| Bryon Taylor states, "this vessel was built for use by the 48th Submarine Mining Company of the Royal Engineers."
Bryon Taylor states that "Topaz #122162 and Beryl #140929 are sister ships. They were built by the Victoria Machinery Depot for the Imperial War Office. They were built for use by the 48th Submarine Mining Company of the Royal Engineers then stationed at Esquimalt. They were built from the standard War Office plans for the “Emerald Class” submarine mine vessel. Esquimalt Harbour was defended by a controlled minefield. The field consisted of 500 lb ground mines and 100 lb floating electric contact mines. The minefield was controlled from shore; the contact mines could be turned on/off and the individual ground mines could be fired using a sight connected to the minefield electric circuit. Topaz and Beryl were used to lay and recover the mines. They were designed for maneuverability because the mines had to be laid in precise locations. In 1905, the defence of Esquimalt was transferred to Canada. The Submarine Mining Establishment was closed and Topaz and Beryl were transferred to the Canadian Department of Militia and Defence. Topaz was sold in 1905. Beryl was used by the Canadian Army at Esquimalt until December 01, 1918 when this vessel was leased to Messrs. Jones and Rant, Victoria BC for use as a tug on the West Coast Vancouver Island. The Beryl foundered and sank on November 17, 1920 while attempting to cross Nitinat Bar BC towing a boom of logs from Nitinat Lake. This vessel started taking water. The skipper cut the tow then signalled to the tug Prosperative which had been waiting offshore to take charge of the logs and rescued the crew of the tug. |
