Surveyors of Lloyd's Register's past: Valdemar McLelland Linklater

Place of Birth: Scotland  

Place of Death: Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom 

Lloyd’s Register Surveyor in: London 1919, Caen 1919-1923, Hull 1923-1924, Caen 1924-1931, Rouen 1931-1934, Newcastle 1934-1937, London 1937-1939. 

Early Life and Pre-LR Career

Valdemar McLelland Linklater was born on 10 September 1882 to parents James and Amelia Linklater.1 He was the couple’s second child behind his older brother, Arthur, born in 1879, the year after his parent’s marriage.2 In August 1899, less than a month before his 17th birthday, Valdemar’s father, James, died aged only 49, leaving his mother Amelia, a domestic nurse, as the head of the household.3 By 1901 Valdemar was one of five children living with his mother Amelia and her sister Adelaide at 1 Derby Street in Leith.4

Valdemar would follow in his older brother’s footsteps in pursuing a maritime career. At the time of the 1901 census, Arthur, around three years older than Valdemar, worked in the Mercantile Marine, while their three younger siblings, Mary, Adelaide and James, were all attending school.5 Valdemar showed a keen eye for design from a young age. Alongside Arthur and aged only 17, he submitted a patent for a new design of vegetable serving spoon in April 1900, and would continue to develop his design and drawing skills through an apprenticeship as a ship draughtsman at Ramage & Ferguson, Ltd, a major shipyard in the family’s hometown of Leith.6

After his five-year apprenticeship, Valdemar moved to Glasgow and joined the drawing office of William Beardmore & Co. Ltd in 1905, and a year later he was appointed as a draughtsman for the British Corporation for the Survey and Registry of Shipping (BC).7 For four and half years, he was engaged by the BC’s technical staff in London to conduct vessel-hull and machinery surveys, damage reports, and to work on the computation of freeboards. He also served the BC in Glasgow, Sunderland and on the Tyne, where he gained first-hand experience of steel-testing on both new and old vessels.8

Like many people, Valdemar’s early career was dramatically interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Valdemar was called up for military service having been mobilised in August 1914, holding a commission with the Royal Field Artillery for several years.9 He served continuously in France and Belgium first as a lieutenant and then as a major until October 1917 when he was wounded.10 He was recalled from the Western Front and sent to serve the Admiralty on the South Coast and Bristol Channel districts in April 1918. However, after only three months, he was released from Admiralty duty ‘at his own request’ so he could be sent back to serve with the Royal Field Artillery again. He was awarded the Victory, British War and 1914-15 Star medals for his wartime service.11

After the cessation of hostilities, Valdemar returned home and, on 15 May 1919, was recruited by Lloyd’s Register, reporting for probationary duty at the London Office on 1st July that year, aged 36.12 The following month, and likely owing to the fact he could speak French, Valdemar was sent to open a new LR office in Caen, becoming the first surveyor to work in that port on behalf of the classification Society.13 Like the opening of many LR offices, LR’s interest in Caen was triggered by a notable increase in shipbuilding output in the port. In July 1918, a new shipbuilding company, Chantiers Navals Français (CNF), commenced operations commenced operations with the aim of aiding the French war effort through the construction of cargo vessels.14 Linklater’s arrival in Caen in August 1919 coincided directly with the early output of this new yard. Within days of his arrival, Linklater had conducted the first initial survey during construction for the Député Gaston Dumesnil. The vessel was built for the French Government by CNF and named after politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies, Gaston Dumesnil, who was killed on a visit to the Front Line with fellow politician Abel Ferry on 8 September 1918.15 CNF also named a vessel after Ferry, and again it was surveyed and classed by Linklater.16

After four years in Caen, Linklater returned to the UK and was appointed to the LR office in Hull where he was granted one year’s seniority in respect of his service abroad.17 In his absence, the Caen office ceased major operations, with no surveyor permanently based there. As there was still demand for LR’s services, in November 1924, after just over a year serving LR around the Humber, Linklater transferred back to the Caen office. He remained there until its closure in October 1931 when its duties transferred to the Rouen Office where Linklater was subsequently posted.18 Indeed, according to the List of Surveyors printed at the start of every LR Register Book, Valdemar Linklater was the only surveyor based in the Caen office during its existence between 1919 and 1931.19 He was truly LR’s man in Caen.  

In December 1934, Valdemar again returned to the UK, only this time it was permanent. He was appointed to the LR office in Newcastle where he continued to work as a ship surveyor on behalf of the Society.20 He was due to transfer to the Chief Surveyor’s staff in London in 1937. However, on 29 January that year, Valdemar fell while conducting a vessel survey at Newcastle, suffering injuries that eventually brought an end to his years of service with the Society.21 Initially, his move to London was delayed until July 1937, however the injuries sustained in the accident prevented a full return to work. On 22 June 1939, LR took the decision to retire Valdemar Linklater, granting him a Society pension of £295 per annum.22 Although his retirement only officially came into effect on 31 December 1939, LR excused Valdemar from his duty with full salary from June that year, and granted him a compassionate allowance of £250 ‘in respect of his early retirement due to an accident’.23 In 1947, LR records note Valdemar was also granted money from ‘the Stevens fund’ ‘to assist in meeting the expenses of an operation undergone earlier’ that year.24 It is not known exactly what the Stevens Fund did, or whether this operation related to the earlier accident, but the Society’s involvement and record of the grant suggests it could well have been.  

At the time of his early retirement from LR in 1939, Valdemar Linklater and his wife, Margaretta Douglas Linklater were living in the Manse on Water Lane in Bishop Stortford. The 1939 England and Wales Register records the couple living together and, although no longer actively working for the Society, Valdemar’s employment was listed as ‘Surveyor – Lloyd’s Register of Shipping’ as his full retirement had not yet come into effect.25 It certainly appears that the couple retired to Bishop Stortford, although records suggest they split their time between the village and Scotland. The Electoral Register for Glasgow in 1947 lists Valdemar and Margaretta in an apartment on Botanic Cresent in Glasgow, so it is likely that the couple moved between the two locations.26 Little is known about their later life, but the lack of documentation suggests it was a peaceful retirement. What is known for certain is that the couple were still living at the Manse on Water Lane at the time of Valdemar’s death. He passed away on 7 November 1951 aged 69. Upon his death, probate records reveal that Margaretta inherited effects worth £3,028, 15s. 2d., and LR awarded her a pension of £157 per annum in respect of her husband’s 20 years of service to the Society.27 His passing was recorded in The Scotsman on Friday 09 November:  

Linklater – At the Manse, Water Lane, Bishop’s Stortford, after a long illness, on 7th November 1951, VALDEMAR McLELLAND LINKLATER, dearly loved husband of Margaretta Douglas Hamilton.28

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Lloyd’s Register Group or Lloyd’s Register Foundation.