The crew and their families

You can read more about the following crew members below

• 'Curly' Bayliss
• William Hunt
• Leo Coltman
• Peter Lambert
• Griffith Wyn Williams
• David Michael Ridyard
• Ronnie Musa
• Clive Rapley
• Adrian Stott
• Barry James Hardman
• Paul John Bindon
• Geoffrey Underhill

The following members of the Derbyshire Families Association are also featured

• Paul Lambert
• Marion Bayliss

'Curly' Bayliss (42 years)

Chief officer and husband of Marion Bayliss.

Curly’s widow Marion became secretary of the Derbyshire Family Association and worked tirelessly to find out why the Derbyshire sank.

William Hunt (24 years)

4th engineer officer and brother of Chris Hunt.

Born Gosport, Hampshire 26 July 1956.

Leo Coltman (33 years)

3rd engineer officer and husband of Eugina Coltman.

Leo was born in Redcar where he lived until he was sixteen. Having joined Bibby Line in 1968, Leo first sailed on the Derbyshire in her first year at sea. He left his wife and one year old daughter. Leo had decided that he was going to leave the merchant navy, having lost his 11 year old son Thomas to illness, and wanting to see his daughter grow up.

Mrs Coltman still has a uniform that belonged to her husband. “My daughter really wants to keep his uniform. I think it's the missing link for her to her Dad who she never knew.”

Peter Lambert (19 years)

Seaman and son of Mr and Mrs Lambert of Liverpool.

Peter was about to marry his childhood sweetheart. Before sailing on the Derbyshire he told her “This is going to be my last deep sea trip ...when I get back I'm going to look for a job on the dredgers.”

Paul Lambert, Peter's brother, is Chairman of the Derbyshire Family Association. Relentless in his pursuit of the truth about the loss of the Derbyshire, Paul Lambert is continually consulted by government agencies about bulk shipping safety.

Griffith Wyn Williams (25 years)

Seaman 1 and son of Mr and Mrs H Williams

Griff was intending to study for his bosun's examinations on return from the Derbyshire voyage. Before sailing on Derbyshire he had sailed on two other Bibby Line vessels.

Griff's mother Beryl described how “he helped his father and me with some income because his Dad had to give up work as a bricklayer due to ill health. After Griff died his father's health declined and he died four years later… I have still not recovered from the worry of losing them both. By the strength of God I'm getting through.”

David Michael Ridyard (26 years)

Extra 4^th engineer and son of Mr and Mrs Peter Ridyard.

Born Southampton 25 September 1954.

After serving a four year apprenticeship with Appledore Shipbuilders in North Devon, David joined Bibby Line in 1976. He served on the motor vessels Hampshire and Lincolnshirebefore joining MV Derbyshire in 1980. David's father Peter says “he was single at the time of the sinking and was very devoted to the career he had set his mind on.”

Peter Ridyard was an experienced ship surveyor and was convinced that there must have been something structurally wrong with the Derbyshire to cause her to be lost. He was determined to get to the truth and established that all of the Derbyshire's sister ships had suffered some structural problems.

Ronnie Musa

Seaman 1, husband of Cathy Musa and father of six children.

In 1983 Ronnie's widow Cathy was informed by the National Union of Seamen that she would be able to claim compensation only if loss by negligence could be proved. She was told that there was no reasonable hope in succeeding in any such claim.

In 1987 Cathy explained how “losing my husband this way has shattered my whole life. It gives me nightmares. I could scream not knowing what happened. …I remember seeing Ronnie off when he flew from Speke (airport) to join the ship in Japan. There were young boys there on their first trip and they were so excited at the adventure. It was Ronnie's second trip with Bibbys. He was a really good worker, a workaholic. But when he was at home he loved to stay in and do all the cooking. I lived for the kids and Ronnie, and now that he has gone I'm on my own with no-one. I feel very bitter at living on social security to help out my widow's pension. We used to be quite comfortable, but now I have to watch every penny.”

Clive Rapley (39 years)

Extra chief officer and brother of Ian Rapley.

Born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire.

