National Museums Liverpool Blog - maritime history

Curator of Maritime Collections, Ellie Moffat, remembers a maritime disaster with Liverpool links.

Ellie Moffat (fourth from left) with members of the Derbyshire Family Association.

Last Friday morning we opened a new display about bulk carrier MV Derbyshire, the largest British registered merchant ship ever to be lost at sea. We were pleased to be joined by members of the Derbyshire Family Association, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Councillor Sharon Sullivan and Maria Eagle MP.

Sunday 9th September marked the 32nd anniversary of the sinking and so it is a timely reminder of this immense ship that was lost in the South China Sea during typhoon Orchid, on 9 September 1980.
She was nearing the end of her voyage from Canada to Japan, carrying 157,446 tons of iron ore. All 42 crewmen and two of their wives perished, including 17 from Liverpool.

Owned by Liverpool’s Bibby Line, the loss came as a complete shock to everyone due to her vast size, and that she was only four years old with a very experienced crew on board.

Our new display tells the story of the ship and her tragic loss, but also the story of the families of the crew – who in turn formed the Derbyshire Family Association (DFA) - who campaigned for a formal investigation to be held. The DFA were instrumental in uncovering the truth of what happened and why; they were tireless in their efforts and were finally rewarded 20 years later when they accepted the conclusions of the re-opened formal investigation in 2000.

It is an important story with strong Merseyside connections, and we are grateful to them for all their support. They have kindly donated some objects to the museum, including a memorial plaque and a bell that was presented to the DFA by NUMAST (now Nautilus).

Also on display is the Bibby Line uniform of 3rd engineer officer Leo Coltman, which has been a precious reminder for his family over the years, and the last letter sent by Seaman 1 Ronnie Musa to his wife.

We would like to thank Bibby Line Group Ltd for lending us a ship model of MV English Bridge (later known as Kowloon Bridge), a sister ship of MV Derbyshire.

The story of MV Derbyshire must never be forgotten.

Find out more about MV Derbyshire on our main site.

Liverpool is a city steeped in  maritime history. But while you might expect to find tales of smuggler’s coves and bravery at sea in Merseyside Maritime Museum,  the city  itself can surprise you with  many stories of its seafaring and merchant links.

Sudley  House, former home of George Holt

I was  recently introduced to Helen Fowler from The Monro pub on Duke Street  and after a quick coffee and  a chat I discovered not only were The Monro hosting an installation for Liverpool Biennial , but it is also a building bursting with historic tales to tell . I found out about the steam ship which it is named after and its former owner Colonel John Bolton . He was the most wealthy Liverpool merchant of his generation  and  no doubt inspired George Holt who lived just across town at Sudley House in Mossley Hill. 

With the tall ships returning to Liverpool this week  and our own exciting Biennial exhibitions soon to arrive at the Walker Art Gallery, we’ve joined  up with The Monro  to create a little trail  around the city and beyond. The trail highlights our merchant and maritime connections and collections  - you can download the trail here.   You may even find yourself a cup of coffee as a reward at the end!

Sunday 2nd September marks National Merchant Navy Day which commemorates the 40,000 seafarers who died whilst in Britain’s Merchant Navy during the Second World War.
Those seafarers ranged in age from 14 years old to 78 years old, and also included  8,500 Asian seaman and seafarers from across the World who served in the British Merchant Navy.

The 3rd September marks the day when war was officially declared between Britain and Germany, and the nearest Sunday to this date is usually chosen to commemorate National Merchant Navy Day.  This year the 2nd is the closet Sunday, and there will be a midday service at Our Lady & St Nicholas’ seafarers Church in Chapel Street, Liverpool.
After the church service there will be a parade from the Pier head, please see the link for details.

As part of the commemoration the Red Ensign flag will be flown from some public buildings in the city.  This flag is the official flag of the British merchant marine (or fleet). In the Merseyside Maritime Museum’s Battle of the Atlantic gallery you can find out more about the important role carried out by the Merchant Navy in the Second World War.
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest campaign during the Second World War. In 1939 Britain relied on its North Atlantic shipping routes and it needed essential imports from the United States and Canada. In total 60,000 Allied Merchant seafarers lost their lives and it is to them that we pay homage to.

There was a hive of activity last week in the Titanic & Liverpool: the untold story exhibition as we were busy installing a new display of personal items relating to Henry Wilde.

Henry Wilde was a senior officer on Titanic and the museum was honoured when the opportunity to display these never seen before items came to light.
Henry Wilde lived in Walton, Liverpool and worked for White Star for most of his career

The three letters - one to his daughter Jennie from Olympic on 30 March, and two written to Jennie and Nurse aboard Titanic on 9 and 11 April 1912 - detail the preparations before for sailing, and his last minute transfer to Titanic’s crew. The final letters were written on board Titanic and the last was sent from Queenstown during the ship’s stop in Ireland. The letters are very poignant and a heart felt insight into the relationship between a father and his children; he clearly misses them and looks forward to seeing them again. Henry was praised for his part in the launch of Titanic’s lifeboats, but sadly didn’t survive the sinking. His body was never recovered.

The letters really emphasize the human story and personal loss which affected the families as a result of the sinking of Titanic. Many families never saw their loved ones again. The sinking of Titanic shocked the world but would have a longer, devastating effect on the lives of families left behind.

Titanic & Liverpool: the untold story exhibition is open until 21 April 2013.

