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Thomas M. M. Hemy
datapages
01,
02
&
03 are now on site. Plus all
of the other image pages, accessible though the index on page
05.  PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
If you want to make a comment, a site guestbook is here. Test.
To search for specific text on this page:- Enter your search
term & 'Submit'. To repeatedly search the page, press 'ALT S' again & again as
many times as may be required. But beware, once it reaches the bottom of the
page, it starts all over again at the top.
There are now two additional pages on site re The Wreck
of the Birkenhead. Pages 20
&
21.
Before we get to Hemy's famous work, I should make a first
attempt to tell you a
little about the Birkenhead. Thanks to the Wikipedia page about the vessel. A vessel that to my eye, in Hemy's work & in other
artworks of the vessel too, looks to have been a sailing ship. It was and it
wasn't. It was built for the Admiralty, at the John Laird shipyard at Birkenhead, as an
iron-hulled steam
frigate, & launched on Dec. 30, 1848. With two 564 HP engines by Forrester &
Co. that powered a pair of 20 ft. paddle wheels, one on either side of the hull,
of course. 210 ft. long. She was initially named HMS Vulcan and featured a large
figurehead of Vulcan at her bow. She soon became HMS Birkenhead however, named after the city where she was built.
A sailing ship? She initially had two masts in addition to her engines & was rigged as a brig, but when
she was
converted to a troopship, in 1851, a third mast was added & she became a barquentine.
I read that
Birkenhead was never commissioned as a steam frigate. Which would mean, I think,
that in her early years, she did not officially become a warship in active duty
for the Royal Navy? She was still, correctly HMS Birkenhead during such period?
Was she commissioned as a troopship, if so when? Did she have guns? She was
originally intended, I read, to have two 96-pounder pivot guns & 4 68-pounder
broadside guns. Were those guns installed? And possibly later removed? Would a troopship have had no
guns at all? I clearly need to do some further research re these & other
matters!
What did she look like? There are a number of artworks which depict
the vessel, but it would seem that the only image of her as she
actually existed is a picture that was owned by a survivor of her 1852 wreck. As follows.
Again thanks to Wikipedia.
Now to Hemy.
I am hopeful that we will, one day, be able to
provide you, in these pages, a large & detailed image of this, Thomas Hemy's
most famous work. I cannot provide that today, but do present, lower on this page, a large
thumbnail of the work, available as a print for purchase
from EasyArt (no longer). The print is also available at a number of
other print sources - search for 'Hemy Birkenhead' for those sources. If anyone
can help me in my search for data about the artist, or provide data as to where the original painting is today located,
I would welcome your writing to me.
On page 01 of this site, I stated that the MV Birkenhead was a troopship which
sank off the coast of Africa on Feb. 26,
1852. The
expression 'women and children first' originated with that sinking. It would seem that there were approximately 638
passengers aboard the Birkenhead (the exact number is rather confusing since different numbers are quoted by the
various sources I have accessed & the records that exist are very old & very
contradictory) when she hit a rock off Cape Danger (how appropriate that name!) about 100 miles south east
of Cape Town. 207 people would seem
to have survived the wreck, the number I state being the number of survivors as
established by author David Bevan, after extensive research of the historical
records, & quoted in his fine volume 'Stand Fast' (see next paragraph).
Colin B.
Innes, Major (Ret'd), late of The Black Watch, stated
a number of years ago that the painting 'shows Colonel Seton drawing up his officers and men on
deck to the sound of a drummer, with the women and children being assembled on
the deck prior to being loaded into a lifeboat.'
He also said that he was trying to find out where the original of the
'Wreck of the Birkenhead' work is today. He told us
that 'a smaller copy of the picture is in the
Williamson Art
Gallery and Museum in Birkenhead' (across the Mersey from Liverpool ~ no data on line that I can find).
(A 2017 aside. Glyn Evans advises that the work is described as being painted in 1922
& acquired in 1923, being an oil on canvas measuring 119.3 x 91.4 cms. The ART UK website
apparently describes it as 'a smaller version of the large painting which is now lost.') He
(Colin Innes) also states that it
does not belong to The Black Watch however, as stated in David Bevan’s
book. The book he refers to is 'Stand Fast' by David Bevan,
published in 1998 & again in 2002 by Traditional Publishing of New Malden, Surrey.
