VICTORIAN SHIPWRECKS

‘In the 1860s about 10 ships were lost per week off the coast of Britain’

There were many infamous shipwrecks in the Victorian era. Hundreds died when RMS Tayleur ran aground off the coast of Ireland in 1854, and there was a heavy death toll when the Northfleet was rammed by a steamer in the darkness in 1873. The sinking of HMS Birkenhead in 1852 gave rise to the expression “women and children first”, because the military men on board were ordered to stand to attention as the ship sank, so that the most vulnerable passengers could be evacuated safely. However, many shipwrecks had far fewer victims and have been long forgotten, but were no less tragic for the families that lost their loved ones.

The prospect of researching an ancestor’s shipwreck is exciting,