Ernest Haylett

Ernest Haylett (born 1871), was Walter’s third child. He did not join the family business but went ‘deep sea’. My father told me that this was frowned upon, that the tradition was to stick with the herring fishing. Ernest must have had a reason for his decision. Perhaps he knew that his father’s business was in trouble. Certainly, the family lost all its boats, many of which were destroyed while being used as inshore minesweepers in the First World War. My father told me that the family never received any compensation.

Ernest, seen here in the garden at Belgrave Road, became a captain with a firm called Scrutton & Sons. As master, he had a book which contains copies of his letters to the company at 9 Gracechurch Street, London. The letters are very bare, a typical one being that of 1st February 1912, from Belize,

Gentlemen,

I beg to inform you that we arrived at this port on the 29th at 7am after a passage of 5 days 5 hours from Trinidad to Half Moon Cay, distance 1583 miles average speed per day 304.4 miles. We were fumigated after arrival and the same afternoon took in 10,000 cocoanuts. We commenced loading mahogany yesterday morning and tonight have on board 640 logs and 40,000 cocoanuts for broken stowage.

I am in receipt of your letter of 12th ult and note contents re deck load

E Miners Apprentice, who was landed by shore doctor at La Brea for Opthalmia, is ashore here in hospital for continued treatment, his left eye being affected.

Mr Dredge has informed me he has 150 tons of wood at Libun River for us. We will go for this early next week.

I remain, Gentlemen,

Your obedient servant

E. Haylett Master.

Ernest Haylett (on the right in this photo) commanded three of Scruttons’ ships, Sargasso, Sarstoon and Savan. In 1920, after a war in which they lost many of them, Scruttons’ five remaining ships were bought out by Thos & Jas Harrisons and renamed, Ernest’s Savan becoming Speaker. Captain Haylett is quoted in the book 'Harrisons of Liverpool' (page 138) as being disgusted with the way the change of ownership was handled. Nevertheless, he became a good servant of his new owners, transferring to the Actor and, later, to the Defender, his last ship. Many years later my father took my brother Richard and I on board the Defender when she called at Mombasa.

My father was always keen to point out that Captain Haylett’s Certificate of Competency as a ‘Master of a foreign-going ship’, dated 1901, which hangs on the wall of my study, qualified him to command a square-rigged sailing ship. His square-rigged ticket came through his training, which started....

....before the mast on the clipper Hesperus* - seen here in the Adelaide River, Australia - and then on....

....the private sailing yacht Sunbeam*, owned by Thomas Brassey. On this ship he studied for his second mate's ticket. My father wrote, "Lord Brassey always insisted on a first class crew and was always helpful to seamen who studied for tickets."

* - pictures courtesy Wikipedia.