Another site, now long gone it would seem, 'the-executive.com', had an article that
I found to be most interesting in its description of the incident & anecdotal
data also. The site is long gone indeed. But the words live on on this page, below! That article also stated that the picture is in the
Black Watch Museum in Perth, Scotland,
but surely that is wrong in view of Colin Innes' words above - and he should know! The original painting then? Perhaps
someday its location will be known, I trust. Hopefully it still exists,
somewhere. A message
(no longer available it would seem)
(by John Ling of Norfolk, England, thanks John!) states that the
painting was in the Officers' Mess in Kiel, Germany, but many moons ago.
Before continuing with data about Thomas Hemy's Birkenhead works, an aside!
It would seem that the Birkenhead had a ship's dog. Nothing unusual about that, I guess. But what is unusual is that the
Birkenhead
ship's dog, name unknown, survived the disaster, but later that same year was swept off the barque 'Eglinton' in mountainous seas off the west coast of Australia,
&
survived that experience also! It was adopted by a family in Fremantle,
Australia. Lucky pooch! Doubly so! I lost, for a while, the site which told me that.
But have since both found it & lost it again. 'Leo' seems to move his sites around with some frequency.
I cannot find the site today (it was maintained by Leo van de Pas of Perth, Western Australia)
but what it said is here. Who says history is dull!
Now before showing you such images as are presently
available to the webmaster, I should state that there would seem to be at least two
'Wreck of the Birkenhead'
Thomas Hemy works. And a third, which relates to one
specific incident of the tragedy - see this
page,
3), re Ensign Russell. And probably many more by other artists, which concern this site in a lesser way. There
is, of course, the major Hemy painting that was so well received when it was exhibited in England in 1893
& distributed to
the public in the form of a print (see below) There was also,
what was termed 'an original sketch', presumably painted before the final work was commenced. That 'original sketch' was
published in full colour in Volume 21 of the Boys Own Paper, the Annual re 1898/99
(Now that is a puzzle. The final painting was exhibited in 1893 & the
'original sketch' was published 5/6 years later in 1898/99?) And here it is, together with the
text which accompanied it. Now the text & the image come, in fact from the very same book. Randy Trass of Oregon,
U.S.A., gave me
the text from the book that he purchased from Donna Sullivan, of Ontario, Canada, who provided the image. Thank you both!
The full text of the article referred to at left, i.e. 'Some Stirring Sea Pictures', can be read in its entirety on page
03.
 Mentioned above is a reference to the fact
that the 'Wreck of the Birkenhead' was published in 1893 in the form of a print. But I had not heard
details of such a print or seen one
listed for sale. I am so pleased then to be able to advise that a visitor to this site, William
Burbridge of Colorado, has
or had a copy of such a print, which
he indicated is approximately 20 inches wide by 28 inches high. At the very top, in very small print, is the following text:
"London Published, May 15th 1893, by Henry Graves & Co, the
Proprietors, Publishers to H.M. The Queen and T.R.H. The Prince and Princess of
Wales, 6 Pall Mall. Copyright registered.--- U.S.A. Copyright, 1892, by Henry
Graves & Co".
An image of that print is next. The entire image is
here.
It was purchased, in the last few years,
(that means at or about 2000/2001) in Austin, Texas, & after the purchase, a
raised-letter stamped seal at the lower left corner was discovered. The stamped
seal is that of the Printsellers Association and has the initials 'JZN' in the
center of the seal. Is it possible that any visitor to this site would
know the value of such an item? If so, I would be very pleased
to know. An Austin, Texas, art appraiser
stated, presumably at about 2000/2001, I understand, that the print was worth in excess of U.S. $2,000. Most
interesting to the Webmaster was that at the right bottom of the print was an image
of the artist and his signature. As next follows:
Gavin Clackworthy was in touch via the guestbook to advise
that he has a similar print. With a similar heading at its top as is recorded
above. With, at bottom left, a raised stamp seal with Printsellers Association &
the initials KAW (rather than JZN) in the centre of the seal. And with the same
greyish panel with a signature that to Gavin's eye looks, behind its glass, i) to be an original
signature & ii) seems to read 'Thomas M. Hemmy'. Gavin adds that he was lead
to believe that this signed copy constituted the artist's approval to proceed
with the publishing of the print. Thanks Gavin for your being in touch with your
additional info.
