City - Gansbaai State - WESTERN CAPE Country - South Africa
About
The lighthouse at Dangerpoint near Gansbaai. This lighthouse was erected in 1895. More significantly though is the history of the Dangerpoint. This is the place where the HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852.
HMS Birkenhead, also referred to as HM Troopship Birkenhead or steam frigate Birkenhead, was one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was initially designed as a frigate, but was converted to a troopship before being commissioned.
On 26 February 1852, while transporting troops primarily of the 73rd Regiment of Foot to Algoa Bay, she was wrecked at Gansbaai near Cape Town, South Africa. There were not enough serviceable lifeboats on board for all the passengers - however the soldiers famously stood firm, thereby allowing the women and children to board the boats safely. Only 193 of the 643 people onboard survived, however the soldiers' chivalry gave rise to the "women and children first" protocol during the procedure of abandoning ship, while the "Birkenhead Drill" of Rudyard Kipling's poem came to describe courage in face of hopeless circumstances.
A number of soldiers were court martialled as a result of the accident, but no-one was found to be to blame. Captain Edward Wright of the 91st Argyllshire Regiment told the court martial:
The order and regularity that prevailed on board, from the moment the ship struck till she totally disappeared, far exceeded anything that I had thought could be affected by the best discipline; and it is the more to be wondered at seeing that most of the soldiers were but a short time in the service. Everyone did as he was directed and there was not a murmur or cry amongst them until the ship made her final plunge – all received their orders and carried them out as if they were embarking instead of going to the bottom – I never saw any embarkation conducted with so little noise or confusion.
In 1895, a lighthouse was erected at Danger Point to warn shipping of the dangerous reef. The lighthouse is about 18 metres (59 ft) tall and is visible for approximately 25 nautical miles (46 km). A remembrance plate for the Birkenhead is affixed to its base, and points to the rock where the ship was wrecked.
"Soldier an' Sailor Too":
To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about, Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an' leave an' likin' to shout; But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew, An' they done it, the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies -- soldier an' sailor too! Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was younger nor me an' you; Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'eaps an' bein' mopped by the screw, So they stood an' was still to the Birken'ead drill, soldier an' sailor too
Rudyard Kipling
More at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Birkenhead_(1845)
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{K:23981} 1/6/2009
