Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Starboard Broadside view of S.S. EMPIRE LARK, at Cardiff Docks, c. 1947/1948.

ss.EMPIRE LARK (4971gt) : Built 1921 as MARTHA HEMSOTH by Deutsche Werke, Kiel, for Robert M. Sloman & Co 1926 – Sold to Hanseatische Reederei, Hamburg, and renamed KERSTEN MILES. 1939 – Berthed at Las Palmas with damage to her machinery on 27 October, while carrying wheat from Argentina to Germany. She was laid up there for the duration of WW2. 1945 – Seized by the Allies as a “war prize”, she was assigned to MoWT and renamed EMPIRE LARK. 1947 – Scuttled at 47°55N 08°25W (about 300 miles west of St Nazaire) containing 7670 tons of chemical ammunition and 20 tons of contaminated earth.