Christine Wallace, of Scotland, has been in touch to say that
she too has such a print.
Her print has, immediately below the print - 'PAINTED BY THOS. M. HEMY'
And ... 'London Published May 15th 1893, by Henry Graves & Co. The Proprietors Publishers to H.M. The Queen & The Prince & Princess of Wales. 6. Pall Mall. Copyright Registered U.S.A. Copyright 1893 by Henry Graves & Co.'
Then the title - WRECK OF H.M.S. "BIRKENHEAD".
And underneath that 'The Birkenhead went down in 1852 with 500 officers & men standing in the presence of death as calmly as on parade ground whilst the women & children were saved. The then King of Prussia caused that splendid story of iron discipline & perfect duty to be read aloud at the head of every Regiment in his Kingdom'.
And last but not least, added in hand writing at the very bottom are the words 'The 73rd regiment in particular lost heavy.'
And with the artist's signature at bottom left of the print.
As follows.
And here, at
right, is the large thumbnail image of the final
painting, as it (used to be) available as a print for purchase
from EasyArt.
At left is a scan of the black & white image that appeared in Boy's Own Paper. The two images, i.e. the
coloured sketch image
above & the twin images of the final work both below & now
above also, are quite different as I am sure you will agree.
And next, with pleasure, I show you yet another copy of the
Hemy 'Wreck of the Birkenhead' print, provided by a kindly North Carolina,
U.S.A., site visitor who in 2022 acquired it. A
splendid image as I trust you will agree. Enjoy!
As I update this page in
Oct. 2024, I note that the North Carolina site visitor just referred to has not
since been in touch with the webmaster. I have not checked for 'Hemy' items on
e-Bay for a year or so but did so yesterday - and happened to spot that a splendid 'Wreck of
the Birkenhead' print is now, on Oct. 02, 2024, offered for sale via e-Bay
- stated to be
by a vendor from North Carolina.
The print is
magnificent & is beautifully
framed - 37 x 27 1/2 inches. It seems likely that the following
image is of the very same print that is today on sale - for U.S. $3,500.00 or
best offer. Available for pick up only in view of its rarity. Do
visit e-Bay to see the listing images which are splendid. Including this fine
image.
I wish such vendor every success with his sale.
THIS PICTURE
IN WORDS
1) THE ARTISTS OWN WORDS - FROM
'DEEP SEA DAYS'
THE WRECK OF THE "BIRKENHEAD"
When my painting of "The
Wreck of the Birkenhead" was on exhibition at Bristol in 1893 it led to my
getting into touch with one of the survivors of that disaster, and obtaining a
story of it which I am able to give here for the first time.
Mr. Coffin was at the wheel when the ill-fated
vessel struck the rocks off Danger Point in 1852, and witnessed the troops fall
into line on the deck by order of the officer; everything being done as at a
formal parade.
Mr. Coffin was coxswain of one of the cutters and the
boat of which he was in charge, with its freight of women and children, was the
first to leave the ship. He was afraid to keep too near on account of the swell
that lashed around her, but managed to pick up several other survivors. He
verified an incident which I had introduced into my picture on hearing the
detailed stories of other survivors with whom I had been in personal touch while
the picture was in progress. It related to a young officer, Ensign Russell, who
gave up his place in a boat to make room for a soldier rescued from drowning,
probably the husband of one of the women in the boat. When the picture was first
exhibited there was much discussion about this "melodramatic incident," but Mr.
Coffin verified it fully, and said that when the ensign jumped out of the boat,
he was immediately dragged down by sharks.
The account of the last moment of the soldiers up on the poop was gathered from
some of the sailors who had taken refuge in the rigging of the mast which
remained above water when the ship went down.
