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Transcribed from an article in South Africa Magazine, 4 July 1896 THE LOSS OF THE "DRUMMOND CASTLE" The great excitement with reference to the wreck of the Drummond Castle has subsided almost as suddenly as it arose, and there are but few additional facts to chronicle this week. The whereabouts of the vessel has been discovered, and though it is impossible to raise her, very probably divers will be sent down to examine her and to find out if possible the causes of the sudden wreck. AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT. The following statement has been issued by the managers of the Castle Packets Company. Sir Donald Currie wishes the public to be correctly informed upon the following points: -- (1) It is not true, as has been stated, that the captains of the Castle liners are expected to make Ushant light and to signal from there when they pass. The captains have no instructions whatever to go near Ushant signal. (2) It has been publicly stated that the Drummond Castle might have been saved if she had had bulkheads. This vessel was fully provided with bulkheads. (3) There is no foundation for the report that boat drill is neglected in these vessels. Ever since the line was established boat drill has been a regular part of the discipline of the steamers of the Company. The quartermaster and seaman saved have stated that all were called to their boat stations upon the first indication of danger. (4) There is no foundation for the statement that this vessel, of moderate speed, in the intermediate service, was steaming at fourteen knots an hour to make what is termed a "record passage." THE BOARD OF TRADE INQUIRY. It is officially announced that the Board of Trade inquiry into the circumstances attending the loss of the steamer will be opened at the Sessions House, Westminster, at 11 o'clock on Monday, the 13th of next month. Mr. R. Bullock-Marsham, one of the stipendiary magistrates for Greenwich and Woolwich, who has had very large experience of investigations on the occurrence of disasters at sea, will preside, and have the assistance of two skilled assessors, whose names have not yet been announced. Anxious as the Board of Trade are to ascertain the true facts of the disaster, it has been impossible to arrange to hold the inquiry at an earlier date than that mentioned, owing to the fact, among other reasons, that some of the principal witnesses have to come from the scene of the wreck. On Thursday, Mr. Ritchie was asked by Mr. H. C. Stephens to arrange that the official and ships' logs, of all vessels during the time they were in the charge of the late captain of the Drummond Castle in his capacity as captain or as chief officer, should be open to inspection by representatives of deceased passengers at the Board of Trade or elsewhere not later than six days before the opening of the inquiry. Mr. Stephens asked whether the same means and facilities would be afforded in respect of the command of the late chief officer of the vessel. THE POSITION OF THE WRECK Telegrams received by Messrs. Donald Currie and Co. indicate the position of the Drummond Castle to be about one mile north of the Pierres Vertes, and about four miles south of Ushant Stiff Lighthouse, at a depth of about thirty-one fathoms. By direction of Admiral Barrera, Maritime Prefect at Brest, a French government vessel went to make investigations at the spot indicated by the cross-bearings given by the fishermen. There is no intention on the part of the owners, as has been stated, to blow up the vessel. It must remain with the French maritime authorities to decide whether any portion of the wreck will have to be removed. TELEGRAM FROM THE QUEEN Messrs. Labat and Pelle, the French journalists who were the first on the scene of the disaster, and assisted the fishermen of Molene and Ushant in paying the last offices to the dead, sent a telegram to Queen Victoria, expressing their respectful condolences with Her Majesty, and the deep emotion which they had experienced in assisting at the obsequies of so many victims. They have received the following telegram in reply: -- "Labat, Brest-Windsor Castle-Pray accept, and transmit to the gentleman who associated himself with you in sending the Queen a telegram, the best thanks of Her Majesty, who has been profoundly touched by the sympathy, the respect, and the attention to the dead shown by the Bretons of Ushant and Molene. - (Signed) BIGGE, Private Secretary." The recipients of this message have had 10,000 copies of it printed, and these have been distributed among the inhabitants of Molene, Ushant, Le Conquet, Plondalmezeau, Camaret, and Laberbenoit. Sir Donald Currie also has sent a handsome gift clock to M. Pelle. A GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION. Her Majesty's Government propose to give some tangible recognition of the humanity and sympathetic kindness shown by the inhabitants of Molene, Ushant, and the mainland in connection with the loss of the