On this day 29 August - the sinking of the HMS Royal George

[7eat51]

On 28 August 1782 Royal George was preparing to sail with Admiral Howe's fleet to relieve Gibraltar. The ships were anchored at Spithead to take on supplies. Most of her complement were aboard ship, as were a large number of workmen to speed the repairs. There were also an estimated 200-300 relatives visiting the officers and men, 100-200 'ladies from the Point [at Portsmouth], who, though seeking neither husbands or fathers, yet visit our newly-arrived ships of war', and a number of merchants and traders come to sell their wares to the seamen. The exact number is unknown but is estimated to be around 1,200.

At seven o’clock on the morning of 29 August work on the hull was carried out and Royal George was heeled over by rolling the ship's guns on one side into the centreline of the ship. This caused the ship to tilt over in the water. The ship was heeled over too far, passing her centre of gravity. Realising that the ship was settling in the water, orders were given to move the guns back into position to restore the ship's balance. During these operations the lower deck gunports were not properly secured, causing an inrush of water. At the time of the sinking a lighter was alongside, loading barrels of rum in through the open lower gunports. The ship rolled on to her side, saved from sinking immediately by the presence of the lighter, which was pushed under the water by the weight of the Royal George's masts. Royal George quickly filled up with water and sank, taking with her around 900 people, including up to 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship in harbour. 255 people were saved, including eleven women and one child. Some escaped by running up the rigging while others were picked up by boats from other vessels. Kempenfelt was writing in his cabin when the ship sank; the cabin doors had jammed because of the ship's heeling and he perished with the rest. Waghorn was injured and thrown into the water but he was rescued.

Many of the victims were washed ashore at Ryde, Isle of Wight where they were buried in a mass grave that stretched along the beach. This land was reclaimed in the development of a Victorian esplanade and is now occupied by the streets and properties of Ryde Esplanade and The Strand. In April 2009, Isle of Wight Council placed a new memorial plaque in the newly-restored Ashley Gardens on Ryde Esplanade in memory of Royal George. It is a copy of the original plaque unveiled in 1965 by Earl Mountbatten of Burma which was moved in 2006 to the Royal George Memorial Garden, also on the Esplanade.

A court-martial failed to attribute blame for the tragedy and acquitted the officers and crew (many of whom had perished), blaming the accident on the 'general state of decay of her timbers' and suggesting that the most likely cause of the sinking was that part of the frame of the ship gave way under the stress of the heel. One of the few survivors was the man perhaps most responsible for the loss, Lieutenant Philip Charles Durham, the officer of the watch at the time of the sinking. Naval historian Nicholas Tracy stated that Durham had allowed water to accumulate on the gundeck. The resulting free surface effect eventually compromised the ship's stability. Tracy concluded that an 'alert officer of the watch would have prevented the tragedy...' Durham was one of the officers investigated at the court-martial, and was acquitted with the surviving officers in the verdict that decided that the cause of the accident was the state of the timbers.

A fund was established by Lloyd's Coffee House to help the widows and children of the sailors lost in the sinking, which was the start of what eventually became the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund. The accident was commemorated in verse by the poet William Cowper:

Toll for the brave
The Brave that are no more,
All sunk beneath the wave,
Fast by their native shore.
William Cowper, The Loss of the Royal George, 1782

Richard Kempenfelt:



The sinking of the HMS Royal George:






The text for today's event is taken directly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_George_(1756)

[csadn]

The Stupid -- it drowns....

[David Manley]

Not th first time something like this happened. Not the last

And stuff along these lines still happens today. One of the Canadian Tribals was almost lost some years ago when the ship was inclined, only for a hole in the ships side to become immersed (IIRC a valve had been removed for maintenance), the ship flooded and capsized - fortunately against the jetty so she didn't go over and there were no injuries. Had it have been the other side she'd have gone. And look up the Guitarro incident for a longitudinal submarine event (although again thankfully without loss of life).

[Comte de Brueys]

Oha...

A tragedy.

It was a first rate with 100 cannons.

1756, when entering service for the RN it was the biggest warship of his time.

[csadn]

Not th first time something like this happened. Not the last

Do *NOT* get me started.... :P

_Guitarro_ is a shining example of why The Left Hand needs to know what the Right Hand is doing.

[Cmmdre]

King George III must have been overjoyed. Loss of the American colonies then a First-rate vessel with his name on it sinks in a completely preventable mishap.