Born in Hull
The crew note gives his birth as 21 July 1913 in Hull, England.
Crew biography · Lost at sea · Bosun
Samuel Waddy
Arthur Samuel Waddy was the bosun of the Arctic Viking and one of the five men lost when she capsized on 18 October 1961. His story reaches beyond the ship into the lives of the family left behind.
Life and work
The bosun from Harrow Street
Samuel Waddy appears in the records as Arthur Samuel Waddy. He was born in Hull in July 1913 and lived at 35 Harrow Street, Kingston upon Hull. On the Arctic Viking he served as bosun: the senior deck hand responsible for helping organise the working crew on deck.
The Arctic Viking Obsidian research vault records his marriage to Florence Waddy on 1 October 1946. Later newspaper and court material describe Florence as a widowed mother of seven, a detail that makes the loss of the Arctic Viking painfully domestic as well as maritime.
Waddy was lost with David Craft, Edward Kent, Dennis Lound and John Robinson when the trawler capsized in heavy seas off Flamborough Head. The records vary between forty-seven and forty-eight for his age at death; his birth and death dates place him at forty-eight.
Back to crewA trawler loss was never only the loss of a ship. It entered kitchens, streets, wages, children, widows and the long argument over what the sea had taken. Summary from the Waddy court-case research notes
Aftermath
Florence Waddy and the court case
After the disaster, Florence Waddy brought a damages claim against Boyd Line Limited, the owners of the Arctic Viking. The case argued that the loss should and could have been avoided, while the owners denied negligence and pointed to the unforeseeable nature of the wave formations that overwhelmed the ship.
The court material records Florence as suing as widow and administrator of her husband's estate. Newspaper notes describe Samuel Waddy as a Hull fisherman earning around 1,300 pounds a year, and Florence as giving evidence about family life, household money and the seven children affected by his death.
In January 1966 Mr Justice Hewson rejected the claim. The court found no negligence by the owners or skipper, leaving Florence without damages. The legal decision closed one route to compensation, but the case remains one of the clearest records of how the Arctic Viking disaster continued ashore.
Read the Waddy court caseRecord trail
What the surviving notes preserve
Marriage to Florence
The timeline records his marriage to Florence Waddy, nee Watson.
Lost with the Arctic Viking
As bosun, he was one of five crewmen who did not survive the capsize off Flamborough Head.
Probate administration
The probate note records administration at York to Florence Waddy, widow.
Damages claim rejected
Florence Waddy's claim against Boyd Line Limited was rejected, with the court finding no negligence.