As the deck began to be submerged Colonel Seton, the commander
of the troops, told the men they had better fall out and do the best they could
for themselves. Most of them took to the water. Colonel Seton, Captain Salmond
and a number of others, got into the little gig, but their weight snapped the
frail craft in twain whilst it was still hanging from the davits, and they were
all thrown into the sea.
Mr. Coffin told me that the adventures of the
survivors were by no means over when the Birkenhead sank. As the day grew
brighter a schooner was seen standing out to sea, and Coffin and seven others
manned a small gig which had been saved from the wreck, and pulled after the
schooner. They endeavoured for hours to reach her without avail. Then the strong
currents carried them for miles away from the scene of the wreck and they
eventually beached their boat in Fish Bay. Owing to the heavy surf the two
larger boats were unable to land anywhere near the place where the disaster
occurred, and they were eventually rescued by the Seahorse, the schooner
which Coffin had unsuccessfully pursued. When the vessel was tacking, the
topmast of the Birkenhead was noticed sticking out of the water, and the
course altered towards it, with the result that twenty men who were still
clinging to the rigging were saved. The schooner then searched round and picked
up the boats referred to.
Coffin and the rest of the crew were some days before they managed
to cross the country which lay between their landing-place and Simon's Bay,
where the rest of the survivors had been landed from the rescuing vessel.
In the meantime, the list of
the survivors had been forwarded to England, so that Coffin and the others who
were with him in the gig were for a time mourned among the lost and it was not
until the next mail arrived that their friends knew of their arrival.
An image of Thomas Coffin stated to be from a 1902 National British newspaper is available here.
Ex
e-Bay in Aug. 2017.
2) FROM THE EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE (dating from 2002, I think).
Women and Children First - The story of the sinking of the
Birkenhead – of the men
who showed bravery beyond belief
Most of us are familiar with the
rule ‘women and children first’ when disaster strikes at sea. But behind the
tradition lies a story which might not be quite so well-known – and which
represents one of the most remarkable acts of heroism in British military
history.
The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, provided the backdrop earlier this year
for a moving service to mark the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the
troopship Birkenhead,
just 20 minutes after hitting an uncharted rock two miles off the coast of South
Africa.
The event was attended by descendants of many of those who were
aboard the ship that fateful day, when, worried that the men might swamp the
lifeboat carrying the women and children if they jumped from the sinking ship,
their commanding officer ordered them to ‘stand fast’.
To a man, they all stood in
quiet dignity as the Birkenhead broke up and sank
beneath them, taking them to certain death in the shark-infested waters. More than 430 men died in the tragedy, with
The Black Watch – then the 73rd
Regiment of Foot – suffering the heaviest losses. An oil painting by Thomas M.
Hemy, entitled ‘The Wreck of the Birkenhead’, which hangs in
the Black Watch Museum in Perth,
Scotland, movingly depicts this extraordinary event, capturing the haunted
expressions on the faces of the young men as they joined hands and awaited their
fate.
Among those attending the service were two great great granddaughters
and two great great great nephews of 19-year-old Ensign Alexander Russell, of
the 74th Highland Regiment, whose bravery in the incident cost him his own
life.
Placed in charge of the cutter carrying the seven women and 13
children, Ensign Russell spotted a drowning man in the water, and without
hesitation gave up his place on the crowded vessel so that he could be pulled
aboard. Just five minutes after diving into the sea, a spine-chilling scream was
heard as he was taken by a shark.
Also at the service were two great
granddaughters of ship’s captain, Captain Robert Salmond RN, who had ordered all
those who could swim to jump overboard and make for the boats. But it was
Colonel Alexander Seton who begged: “I implore you not to do this thing, and I
ask you to stand fast”.
There was barely a murmur as the Birkenhead sank. Moments
later, the ship broke up, taking both Captain Salmond and Colonel Seton with
it.
In all, there were 10 regiments aboard the ill-fated vessel, and a large
proportion of the young recruits were Irish, having joined up after the potato
blight and subsequent potato famine in their home country. Amongst them was
Sergeant Bernard Kilkeary from Kings County, a Black Watch soldier whose account
of the tragedy can be found in the Regimental Museum.
