Augustine Podmore Williams
Encyclopedia
Augustine Podmore Williams (22 May 1852 - 17 April 1916) was an English
mariner who gained notoriety in the 1880s as the result of a scandal on the high seas. Williams' story served as the inspiration for Joseph Conrad
's novel Lord Jim
. Conrad, who was himself an experienced sailor, had spent time in Singapore
in the 1880s and had come across Williams as a result.
, Cornwall
, the son of a country parson
. He was a merchant mariner. In July 1880, the 28-year-old Williams was serving as chief mate
aboard the Jeddah
, a boat owned by the Singaporean merchant Syed Mohamed Alsagoff
. The boat was captained by Joseph Clark, who set sail from Singapore on 18 July 1880. The ship stopped at Penang
and took on board more than 950 Muslim
pilgrims, all making their way to Arabia in order to perform the hajj
in Mecca
. The ship's destination was the Red Sea
port of Jeddah
.
On 3 August, the ship found itself in the middle of a fierce hurricane which gradually grew in intensity. As the Jeddah began to take on water, the officers lost nerve and Captain Clark, spurred on by his chief mate Williams, decided to abandon ship in a boat which would only take on himself, his wife and a few of the officers and passengers. As there were nowhere near enough boats for the pilgrims, they would have to fend for themselves. The pilgrims found this out, and the officers only managed to abandon ship and launch their boat with great difficulty in the middle of the night. They assumed that the ship would founder. However, the next day, the storm died down and the skies cleared. The deserting officers had been rescued by another vessel (the Scindia), and Captain Clark had reported the Jeddah lost in the high seas. Meanwhile, the Jeddah was towed to Aden
port by the steamship Antenor.
When the true story became known, the scandal made news throughout the nautical world. The case was discussed extensively and written about in the contemporary press in Singapore, Britain and elsewhere. An inquiry found Captain Clark guilty of gross misconduct
and his captain's certificate was suspended for three years. Austin Williams, on the other hand, was seen to be a key instigator of the desertion
and faced the opprobrium
of the entire shipping community. He left the sea soon after the trial. He became a water-clerk with the Singaporean ship chandlers McAlister & Co., for whom he worked for the next 27 years. Eventually, he went into business on his own, but met with scant success. On 15 March 1916, he slipped and fell, fracturing a hip bone. He failed to recover from this injury, and died of complications a month later.
Williams married a Eurasian
girl from Singapore by the name of Jane in January 1883 in St Andrew's Cathedral. They had sixteen children, seven of whom died before their father. Williams was interred in the now-defunct Bidadari Cemetery
in northeast Singapore. A century later, the author Gavin Young
tracked down the few remaining traces of Williams in Singapore, including his long-forgotten grave in Bidadari, in the course of researching In Search of Conrad, a book of travel and literary detection. When the dead of Bidadari were exhumed in the early 2000s in order to make way for redevelopment plans; Williams' grand-daughter, Queenie, daughter of his youngest son, Cuthbert, reclaimed his remains.
Joseph Conrad based his novel Lord Jim
on the story of the Jeddah and the character of Austin Williams.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mariner who gained notoriety in the 1880s as the result of a scandal on the high seas. Williams' story served as the inspiration for Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's novel Lord Jim
Lord Jim
Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900.An early and primary event is Jim's abandonment of a ship in distress on which he is serving as a mate...
. Conrad, who was himself an experienced sailor, had spent time in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in the 1880s and had come across Williams as a result.
Biography
'Austin' Williams was born in PorthlevenPorthleven
Porthleven is a town, civil parish and fishing port in Cornwall, United Kingdom, near Helston. It is the most southerly port on the island of Great Britain and was originally developed as a harbour of refuge, when this part of the Cornish coastline was recognised as a black spot for wrecks in days...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, the son of a country parson
Parson
In the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...
