My fathers brother, John Thomas Hendry Penn, obtained his Certificate of Competency as a 1st class Engineer in Leith on 18 Novenber 1911. On his Statement of Service he was 3rd Mate on the City of Cardiff from 15/10/08 to 02/06 10 and 2nd Mate from 21/06/10 to 24/07/11. Unfortunately I have no record of his career after that date. Could he have been a member of the crew when the ship was wrecked? If so he certainly survived, as I have records of a son, another John Penn. I would be most grateful for any further information. John Penn. Posted on forum 4 August 2010.

Initially, the details you give of your uncle John Thomas Hendry Penn, are a little puzzling. Having stated that he obtained his Chief Engineers Certificate on 18th November 1911, you then detail his service as 3rd and 2nd Mate aboard the City of Cardiff between October 1908 and July 1911. It has not been unknown for a Merchant Navy Officer to hold both deck and engine certificates at once, and sail in both disciplines, but it is most unusual. Quite often, a Masters Certificate is denoted with a capital C, and sometimes people think that this refers to a Chief Engineers Certificate.
There were 27 Officers and Crew aboard the City of Cardiff when she grounded in Nanjizel Bay, Lands End on 12th March 1912. All were rescued by the Sennen Brigade, who had followed events closely along the cliffs. The rescue was especially notable as it was the the first time that women had been rescued by breeches buoy; Mrs Storey, the Master's wife and Mrs Bethke, the Chief Officer's wife, together with the Bethke's 2 year old son were all safely landed. Captain Storey was the last to be taken off.
Apart from the names of the Master, Chief Engineer and Chief Officer, we do not have a list of the remaining crew members, though they will be recorded somewhere. Your uncle at least went on to serve through WW1 in the Merchant Service: there is a War Medal Card for him to this effect, and indicates he was born in Arbroath in 1876. There may be some further details about him if you download this item from the National Archives. They charge a small fee for this service.
The Guildhall database of Masters has no record of him sailing as Master. Mike Jones. Posted on forum 4 August 2010.

I am the granddaughter of the Chief Officer on the CIty of Cardiff when it ran aground at Lands End. The two year old boy rescued was my father. I have been doing a bit of research on my grandfather's life and was curious if you have any additional information on the wreck.
I thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Eileen Bethke Kohan. Posted on forum 29 january 2014

By 1914, Julius Bethke, the 1st Mate of the City of Cardiff, had been promoted to master, and was in command of Cornish City (1), when it was attacked and sunk by the German Battle-Cruiser Karlsruhe, in mid-Atlantic, on 21st September 1914. Along with the rest of the officers and crew, he was put aboard a German cargo ship and landed in Tenerife, and from there, he arrived back in the UK in early November. However, for reasons of expediency and his own welfare, Smiths arranged for him to leave the UK and embark upon a new life in the USA. Julius, of course, was married to Elizabeth Reardon Smith, the daughter of Captain John Henry Reardon Smith, the brother of the company founder, William Reardon Smith. Sadly, Elizabeth had died in childbirth in July 1914. His two young children followed him to the US in 1915, accompanied by his sister, Gussie.
We shall never know whether he ever subsequently met up with his brother-in-law, Captain Harry Reardon Smith, Master of the Botavon , who survived her sinking in Murmansk in May 1942, only to loose his life the following year when in command of the ill-fated Fort Mumford. Mike Jones. Posted on forum 14 February 2014.