Sgt. Kilkeary was the
ship’s sergeant-major for the voyage, and it was he who disembarked the women
and children into a lifeboat and went after them. It was his intention to land
them on shore and return to the ship, but within minutes it had listed and sunk
before his eyes.
It was 12 hours before they were picked up by a Capetown
schooner, The Lioness, and many men were still clinging to the Birkenhead’s rigging. Many
of those who had bravely tried to swim ashore were devoured by the sharks which
inhabited the inhospitable waters, while others became inextricably tangled in
long seaweed.
Only 207 of the 636 people on board survived the tragedy,
amongst them Captain Edward Wright of the 91st (Argyllshire) Regiment, who told
the subsequent 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.”
The court martial found no-one to blame for the incident –
indeed, the Board of Admiralty praised the soldiers’ amazing conduct.
King
Frederik Wilhelm of Prussia was so impressed by Captain Wright’s words that he
asked for them to be read to every one of his regiments, and it was Queen
Victoria who ordered the erection of the official Birkenhead monument at the
Royal Hospital. Even the aged Duke of Wellington made his last appearance in
public to praise the men’s discipline.
The Birkenhead tragedy happened
at two in the morning on 26 February, 1852, as the ship made for South Africa
with reinforcements to help quell a native uprising during the Kaffir
War.
It was rumoured that the ship
was carrying £240,000 in gold bullion to pay the troops already serving there
but, though numerous salvage expeditions have been mounted, as far as is known
the money has never been found.
The tragedy also resulted in some
extraordinary incidents. Private Patrick Mullins of the 91st (Argyllshire)
Regiment had no idea whether his wife and two children, who were also on board,
had survived – but they met quite by chance seven years later, and went on to
produce another five children.
And both Captain Wright and Cornet Sheldon
Bond of the 12th Lancers were re-united with their own horses, which had been
freed from their stable on deck to give them a chance of swimming to
safety.
Eerily, it is only in the past year, as the 150th anniversary
approached, that three bodies from the Birkenhead were discovered
near the coastline where the ship went down.
Though unidentifiable, the men
were given a burial service at the
naval base at Simon’s Town, while services of remembrance were held around South
Africa and local schoolchildren scattered poppies out to sea. It was the Birkenhead tragedy which
gave rise to the tradition to this day known as ‘The Birkenhead Drill’ – most
memorably demonstrated in recent times in the film ‘Titanic’ – which requires a
ship’s crew to show complete disregard for their own safety; to remain calm; to
give priority to the rescue of any women, children and civilians aboard, and to
display endurance and courage beyond the call of duty.
Many of the soldiers
aboard the Birkenhead on
that calm, clear day in February 1852 were raw recruits still in their teens.
But the discipline and heroism they displayed will forever remain legendary
throughout the British forces and beyond.
Webmaster's note to all of the above. Both of the 'stories' above
(the-executive.com story and the first linked page) state that the schooner which picked up
many of the Birkenhead survivors was the Lioness, which was, it
seems, the rescue vessel. Thomas Hemy's
own book, states that it was the Seahorse. Strange! But these inconsistencies
easily creep into written material, as we all know. And his book was written, I presume, rather later, many years
after he created the painting. And I am puzzled by Thomas Hemy referring to the Ensign Russell
incident (Alexander Cumming Russell of
the 74th Highlanders - now 'The Royal Highland Fusiliers') that he had
'introduced into his painting'. I can see nothing in the images that could relate to that particular matter. Perhaps when
we find a larger image, the
reference will become clearer. (It has. But re another Hemy work on the subject. See
page 20.) And one final matter.
It would seem that the
coxswain of the cutter which carried the women and children to safety was in
fact George Till, as per testimony at the court martial held later aboard the
Victory in Portsmouth Harbour. There was indeed a Thomas
Cuffin,
(at a link which no longer works) a seaman on the
Birkenhead, who retired to Eastville, Bristol.
