War, Commander Ballantyne served in the Royal Navy on H.M.S. Viknor.
*Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
In January 1915, the First World War at sea was ramping up as the German submarine and mine technology began to take an ever increasing toll on British naval and merchant shipping.
H.M.S. "Viknor" had been built as long ago as 1888 as a passenger liner, the Atrato, for use on routes between Britain and the West Indies. Capable of carrying 279 passengers, and 421 ft long and 5,347 tons, she was distinctly yacht-like in appearance due to her clipper bow and smartly raked masts and funnels. Under-powered at 1000 hp, her single screw driving her at no more than 14 knots, she still looked a splendid sight on the blue waters of the Caribbean.
In 1912 she was renamed as the Viking by new owners and was used for cruising, an activity for which speed was not an essential.
Thoroughly obsolete in 1914, not to mention slow, it is therefore surprising that she should have been requisitioned by the British Admiralty service on the outbreak of war in 1914. She was armed as a "merchant cruiser" and allocated to the Royal Navy's 10th Cruiser Squadron which was tasked with patrolling between Iceland and Northern Scotland. Minimally armed, these merchant cruisers were not expected to meet enemy warships and their main purpose was to intercept neutral shipping for inspection to detect war contraband destined for Germany.
Considering that during the winter months the ships on this station were likely to encounter some of the worst sea conditions in the world, it is surprising that an old and under-powered vessel like the Viknor was ever chosen for such duty.
On 28 December 1914 Viknor went on patrol from the River Tyne, and on 1 January she joined "B" patrol off the north coast of Scotland. The patrol was ordered to find and stop the neutral Norwegian America Line ship Bergensfjord, which the UK Government believed was carrying a suspected German spy. Viknor found Bergensfjord, detained her and escorted her to Kirkwall in Orkney. There the suspect and six other prisoners, cryptically referred to as "stowaways" were transferred to Viknor, which then left for Liverpool.
During the first weeks of 1915 the Viknor was on patrol off the North West coast of Ireland. She appears to have been in radio contact but she disappeared in heavy weather on January 13th, close to Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal, without sending a distress signal. She took with her the entire 291-man crew.
Some wreckage and many corpses were subsequently washed up on the Irish and Scottish coasts.
Though the exact cause of the Viknor's loss cannot be established with certainty, it is possible that she struck a German mine. This could possibly have been one of the 200 laid in the same general area by the German Bremen-class auxiliary cruiser Berlin, one of which had already sunk the British battleship HMS Audacious on October 27th 1914.
The Viknor's wreck was found by the Irish survey vessel Celtic Explorer in 2006 but the reason for her loss could still not be identified with absolute certainty. Some wreckage and many corpses washed ashore on the northern coast of Ireland.
Her wreck was found in 2006, and in 2011 a scuba diver placed a White Ensign on it in memory of her complement.
Birth Record:
Ernest Orford Ballantyne
Birth
24 Feb 1876
Baptism
2 Apr 1876 West U.P., Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Residence
1876 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Youngest son of Alexander Ballantyne and Maria Orford of Dalkeith
Brother of Harold S.
Born 1876 in Dalkeith
Baptism:
2 Apr 1876 West United Presbyterian, Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Died 13/01/1915
Aged 29
Served in the 29th Regiment in the Royal Navy on the H.M.S.
Casualty of the Great War, Commander Ballantyne served in the Royal Navy on H.M.S. Viknor.
*Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
In January 1915, the First World War at sea was ramping up as the German submarine and mine technology began to take an ever increasing toll on British naval and merchant shipping.
H.M.S. "Viknor" had been built as long ago as 1888 as a passenger liner, the Atrato, for use on routes between Britain and the West Indies. Capable of carrying 279 passengers, and 421 ft long and 5,347 tons, she was distinctly yacht-like in appearance due to her clipper bow and smartly raked masts and funnels. Under-powered at 1000 hp, her single screw driving her at no more than 14 knots, she still looked a splendid sight on the blue waters of the Caribbean.
In 1912 she was renamed as the Viking by new owners and was used for cruising, an activity for which speed was not an essential.
Thoroughly obsolete in 1914, not to mention slow, it is therefore surprising that she should have been requisitioned by the British Admiralty service on the outbreak of war in 1914. She was armed as a "merchant cruiser" and allocated to the Royal Navy's 10th Cruiser Squadron which was tasked with patrolling between Iceland and Northern Scotland. Minimally armed, these merchant cruisers were not expected to meet enemy warships and their main purpose was to intercept neutral shipping for inspection to detect war contraband destined for Germany.
Considering that during the winter months the ships on this station were likely to encounter some of the worst sea conditions in the world, it is surprising that an old and under-powered vessel like the Viknor was ever chosen for such duty.
On 28 December 1914 Viknor went on patrol from the River Tyne, and on 1 January she joined "B" patrol off the north coast of Scotland. The patrol was ordered to find and stop the neutral Norwegian America Line ship Bergensfjord, which the UK Government believed was carrying a suspected German spy. Viknor found Bergensfjord, detained her and escorted her to Kirkwall in Orkney. There the suspect and six other prisoners, cryptically referred to as "stowaways" were transferred to Viknor, which then left for Liverpool.
During the first weeks of 1915 the Viknor was on patrol off the North West coast of Ireland. She appears to have been in radio contact but she disappeared in heavy weather on January 13th, close to Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal, without sending a distress signal. She took with her the entire 291-man crew.
Some wreckage and many corpses were subsequently washed up on the Irish and Scottish coasts.
Though the exact cause of the Viknor's loss cannot be established with certainty, it is possible that she struck a German mine. This could possibly have been one of the 200 laid in the same general area by the German Bremen-class auxiliary cruiser Berlin, one of which had already sunk the British battleship HMS Audacious on October 27th 1914.
The Viknor's wreck was found by the Irish survey vessel Celtic Explorer in 2006 but the reason for her loss could still not be identified with absolute certainty. Some wreckage and many corpses washed ashore on the northern coast of Ireland.
Her wreck was found in 2006, and in 2011 a scuba diver placed a White Ensign on it in memory of her complement.
Birth Record:
Ernest Orford Ballantyne
Birth
24 Feb 1876
Baptism
2 Apr 1876 West U.P., Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Residence
1876 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Gravesite Details
Wargrave with Private Memorial
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