"lost ships can be replaced, but lives lost are gone forever"

William Schermuly, Founder 1857-1929

 
iWilliam Schermuly, seaman, inventor, reformer was born in 1857 of Dutch origin, British born from a family that emigrated from Holland in the mid 1600`s. As a seaman he had little formal education apart from 10 months or so on the training ship "Warspite" in 1871, he later served on the Devonshire, Bride, Astante, Lochee, Mary Ann Annison, Fairlie, Covona, Greta, Ben Nevis and Daccia. In 1880 he left the sea and joined the London Fire Brigade, then he became a wire splicer, Dock Policeman, marine cable layer.....came up with many simple, small yet successful life saving inventions.
Horrified at the needless loss (1,000+ pa.) of life on foundering ships within British waters, resolved to do something about it. To do this he had to invent the means and reform the thinking that put cost above seamans lives.
At this time there was little help available to the crews of stricken vessels, often lifeboat crews and coast guard rescue parties would see tragic loss of life often within a few yards of the shore and safety.
Some "devices" were available, such as this "contrivance for drowning persons",basically a cannonball with a rope attached: but very often prevailing conditions limited their effectiveness. One of these was to fire a rocket from shore to ship; this is not easy as the ship is pitching up and down and represents a small target when seen from the shore, ie. easy to miss. Very often these rockets were modified from other designs and not really up to the job and large, even up to a 10 foot stabilising stick, this is not easy to aim. Efforts were needed to find a device to fire a line from ship to shore....basically easier as the shore is a large target! The whole point of all this is to secure a line from the vessel to the rescuers on shore to help get the survivors off.
And of course it all costs money. Cardboard tube rockets were prone to failing due to damp. Other devices were a bit like being able to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time...in a gale...and standing on one leg, laughable. They would work perhaps on a fine calm day with a glassy sea, but the fact is that most rescues take place in atrocious conditions.
Schermuly set about the task of inventing an idiot-proof rocket system that a seaman could use in the worst possible storm conditions from a wildly pitching boat to fire a line accurately to the shore. An early Schermuly rocket of around 1897 is seen here, Schermuly also devised a better way of coiling the line to prevent tangles, this is known as "flaking."Here is seen what he calls a "selveged edge", the whole line making a compact mat. This technique allows 3/4 mile of 1/2 inch circumference line to be stored in a box 20in by 20in by 12in. This device could be deck or bridge mounted, the example seen here is fitted to the "Endurance" which was the vessel used by Sir Ernest Shackleton Antarctic expedition. Also he sought to manufacture a damp resistant rocket made of metal. A comparison is seen here between an ordinary rocket and a Schermuly rocket. The Schermuly rocket is the bottom item. It is guided by a comparatively short stick connected to a line that is fireproofed for the first foot or so to protect it from the rockets flame.
Like all manufacturers he had a catalogue and hawked his wares about giving many demonstrations, this one being on a vessel on which he once served as a seaman, the "Daccia" He called this era his "heartbreak years", supported by his wife Susan; the Admiralty and ship owners were for the most part uninterested in his invention...money, money, money.............
Some far sighted shipping lines saw the wisdom and life saving potential of his invention, these include the Royal Mail Steam Packet, being the first in 1912, followed by the Union Castle and P & O Line. After the Rohilla was lost off the Yorkshire coast, having struck a mine en route to Belgium to pick up wounded soldiers; her crew and compliment of nurses and doctors drowning, the Admiralty did place an order for Schermuly rockets for troop and hospital ships. A supply of Schermuly rockets had also being carried on the "Terra Nova" which was Scot`s ship on his exploration of the Antarctic, being freely donated by Schermuly.
World War I in 1916 saw the War Department saw a military use for his line rockets by the Canadian army; that of throwing telephone lines from trench to trench, or from front line to rear line, while under enemy fire. It was also used for sending urgent messages rather than runners. Hardly lifesaving,........but perhaps it was...... The Admiralty, the obvious user, was not interested. Also used was a grapnel rocket , basically a grapnel on the front end of a rocket, was used to fire at barbed wire and haul it away
1922 saw 22 leading shipping lines using Schermuly products.

