Rooster booster
OK, you win! You can stop bombarding me with those round rubber discs. In the last Wrecks Q & A (April), I suggested that someone might be pulling my leg about wreck recoveries called "rooster pads".
But I now know that rooster pads (right) do indeed exist. They seem to be exclusive to the much-dived wreck of the Shirala in 24m five miles off Littlehampton, Sussex, and come in two sizes, the larger being 6cm in diameter. They bear the name "ROOSTER" at the top and "PAD" at the bottom of a six-petalled cut-out with a tiny hole at its centre. This central depression probably held a metal star-shaped insert, but that is missing from all those that you sent me, with just orange rust marks left on the rubber.
The 5306-ton liner Shirala was torpedoed by UB-57 as she zig-zagged down the Channel from London bound for Bombay on 2 July, 1918. Her cargo included crates of wine, Dundee marmalade in stone jars, elephant tusks for carving in India, telescopes, binoculars, shells, bombs and detonating caps for the Indian Army, medical supplies, musical instruments, and spares for lorries and cars, including tyres, axles and radiators. And, of course, the "rooster pads".
But why were these pads being sent to India, and what were they for? There are two main theories about their use. Veteran dive-boat skipper Ray Lee of Littlehampton heads the divers who are "almost certain" they are Army boot heels. These were apparently screwed on and, when the outer edge of the heel became worn, you loosened the central screw and moved it round one notch.
However, Dave Elkin of Essex was the first to contact me with the view of other Shirala divers, who believe that they are something to do with early car suspension, possibly shock-absorbers.
Now I await a call to tell me which theory is right, either from a vintage car enthusiast or an aged ex-Army "snob" (which if my memory serves me correctly was what we used to call the cobbler in our khaki-clad days).

Dead-eye shot
QI found a large (17 x 20 x 13cm) dead-eye [used to extend sails] on the seabed in an area where there are no known wrecks. Is there any way I can find out more about its origins?
Chris Halley

A
There certainly is. Send photographs of your find with all measurements to the Director, National Maritime Museum, Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF and they'll have a go at dating it for you. You could also ring the museum on 0181 858 4422 and see if its research service would be able to give further help. The service costs 18 for an hour's research.

Royal treasure hunt
QOne of my ancestors, John Limbrey, was the captain of the Merchant Royal, which you said in a previous Wrecks Q & A column was the target of several treasure-hunting expeditions. These estimate that she was carrying gold, silver and coins worth over 100 million at today's prices when she foundered off Land's End in 1641. Have they found anything yet?
Geoffrey Limbrey

A
Not to my knowledge, but then treasure-hunters are unlikely to go around shouting about it if they have found her. I'll put you in touch with one of the treasure-hunting teams so that you can swap details of the family history of Captain John.

Cream dreams
Kevin Heath of Orkney says that, thanks to my report of the Huntly Creamery pot in Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow, he has been finding at least one on every dive in that much-bottled area.
As these Victorian pots have been on sale in Aberdeenshire antique shops for £12 each, Kevin had dreams of wealth until he was informed of what happens when you flood the market!

Flag of the line
QI have found a fragment of a plate from a wreck, name "unknown". The plate has a flag in the middle - blue with a white diamond at the centre with the letters AH. Can you name the shipping line?
Gary Gibbs

A
I've been told that this is a house flag of the Hall Line, but I'm not so sure. I think the Hall flag was quartered with tip-to-tip blue and white triangles. It would be worth looking at Brown's Flags and Funnels, particularly the first edition of 1926. Give Guildhall Library a ring (0171 332 1868) to make sure it has that edition. If not, try the National Maritime Museum library (0181 858 4422).

Does Trimmer ring any bells?
QWho was George Trimmer? Was he a ship or a person? Why is that name on a big bronze bell we found off Dartmouth in south Devon?
Dave Everitt and Brian Wood

A
The discovery of the Trimmer bell by Dave and Brian while holiday diving has caused great problems for both archaeologists and historians.
The puzzle of this Dartmouth bell began during a lull in a long period of windy weather. Taking their chance, the two divers from London Fire Brigade BSAC ran their RIB out to the Dartmouth Mew Stone and over to a patch of seabed that a previous echo-sounder survey had suggested would be interesting.
They dived some15m into a series of rocky gullies and small seamounts.
As he finned along one gully, Brian suddenly realised that he was looking down into the mouth of a big bronze bell, lying on its side among the rocks. In fact Brian became certain that it really was a bell only when he saw the four-ring mounting "crown" on its top.
The bell was all alone; there was no trace nearby of a wreck. Once raised, it was clearly marked with "G. TRIMMER" in capital letters running around the top, and the name was followed by the date, "1779".
The bell is 40cm in diameter and 43cm high.
The divers had high hopes of naming the wreck very quickly, but all their research has so far failed to turn up any records of a ship called "George Trimmer" or anything like it.
They appealed through local Devon newspapers for help. This, apart from turning up a local Trimmer family, who thought that one of their ancestors was possibly an admiral around the end of the 18th century, got them no further forward in their investigation.
However, an experienced diving archaeologist tells me that he has seen the four-ring "crown" mounting only on the tops of bells from military wrecks. And a bell foundry suggests that it might have been heading for a church as deck cargo and was washed overboard in a storm.
But it still doesn't tell us if Trimmer was a man or a ship! More help is needed, please.

KEEP YOUR QUERIES COMING Submit them, marked "Wrecks Q & A": by letter to Diver, 55 High Street, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8HA; by fax 0181 943 4312; by e-mail editorial@divermag.co.uk; or on Divernet's Wrecks Q&A page . This can also bring rapid responses from other readers (though these should be treated with caution). We regret that questions cannot be answered on the telephone or replied to individually.

Kendall McDonald, a former Fleet Street editor, has been diving (and writing about it) for more than 45 years. He has been DIVER's wreck expert since 1960.

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Appeared in DIVER - August 1999.

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