Thomas Cuffin was in fact the coxswain of the second cutter. There used
to be a
fine image of him at that lost link! Where he is named 'Coffin'. (Since the link no
longer works, here is what may or may not have been that image). His exact name is a bit of a mystery.
David Bevan, in his book 'Stand Fast'
reproduces extensively the testimony given at the
court martial into the matter - and in that detailed documentation he is named Thomas Cuffin, despite that image! I would
hope that the official court martial record, especially in respect of a witness who gave extensive testimony, would be accurate
in such matters.
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More about all of the above when I have more to
tell you!
I'll list the books that I learn about that cover the
Birkenhead disaster in
a tidy form, in due course. Here is the name of the first eight such books, in
publishing sequence as best I can determine it.
1. 'A DEATHLESS STORY' by Albert
C. Addison & W. H. Matthews, published in 1906 by
Hutchinson & Co. of London, England. 318 pages. 'A full and
authentic account of the famous shipwreck'. Republished in 2001 by Naval and Military Press Ltd.,
but manufactured
on demand. ISBN: 1843420570.
2. 'THE UNFORTUNATE SHIP', The Story of H. M. Troopship ''Birkenhead'', by J.
Lennox Kerr. Published by Harrap and Co., London, in 1960.
3. 'DANGER POINT; The Wreck of the BIRKENHEAD' by Scott
Corbett, Little Brown, 1962. Most probably written for children.
4. 'The History of the Battles and Adventures of the British, the Boers, and
the Zulus, &c, in Southern Africa, Volume 2', (with a chapter on the wreck of the Birkenhead), by Duncan C.
F. (Campbell Francis) Moodie (1838 - 1891). Originally published,
Murray & St Ledger, in 1888.
Republished by Frank
Cass and Co., London, 1968.
5. 'DRUMS OF THE BIRKENHEAD, published 1972. See 'STAND FAST' below.
6. 'THE GREY WIDOW-MAKERS' by Bernard Edwards (1926 - ),
published in 1990 by
Robert Hale Limited. ISBN 0-7090-4191-8. A little over six pages about the
disaster.
7. 'SALVAGE OF THE BIRKENHEAD' by Dr. Allan Kayle, 151 pages, published in 1990 (republished in 1992) by
Southern Book Publishers (Pty) Ltd. of Johannesburg, South Africa. ISBN 1868122603.
Dr. Kayle was involved in the mid 1980s Birkenhead dives where small quantities
of gold coins were recovered. He has written extensively about diving generally. A copy of the book was
sold via e-Bay in Feb. 2006
for GBP 9.35 or approximately U.S. $16.31.
8.
'STAND FAST' by David Bevan. A soft cover
published in 1998 by Traditional Publishing of New Malden, Surrey, U.K. ISBN 0 9525 531 1 2.
Previously published (1972 & 1989) as 'DRUMS OF THE BIRKENHEAD' but enlarged & updated in the
1998 publication.
And, since the covers include two of the famous 'Birkenhead' artworks, the works
by Hemy & Calkin, here (at left) are the covers from two editions of 'Drums of the Birkenhead'
by David Bevan - see item 8. above. And, at right, the cover of the Dr. Allan Kayle volume
(#7 above).
It would seem there is an artwork by Peter Briles 'of the
Birkenhead disappearing beneath the waves'. No image of the work has come to the
webmaster's attention. He notes, however, that a print of the work was sold at a
'Spink and Son Limited' auction held at Bloomsbury, London, on Apr. 20, 2007. Hopefully, in due course, an image of the Peter Briles work will come to
hand for inclusion in these pages. My earlier link no longer works, & a search for
Peter Briles provides nothing. But I see that if you are skilled to an extent
the webmaster is not, you can download every 'Spink' catalogue by use of an app.
I must leave that for others to accomplish.
Thomas M. M. Hemy
datapages
01,
02
&
03 are now on site. Plus all
of the other image pages, accessible though the index on page
05. PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
To MV Danmark Slider Puzzle
page
& to the
Special Pages Index.
There are now two additional pages on site re The Wreck
of the Birkenhead. Pages 20
&
21.
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THE GUEST BOOK - GO
HERE
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