Drummond Castle, but the exact form of the public tribute to be paid by the State has not yet been decided upon. The fund rapidly accumulating on the initiative of Messrs. Donald Currie and Co. will no doubt be more than sufficient to provide boats and fishing tackle, if such appliances should be desired by the people; and it may be that a medal commemorative of the nation's gratitude would be most highly appreciated. The Consuls and other qualified persons on the spot have been consulted by the Government, and a decision in the matter will probably be arrived at in the course of a few days. TIMELY OFFERS Mr. C. A. R. Hoare, writing from the training ship Mercury, Hamble, Southampton, says: "In view of the disaster to the Drummond Castle, I should be very glad to be of assistance to some of those left destitute by the calamity, and I think the most practical way in which I could show my sympathy would be by taking four boys who would come up to the requisite physical standard from the families of those lost in the catastrophe. These four boys I would keep entirely for three years, and would either send them into the Royal Navy or obtain other means of livelihood for them. Every boy on the above ship costs £30 per annum to maintain." In addition to the above kind offer, another has been received from the National Orphan Home for Fatherless Girls, to provide for six of those rendered fatherless through the loss of the Drummond Castle. Similar generous offers have also been received by Sir Donald Currie from the Orphanage for Boys at Southampton, through Mr. W. H. Roland, Hon. Secretary, and from the Sailors' Orphans Society of Scotland, through Mr. R. W. Hunter, Glasgow. Sir Donald Currie has written to thank these societies. BROUGHT HOME FOR BURIAL The remains of Mrs. Frances Mary Sandbach, wife of the Rev. F. D. Sandbach, of Tiviotdale, Stockport, who, together with her husband, perished when the Drummond Castle went down, have been interred at the Cheetham Hill Wesleyan Cemetery near Manchester. The body of Mrs. Sandbach was found by the peasants of Molene, and by them reverently interred, but it was exhumed and brought to this country for burial in the private family vault. The coffin, which was the workmanship of the islanders, attracted some attention by its slightly unusual form and appearance. The remains of Mr. Harry Wilson, one of the victims of the Drummond Castle disaster, have been interred at West Hartlepool. The funeral was attended by the Mayor and Corporation, of which deceased's father is a member, and was witnessed by a large crowd. Mr. Cornforth's body has not yet been recovered. THE RECOVERED BODIES Of the fifty bodies recovered, Messrs. Donald Currie and Co. have received official descriptions of twenty-seven, and of these only ten have been identified. They are as follows: -- Buried at Ushant: -- Mr. H. S. Cohen, Mr. W. W. Whipp, Mr. P. S. Ellis (fourth officer), Alice Reed, and Miss McGee. Buried at Ploudalmezeau: -- Mrs. Hal Stephens. Mr. E. W. Rich, and Miss Nellie Peachey. Buried at Molene: -- Miss Olive and Mr. Wm. Reed. SYMPATHY OF THE P. AND O. Sir Thomas Sutherland, M.P., Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company, speaking at the annual dinner of the Shipping Gazette at the Holborn Restaurant, on Saturday evening said there was no one who had read the accounts of the loss of the Drummond Castle who did not feel the keenest sympathy with Sir Donald Currie and his partners in regard to a calamity which they so little expected and so little deserved. FURTHER PERSONAL PARTICULARS Copies of the official particulars compiled by the French local authorities with reference to 27 of the bodies recovered have now reached Messrs. Donald Currie and Co. Of these 27, ten have been identified as the remains of Mr. H. S. Cohen, Mr. W. W. Whipp, Mr. P. S. Ellis (fourth officer of the vessel), Mr. William Reed, Miss Alice Reed, Miss McGee, Mrs. Harold Stephens, Mr. E. W. Rich, Miss Nellie Peachey, and Miss Olive. Another body may be regarded as identified by a telegram received from Mr. Mirrielees, the Castle Company's principal representative at the scene of the disaster. On this body were a rosary and a medallion of the Virgin, and the deceased had registered his baggage in the name of Morrisay. FRENCH NAUTICAL INSTRUCTIONS "Nautical Instructions", a year-book issued by the French Admiralty, contains a note of warning regarding the dangers that beset Ushant. After the loss of the Drummond Castle it reads like a prophecy. This paragraph is as follows: -- "Warning - It is necessary to insist on the danger incurred by vessels that pass Ushant, coming from the Spanish coast, and neglect to take soundings. Number of vessels are yearly lost in time of mist either on the rocks west of Molene or south-east of Ushant. This is because captains shape their course without taking into account the state of the tide at the expected time of passing near Ushant. If the Race of Seine be passed shortly before or after low tide at