Slowly one or two, then three , then more ship owners warmed to his ideas, but Schermuly still was not happy with his own product. Seeking a device that could literally be "fired by a child" small, light, easily aimed, accurate, long shelf life, waterproof, or as well as could be, safe and simple to use....he invented the S.P.R.A., the Schermuly Rocket Pistol Apparatus, and as he said "this was it, then". In essence this was rocket fired from a small hand held pistol.. He used his grandson, age 8, who was later to become a paratrooper, to demonstrate his apparatus. Also there were many demonstrations to M.P.`s, and here we see a demonstration in 1927 to a group of labour M.P.`s including Lord Ammon.This device was unaffected by crosswinds, powerful enough to lift line...without breaking it,weatherproof, almost instantaneous ignition to preserve aim, and visible through out it`s flight to help correct aim, and have low recoil. The company was now run in 1920 by Schermuly and his third son Captain Conrad David Schermuly D.C.M..Here is his autograph. Up to 1926, most components were bought in and assembled by Schermuly and his staff, however in 1926 he set up his own factory in Cheam manufacturing from the raw almost every thing, including the pyrotechnic components. Oddly most of this rising trade was from overseas. To set this up, extra investment capital was provided by Mr. H. A. Thompson who had earlier founded the Board of Trade, a body to set maritime standards. With Thompson as chairman, The Schermuly rocket Pistol Apparatus Ltd. was born. Here we can see their products.

the S.P.R.A. itself in a box.

the No.2 size S.P.R.A. range 250 yards.a floating head can be seen to keep the rocket afloat to aid rescuers pick it up.
A supply of rockets for the S.P.R.A., as used by the R.N.L.I. Royal National Lifeboat Institution. A heat shield drape is seen hanging down from the pistol to protect the firers hand. Also can be seen are the small ignition cartridges, rather like a shotgun blank cartridge. These cartridges both ignite the rocket, then the expanding gases overcome the inertia of the rocket, propelling it from the muzzle, once clear of the muzzle, the rockets own charge carries it onwards.
As the company grew, so did it`s products, each for a specific use.The 12lb. Line Rocket for Coastguard with a 1inch line and a 350 yard range. It`s flight would carry a heavy strong line further and was aimed at the shore to ship use. You can see why the line had to be protected from the rockets blast.
Family members now proliferated in the company, Alfred Schermuly, a pyrotechnist, become works manager, Charles Schermuly being the works engineer. By 1937 orders were picking up again and the company moved from Cheam to a larger site at Newdigate, Surrey. Here the site had a convenient close by test firing range.
On January 1st. 1929, William Schermuly died, nineteen days after it was made compulsory for all vessels over 500 tons to carry line throwers, his dream and life work accomplished. This was the Merchant Shipping (Line Throwing Act) and it caused the companies trade to soar by 800%. However in 1930 a slump in world shipping caused orders to fall, slowly being built up again as it was a must have for small trawlers in order to get insurance. Also War Department orders built up.
Around this time, Captain H.K. Fairbrother MBE became chairman and brought more capital. 1938 saw a new Act enforcing new regulations that made for the compulsory carrying of line rockets by all ships of over 80 tons or 50 feet in length. Vessels of 500 tons and over had the maximum attainable distance of their line rockets increased from 120 yards to 200, and the line width go from 5/16inch to 1/2 inch. These requirements, combined with a compulsory need for accuracy virtually killed off the opposition such as the Boxer rocket. The Boxer`s wind deviation was 29%, while the Schermuly product was only 4%...no contest.
This illustration shows the rescue of the vessel Cap Fagnet off Iceland with the first shot.

World War II breaking out caused the company to venture into many varied fields of manufacture.
Some of these are rocket lofted kites; the Kite Launching Rocket flown from a liferaft, suspending a distress radio`s aerial up high for effective transmission. Grapnel rockets used to climb sheer cliffs by troops on D-Day in 1944 .A variant on the S.P.R.A. was used to project a line over dangerous bombed ruins, and to help safely demolish them by pulling them over. 6lb. P.A.C. rockets were used as a rocket barrage, akin to a Balloon Barrage to parachute suspend thin wires with explosive devices attached to foul the wings of attacking aircraft. This system was used on ships extensively. A most amazing device was the Air Sea Rescue Discharger..this was an inflatable liferaft dropped among crews swimming in the water; it would automatically open, inflate and rocket propel lines into the water for crews to haul themselves into the liferaft. Even the national airline, B.O.A.C....British Overseas Airways Corporation used a 9lb. rocket parachute suspended illuminant of 400,000 candle power to aid seaplanes land on water at night.

A letter from the National Union of Seaman says it all. The companies own publication "From Ship to Shore" has been used to illustrate some of this page
Today the Schermuly name lives on as part of Pains-Wessex, the world known manufacturer of marine signals and military pyrotechnics. Some of their products bear that proud name within their own: Pains-Wessex- Schermuly

Some of William Schermuly`s descendants are alive to this day, his grandson, Fred Schermuly lives in Bideford, Devon, while his great grandson Mark Schermuly lives in Dover. In constructing this web page it has been by privilege to speak to them both. Most surviving Schermulys are in Kent and Sussex

 ILLUSTRATIONS


P.A.C. BARRAGE ROCKETS 6lb. SECTIONED,/// BOMB AND WIRE CANNISTER,///COMPLETE APPARATUS///PROJECTOR...launcher///THE BOMB