Sir Steve Redgrave unveils Olympic Gold at Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club in 1985. Reproduced with kind permission of Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club

Ben Whittaker, Curator of Port History reports:

Yesterday Team GB got their first rowing medals.  Congratulations to Heather Glover and Helen Stanning, who won gold in the women's pair.  And with the rowing eight "Olympic Gold" on display in the Racing For Gold Olympic themed display, we were keeping a special eye on the men's eight race. And Great Britain's men did fantastically well in securing a bronze medal.  The rowing eights take about five minutes to travel the two thousand metres of an Olympic race, and the eight rowers have to be guided by a cox who steers the boat.  You can see film footage of rowing eights being rowed locally by Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club members in the Racing for Gold exhibition, and also online in the Olympic section of our website.

Ben Whittaker, Curator of Port History reports:

A recent visit to the Maritime Museum for Barbara Cotton took her on a boat trip down memory lane. Barbara was delighted to see the Melody speedboat that is displayed in the museum foyer.  Melody was raced locally off New Brighton with Wallasey Power Boat and Ski Club, and Barbara's father was also a member and owned a very similar boat.  The museum was delighted to receive a copy of some home movies Barbara has of her father and other Club members racing boats off New Brighton from the late 1950's to early 1970's.  The films are fascinating slice of local history, especially of the New Brighton area.  And eagle eyed staff spotted a brief cameo of the Melody speedboat!  
 

From Curator of Port History Ben Whittaker:

While working in our museum stores I came across this beautiful silver model of the SS Great Eastern which was presented to Sir James W Paton on behalf of his employees at Paton, Calvert & Co Ltd. It was given to celebrate the company's Golden Jubilee in 1937.  Sir James had a personal connection to the Great Eastern - his father Captain Walter Paton captained the ship, and Sir James was born on the ship in the mid-Atlantic on the 15th January, 1863.

This is just one of thousands of objects in the reserve collections of the Merseyside Maritime Museum.  Like most museums we only have the space to display a small fraction of our collections at any one time. A recent redevelopment at the Maritime Museum saw storage space converted to a new community space for the International Slavery Museum.  Maritime Museum curatorial staff had to pack up a large collection of objects so they could be moved to a new offsite storage space. It's my job along with Assistant Curator Michelle Walsh to gradually unpack these objects, check their condition, photograph them and locate them in new racking and shelving.  It's quite a long process as there are over 2,500 objects in 400 boxes! This is the work of curatorial staff that the public don't see, keep an eye out for future blogs about the interesting and unusual objects we are unpacking and re-storing.   

Ben Whittaker, Curator of Port History reports:

A punt with pilots approaching the Edmund Gardner c1960s. Collection no MDHB/EG/7/11/14

We had some great feedback recently from a family who went on one of the Edmund Gardner pilot ships tours:

"We all enjoyed the tour very much, please pass on my thanks to the guys who took us round, they made the whole experience great fun and very interesting. We spent the weekend at the dock and visited many of the attractions but we all agree that the Edmund Gardner was very much the highlight of the weekend."

It's great to know that visitors are enjoying the tours, and our volunteer tour guides are doing a fantastic job in bringing the history of the ship alive.  Tours are still running every Thursday and Saturday until the end of September, to book a place ring 0151 478 4788.

Please note that the ship has uneven surfaces, steep stairways and low steps, meaning it is not fully accessible and unable to accommodate wheelchair users, pushchairs or prams. Please wear appropriate sensible footwear for a safe and enjoyable visit.

We had a special visitor at the Maritime Museum yesterday. 91 year old Ellen Jones is the daughter of Titanic crewman Thomas Jones. She came in to the Merseyside Maritime Museum to see our exhibition Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story and look at a postcard in the Maritime Archives collection sent by her father to her mother Clara.

Able seaman Thomas Jones was born in Anglesey and was living in Liverpool when he signed on for Titanic’s maiden voyage. He was put in charge of lifeboat number 8 which had been ordered away carrying only 27 people, as other passengers had chosen to remain on Titanic believing it would not sink. Jones and a few others in the boat wanted to return to pick up other survivors, but they were overruled by the rest of the people in boat number 8.

One of the people in boat 8 who wanted to go back with Jones for other survivors was the Countess of Rothes, who later sent him a silver watch. Jones and the Countess continued to write to each other until her death in 1956. As a child Ellen said that she thought that this was nothing out of the ordinary and that “everyone knew a Countess!”

Ellen met with Dawn Littler and Ian Murphy from the Maritime Museum and spoke to them about her father who is featured in the museum’s exhibition. She said that Thomas Jones continued to work at sea and in later life was stationed on the light ship in Liverpool Bay. Thomas Jones died in 1972.

Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story is at the Merseyside Maritime Museum until 21 April 2013.

We're all very excited about the forthcoming visit by Her Majesty the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh to the Merseyside Maritime Museum. To mark this momentous occasion, one of the museum’s fantastic paintings will be displayed as a centrepiece for the visit, alongside some objects from the Ismay silver collection which is currently on display in the Titanic and Liverpool exhibition.

‘Campania at the Spithead Review, 1897’ by Parker Greenwood depicts one of the greatest naval occasions, ‘The Review of the Fleet’ for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on 26 May 1897. Famous merchant vessels attended and accommodated guests celebrating this exciting occasion.

Campania was the most impressive of the Cunard fleet at the time and was ordered in 1891 along with sister ship Lucania as a response to the competition in the ever competitive transatlantic service business. The artist has painted Campania in the centre foreground, flying a blue ensign flag which indicates the Captain and crew are members of the Royal Naval Reserve.

When looking close up at the painting it is clear to see it’s a celebratory occasion and the artist has captured this perfectly. Patriotic blue, white and red bunting flies happily in the breeze, Union Jack flags adorn the other vessels in the background. The event is well attended with crowds of people cheering and you can almost hear the clinking of glasses. As Curator of Maritime Collections (ship models and paintings) I shouldn’t really admit to favourite objects but this painting is especially enjoyable.

Liverpool has an impressive maritime painting history which is represented in the museum’s collection, more of which can be viewed in the Art and Sea gallery.