. He was a merchant mariner. In July 1880, the 28-year-old Williams was serving as chief mate
Chief Mate
A Chief Mate or Chief Officer, usually also synonymous with the First Mate or First Officer , is a licensed member and head of the deck department of a merchant ship...
aboard the Jeddah
SS Jeddah
SS Jeddah was a steamship that was originally thought sunk with a great loss of life among the Muslim pilgrims aboard.On 17 July 1880 the S.S. Jeddah sailed from Singapore bound for Penang and Jeddah, with 778 men, 147 women and 67 children on board...
, a boat owned by the Singaporean merchant Syed Mohamed Alsagoff
Syed Mohamed Alsagoff
The al-Saggoffs were spice traders and became influential by marrying into a royal family from the Celebes. They acquired many properties, like the other Arab families, including the "Perseverance Estate" where they grew lemon grass. The estate is now considered to be the heart of the Muslim...
. The boat was captained by Joseph Clark, who set sail from Singapore on 18 July 1880. The ship stopped at Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
and took on board more than 950 Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
pilgrims, all making their way to Arabia in order to perform the hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. The ship's destination was the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
port of Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
.
On 3 August, the ship found itself in the middle of a fierce hurricane which gradually grew in intensity. As the Jeddah began to take on water, the officers lost nerve and Captain Clark, spurred on by his chief mate Williams, decided to abandon ship in a boat which would only take on himself, his wife and a few of the officers and passengers. As there were nowhere near enough boats for the pilgrims, they would have to fend for themselves. The pilgrims found this out, and the officers only managed to abandon ship and launch their boat with great difficulty in the middle of the night. They assumed that the ship would founder. However, the next day, the storm died down and the skies cleared. The deserting officers had been rescued by another vessel (the Scindia), and Captain Clark had reported the Jeddah lost in the high seas. Meanwhile, the Jeddah was towed to Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
port by the steamship Antenor.
When the true story became known, the scandal made news throughout the nautical world. The case was discussed extensively and written about in the contemporary press in Singapore, Britain and elsewhere. An inquiry found Captain Clark guilty of gross misconduct
Gross Misconduct
Gross Misconduct is the second album from crossover thrash metal band, M.O.D.. It was released in 1989 on Megaforce Records and Noise International and follows 1988's Surfin' M.O.D. It was three years until the band released another record, with Rhythm of Fear in 1992.-Overview:Lyrically, Milano...
and his captain's certificate was suspended for three years. Austin Williams, on the other hand, was seen to be a key instigator of the desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
and faced the opprobrium
Opprobrium
-English:opprobrium means disgrace arising from exceedingly shameful conduct; ignominy.Scornful reproach or contempt Example of use: "Don't give him a term of opprobrium."A cause of shame or disgrace....
of the entire shipping community. He left the sea soon after the trial. He became a water-clerk with the Singaporean ship chandlers McAlister & Co., for whom he worked for the next 27 years. Eventually, he went into business on his own, but met with scant success. On 15 March 1916, he slipped and fell, fracturing a hip bone. He failed to recover from this injury, and died of complications a month later.
Williams married a Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
girl from Singapore by the name of Jane in January 1883 in St Andrew's Cathedral. They had sixteen children, seven of whom died before their father. Williams was interred in the now-defunct Bidadari Cemetery
Bidadari Cemetery
Bidadari Cemetery is a defunct cemetery in Singapore. There were two sections: the Muslim section was at the base of Mount Vernon, bounded by Upper Aljunied Road, Upper Serangoon Road, and Bartley Road; the Christian section was across Upper Aljunied Road from the Muslim section, and bounded by...
in northeast Singapore. A century later, the author Gavin Young
Gavin Young
Gavin David Young was born in Bude, Cornwall, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Welsh Guards. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of Monmouthshire. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales...
tracked down the few remaining traces of Williams in Singapore, including his long-forgotten grave in Bidadari, in the course of researching In Search of Conrad, a book of travel and literary detection. When the dead of Bidadari were exhumed in the early 2000s in order to make way for redevelopment plans; Williams' grand-daughter, Queenie, daughter of his youngest son, Cuthbert, reclaimed his remains.
Joseph Conrad based his novel Lord Jim
Lord Jim
Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900.An early and primary event is Jim's abandonment of a ship in distress on which he is serving as a mate...
on the story of the Jeddah and the character of Austin Williams.