John Brustad Nielsen – Mercantile Marine - S.S. Tangistan
Carpenter John Brustad Nielsen – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Tangistan
Early Life and Background
Birth and Family Origins
John Brustad Nielsen was born in 1856 in Norway, the son of Zachariah
and Bertha Nielsen. Like many Scandinavian mariners of the late 19th
century, he eventually settled in Swansea, where the busy docks and expanding
maritime industries offered steady work to skilled seafarers.
Marriage and Early Life in Swansea
John Brustad Nielsen and Mary Elizabeth Powell
marriage certificate
St. Mary's Church
In June 1886, John married Mary Elizabeth
Powell at St. Mary’s Church, Swansea. Their marriage certificate
records that both were living in St. Thomas at the time, and that John
was employed as a Sail Maker, a skilled craft closely linked to the
port’s shipping trade.
Scandinavian Mariners in Swansea
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
Swansea attracted a small but notable community of Scandinavian mariners,
particularly from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Drawn by
coal exports, ship repairs, and opportunities in the docks, many Scandinavian
sailors settled permanently in the town after years at sea. They were employed
in skilled roles such as sail making, ship carpentry, and dock
trades, and often lived in the maritime districts of St. Thomas, St.
John’s, and the harbour area.
Some arrived aboard Scandinavian timber ships;
others served on British merchant vessels and chose to make Swansea their home
through marriage or long-term residence. By the outbreak of the First World
War, numerous Scandinavian-born men were serving in the British Mercantile
Marine, becoming part of the town’s diverse maritime workforce.
John Nielsen’s life and service reflect the important contribution this
community made to Swansea’s seafaring heritage.
1901 Census
The 1901 Census records the Nielsen family
living at 22 Morris Lane, St. Thomas, Swansea. John, aged 44, was
recorded as not a British subject and working as a Ship’s Carpenter.
His wife Mary, originally from Haverfordwest, was 43 years old. Their
children living at home were:
Bertha E. (13), Alpha M. (12), Thomas J. (10), Gilbert
C. (8), Wilfred (6), Annie V. (4), and Brinley P.,
aged 1.
1911 Census
By 1911, the family had moved to 34
Morris Lane, still in St. Thomas. John, then 57, remained employed
as a Carpenter, recorded as Norwegian-born but resident in Britain. Mary
was 53, and several children remained at home:
Thomas John, 21, a Locomotive Fireman; Gilbert, 16, a Railway
Checker; Wilfred, 16, a Railway Number Taker; and the younger
sons Brinley (11) and Grenville (8), both in school.
S.S. Tangistan
John returned to sea in later years, serving as a Carpenter
aboard the S.S. Tangistan, a steel-hulled steam cargo ship of 3,738
gross tons. Built in 1906 by William Gray & Co. Ltd., the
vessel was originally operated by the Anglo-Algerian Steamship Company before
passing to Strick Line Ltd.
On her final voyage in March 1915, the Tangistan
was carrying a cargo of iron ore. While sailing off Flamborough Head
in the North Sea, she was destroyed by a sudden and devastating explosion on 9th
March 1915. The loss is believed to have been caused by a mine laid by
German forces, a significant threat to merchant ships in the early years of
the war. Of her entire crew, only one man survived. Among those lost was
Carpenter John Brustad Nielsen.
U-35
Although the Tangistan was almost certainly
sunk by a mine, she was operating in waters patrolled and mined by German
submarines, most notably the highly successful U-35. This Type
U 31 ocean-going submarine, commissioned in 1914, became the most
successful U-boat of the First World War, sinking ships across the
Mediterranean and beyond. Commanded by Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière,
U-35 helped establish the deadly environment in which merchant vessels
like the Tangistan operated, through mine warfare and aggressive
submarine patrols.
The danger from German minelaying and U-boat
activity made coastal and North Sea routes among the most hazardous in the
world, contributing directly to the loss of ships such as the Tangistan.
Legacy
John Nielsen’s story is representative of the many
foreign-born mariners who settled in Swansea and contributed significantly to
its maritime industries. A skilled Sail Maker and Ship’s Carpenter,
he spent decades working in the town’s seafaring trades before giving his life
in service to the Merchant Navy during the First World War. His sacrifice left
behind a large family and forms part of Swansea’s broader maritime heritage,
reflecting the essential role played by working-class seafarers during times of
peace and conflict.
Commemoration
S.S. Tangistan
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial S.S. Tangistan
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial
As John Brustad Nielsen has no known
grave but the sea, his name is inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial
in London. This national memorial honours the thousands of men and women of the
Mercantile Marine and Merchant Navy who lost their lives during the World Wars
without a known resting place.
John’s name stands among them, ensuring his life and sacrifice continue to be remembered.
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