Brest, and a course be shaped two or three miles west of Ushant, the ship in this case is carried by a current of five to seven knots into the passage of Fromveur, and is lost without any on board having suspected the danger." Referring to the table of tides for 1896, 12.42 a.m. is given as the time of low water at Brest on June 17. The loss of the Drummond Castle took place as predicted to the letter by the French Admiralty. It will be noticed that the danger is for vessels entering and not leaving the Channel. RESULT OF FRENCH INQUIRY The result of the inquiry instituted by Admiral Barrera on June 30 was telegraphed on Wednesday to Messrs. Donald Currie and Co., by Mr. F. Mirrielees: -- "Just returned from wreck. The position is 3 ½ miles due south of Stiff Lighthouse. Both Government tugs, Laborieux and Chameau, grappled the ship. Chameau's grapple brought up, first, three pieces of pine, evidently parts of mast, then portions of steel stays with metal ring from mast attached, also the gilded topmast ball with halliard. Hawsers of both tugs smeared with brownish paint. Following soundings at low water: -- 16 fathoms, believed to be in rigging; 26 fathoms, believed to be side or deck of ship; 33 fathoms, found close beside mast soundings. Vice-Consul Bonar and Wisely landed at Molene to verify process verbaux, and to obtain additional photographs as required by you." LETTER FROM WESLEYAN PRESIDENT The following letter has been addressed by the President of the Wesleyan Conference to the Abbe Le Jeune, Cure of Molene: --
Wesleyan Conference Office, London. Dear M. Le Cure, -- As representative of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, one of whose ministers went down in the Drummond Castle, allow me to tender to you my warmest thanks for the loving kindness by which you and your flock have mitigated, as far as possible, the horrors of that great calamity. I am specially moved to do this by the request of those of whom he was the faithful and well-beloved pastor. In the presence of such events we feel, below all national distinctions, the touch of nature which makes the whole world kin. Our lamentable religious divisions are for a while forgotten. The common Christian emotions of compassions for the sorrow-stricken and reverence for the body cause all hearts to beat together. I humbly pray, M. le Cure, that the Father of Mercies whom you serve will ever shed upon you and your flock the light of His countenance. I am, yours faithfully and respectfully, D. J. WALLER, President. MORE SYMPATHY EXPRESSED. At the meeting of the General Committee of the Governors of the Royal Scottish Corporation on Wednesday, on the motion of Captain Norman seconded by Mr. J. Paton, a vote of sympathy with Sir Donald Currie, M.P. (a Vice-President of the Corporation), in the painful circumstances in which he found himself owing to the loss of the Drummond Castle, was carried. A vote of condolence with the relatives of those who were drowned was also passed. OTHER BODIES RECOVERED. The following telegram was received on Wednesday night from the British Consul, dated Brest, July 1, 4.10 p.m.: -- "Body of girl, aged from seven to nine, found off Ploueccat, possible from Drummond Castle. Proces verbal by tomorrow's post." The only news received on Thursday by Messrs. Donald Currie and Co. regarding the loss of the Drummond Castle was that given in the following telegram from the British Consul at Brest, dated Thursday, 4.50 p.m.: -- "Body of man found at sea and taken to Port??. No description yet. LETTER FROM CAPTAIN DUNCAN Writing to the Times in connection with various statements as to entertainments on board steamships, Captain Duncan, of the Tantallon Castle, says, "I have no hesitation in declaring, after being ? years in command of the Company's steamer, that all that the captain and officers of the mail packets do is to render every facility for passengers in such amusements as they may think it proper to have on board these ships, and that, as regards the Drummond Castle, it has been clearly stated by the surviving passenger that Captain Pierce was not present at the concert which the passengers had arranged, but that he was on the bridge and, with his officers, keeping a look-out in a proper and seamanlike manner. I think this is due to Captain Pierce, whose loss, with that of so many precious lives, I deeply deplore." A FRENCH ARTIST'S SYMPATHY Mr. Alfred Coleman, Hon. Secretary of the L?? Dufferin Presentation Fund, has written from the Rue Chauchat, Paris, June 26, to the effect that M. Benjamin-Constant, the eminent French artist who is painting the portrait of the Earl of Avalon, the gift to Lord Dufferin from his fellow-countrymen has desired that a certain surplus should be devoted to the Drummond Castle relief fund. Consequently a cheque for £33 11s. 6d. has been forwarded to Messrs. Donald Currie and Co., in which they have duly written him a letter of thanks. LETTER FROM THE CURE OF MOLENE The Archbishop of Canterbury has received a letter from