Clive made frequent visits to the beaches of Hastings after his family moved to East Sussex at the end of the Second World War. Here he developed his love of the sea. He joined the local sea cadets and from there went to joint the merchant navy training school Worcester. At 17 he joined Ellerman Lines. He was made redundant by Ellermans in 1979 but immediately got a job with Bibby Line. Clive joined the Derbyshire some months before her final voyage. The ship was many times the size of any vessel he had sailed on and he was sent as an Extra Officer in order to gain experience. Clive was a sociable, generous person - his home was always full of people, laughter and fun. He continued his association with the sea cadets while on leave, wanting others to share his love of the sea.

Ian, Clive's brother says “I am sure that if he had been told at the outset that he would die at sea he would still have chosen this career”.

Adrian Stott (17 years)

Junior seaman and son of Mr and Mrs A Stott.

On leaving the local grammar school, Adrian, having decided on a career in the Merchant Navy, went on to the training school at Gravesend. The family lived in Cheshire and, having Liverpool as his home port, Adrian was given the Derbyshire as his first ship. He was the youngest crew member.

Adrian's mother says, “Adrian was kind-hearted and had a witty sense of humour. His letters gave us glimpses of life on board, such as being given salmon from the ship's freezer to use as fishing bait, and of seeing whales. He also told us that he had got his steering ticket after being at the wheel….and that the Captain was very pleased with his performance. His parting words at Manchester airport as he flew off to Japan to join his ship were 'Don't look so worried Mum, I'll be back'.”

Sadly his first voyage was also to be his last.

Barry James Hardman (22 years)

Chief cook and son of Mr and Mrs Hardman

Barry's mother writes “To describe Barry is so very easy - as was he. A precious gem to his parents and a breath of cool soothing air to his brothers and sisters… So many happy memories remain alongside the broken pieces of our family. We look back and we know we could never have been able to change things. Barry was in his element when he was at sea… Barry saw more of the world and its untold wonders - from the age of 16 when he joined the Merchant Navy - than many of us could dream of. He knew the temperament of the ocean - like life itself - full of ups and downs, and he chose to dedicate his life - short as it may have been, to the unpredictable moods of one of God's greatest creations - the sea.”

Paul John Bindon (22 years)

Extra 2nd officer and son of Mrs S Bindon and the late Mr GJ Bindon

Paul joined Bibby Line when he was 16 and studied at Riversdale College in Liverpool. He served on five other Bibby Line ships before joining the Derbyshire.

Paul's mother says that “he hated being photographed and I have no later photos of him. He was best man at the wedding of someone he met at Riversdale College named Brian… I would be very grateful if he were to send me any photographs he has of Paul.”

Geoffrey Underhill (47 years)

Master of MV Derbyshire and husband of Dorothy Underhill.

Captain Underhill had arranged for his wife to fly out from England to meet him in Japan for a holiday. She was in Yokohama when the Derbyshire was lost. If Captain Underhill had been instructed to take six, rather than eight weeks to sail to Japan, the Derbyshire would have been safe in port by the time typhoon Orchid arrived.

It is particularly sad that Captain Underhill's two sons, both of whom were in the Merchant Navy, have no intimate mementoes of their father as he had, unusually, taken most of his personal belongings on board with him in anticipation of his holiday with his wife.

Family Members

Paul Lambert, chairman of the Derbyshire Family Association (DFA)

Paul lost his brother, Peter, on the Derbyshire. He campaigned relentlessly, first for a formal investigation, then for a search to be made for the wreck, then for the formal investigation to be reopened.

Paul continues to work actively to encourage safer merchant shipping.

Marion Bayliss

Marion Bayliss, widow of the Derbyshire's chief officer, became the secretary of the DFA. This picture shows Marion in Japan in August 1994 on South Daito Island, looking out to sea in the direction of where the Derbyshire was lost.

“It amazes me that Curly died in 1980 leaving three children and me. Now, in 2003, there are ten of us and with a baby due next month.”

In this section

• Stormy seas
• The sinking of MV Derbyshire

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