The
shipwreck of the two British ships of the line
the HMS St. George and the HMS Defence |
The two warships, the HMS
St. George (98 guns) and the HMS Defence (74
guns) part of the British Baltic fleet ran
aground and were lost outside Thorsminde at the
west-coast of Jutland on the 24th of December
1811.I the following the disaster is briefly
described, but it can also be studied in the text
and images in the cartoon
from the 1960 ties.
The disaster took place during the wars with
England in which the St. George were
Contre-admiral Reynolds' flagship. The St. George
together with an squadron had accompanied the
last convoy of the year from the Swedish
east-coast through the Danish interior waters.
|
Ship's boy.
|
The St. George had suffered damages at Rødsand
south of Lolland and after having been scantily repaired
the ship left the Swedish skerries at Gøteborg on the
17th of December heading towards England for the winter
and escorted by the ships of the line, the Cressy and the
Defence.
A Christmas hurricane forced the three ships towards
the west coast and only the Cressy managed to avoid
running aground.
At the map the
route of the ships can be studied.
Left: Decorations from
an officers hat.
Right: Pottery. |
Almost the entire crew from the
St. George and the Defence died - a total of
almost 1300 men. It was the greatest shipwreck
disaster ever on the west-coast of Jutland and a
serious loss for Royal Navy which in the same
hurricane lost the ship of the line, the HMS Hero
and the brig, the HMS Grasshopper at Texel. At
the Strandingsmuseum St. George you can study
more than thousands of finds which relates the
story, life onboard, etc
|
.The disaster made a deep impression on people
of that time and like other great shipwreck disasters it
has never been forgotten.125 years after it took place
the Danish press took the initiative to raise a memorial
stone.
The memorial stone was revealed at a ceremony in 1937
and is standing at the Thorsminde tongue facing the
position where the St. George wrecked.
The disaster were described in a cartoon in the serie
KALEJDOSKOP, which in the 60ties were published in many
newspapers.
To
start
|