the Abbe Le Jeune of Molene, of which the following is a translation: Molene Isle, June 27, 1896 Your Grace, -- Will you permit me to express to you how overcome I am at receiving a letter of thanks from so eminent a personage, writing not only in his own name, but also in that of ?? English Christians? I am the more moved, your Grace, inasmuch as I only strictly fulfilled those duties which humanity and Christian charity imposed on me. The discharge of those duties moreover-always most sweet to fulfil with respect to all nationalities-is the more so in the case of neighbouring people with whom we have dear relations and whom we regard as a friend. Will your Grace kindly convey to the good English people, and more especially to the bereaved relatives of those unfortunate victims, our profound sympathy and the large extent to which we share their sorrow? Be good enough, your Grace, to accept the expression of the respect and gratitude of yours very humbly and devotedly in our Lord Jesus Christ, G. LE JEUNE, Recteur. SAD PICTURES Through the courtesy of Mr. Vincent Bell we are enabled today to give two interesting groups connected with the late Mr. Thomas Peachey and his family. One of these shows Mr. Peachey, Sen., surrounded by nearly all the members of his family, many of whom, sad to say, were among the victims of the Drummond Castle disaster. As we said in our issue of the 20th ult., Mr. Peachey was one of the early Cornish pioneers in Natal, and after forty-six years' absence was on his way home on the Drummond with his wife and many members of his family, to enjoy a few months' holiday in the Mother Country. Mrs. Lucy Stanton (nee Peachey) and her baby, and Mr. and Mrs. Hindson (nee Polly Peachey) and her baby traveled with the Peachey family in the Drummond Castle from Durban to Cape Town where they left the ship. Nine of the others in the group were drowned in the Drummond Castle. The other group shows three of the victims: -- Miss Nellie Peachey, Miss Rosie Peachey, and Miss ?annie Peachey. The lady in bridal costume is Mrs. Stanton, whose husband, well known in Natal, died two years after her marriage. The fifth lady in the group is Miss Annie Waugh, cousin of the Misses Peachey, the photograph being taken of them when acting as bridesmaids at their sister's wedding. Mr. Bell showed us a number of letters from Mr. Peachey and his sons, al of them describing in a pleasant, half-sportive way their plans for the holidays, which they were going to spend with Mr. Bell, their old friend. Alas, the plans were destined to be rudely frustrated! This article is accompanied by these photographs:
1. The late Mrs. Gethin and her children (Drowned in the Drummond Castle) Miscellaneous articles on the same page: RETURN OF SIR H. H. JOHNSTON Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston, K.C.B., who has since 1891 held the post of Commissioner and Consul-General for the territories to the north of the Zambesi, arrived in London on the 26th ult. on leave of absence from his official duties, and called at the Foreign Office in the afternoon. Lord Salisbury was absent at Windsor at the time, but the Commissioner saw the various officials who were in attendance and was warmly welcomed by them. It will be remembered that Sir Henry had a severe attack of blackwater fever some time since, and was indeed reported on one occasion to have succumbed to the attack. Sir. H. H. Johnston stated the other day that he had a renewal of the fever while on his way to the coast, but gradually recovered after embarkation and was now in good health. The Commissioner verbally reported the successful operations against the slave chiefs in the British Central African territories, which had already been briefly communicated in dispatches. He now most strongly emphasized his eulogiums of the splendid behaviour of Major Edwards, commandant of the forces in those territories, of Lieutenant Alston, who took such a prominent part in the last and most decisive of the engagements, and also of the entire native force commanded by those and other British officers. Sir Henry repeated the conviction expressed in his dispatches that the operations in question had struck a fatal blow to the practice of slave-raiding and slave-dealing in those regions. The Commissioner is staying at Queen Anne's Mansions. A farmer named Durand, living near Pearston, Cape Colony, having pinned a puffadder to the ground with a stick, went with some friends to try the experiment whether pipe-oil would finish off the reptile. Unfortunately the reptile took an active interest in the proceedings, and bit a man named Jordan on the hand. Before he got to the homestead he was quite blind. Brandy was liberally administered, and the wound was cauterized three times by placing charges of powder on it and exploding them. By the time Mr. Jordan had consumed two bottles of brandy he was fairly "fou," and went to sleep, awaking some hours after as fresh as a daisy.
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