Towards morning I had fallen into a peaceful slumber, when the Captain called into the cabin, "Come up, Doctor - Calais and Dover." I rubbed my eyes; the dawn light shone through the little window. As I was half dressed, I threw a … Continue reading Dover to Tenerife
Tag: ships
Hamburg to Sydney in the 1850s
Johann Holtorf, a 28 year old farmer from Bramstedt, Holstein, sailed in November 1856 from Hamburg to Sydney on the sailing ship, Steinwärder, as I have mentioned in a previous blog. Two years earlier another German family, the Fischers of Harheim in Hessen, near Frankfurt, had … Continue reading Hamburg to Sydney in the 1850s
Imagining stories for Claus and Jürgen
I wondered in my last entry if Claus (aged 32) and Jürgen Holtorf (age 8) may have sailed together from Hamburg to New York in April 1852. Further research shows that the ship they sailed on, the Rhein, arrived in New York on April 29, … Continue reading Imagining stories for Claus and Jürgen
Orient Line to Australia
Orient Line brochure 1927 The Orient Line, which was later acquired by P&O, was perhaps the main carrier of migrants to Australia from England in the first half of the twentieth century. In October 1923 George Simmonds, my grandfather, boarded the Orient ship, Ormonde, in … Continue reading Orient Line to Australia
Forgotten tales 