HMS ''Tamar'' was a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
troopship
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
built by the
Samuda Brothers
Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob Samuda, Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate.
Samuda Brothers initially leased a ...
at
Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...
, London, and
launched in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in 1863. She served as a supply ship from 1897 to 1941, and gave her name to the
shore station HMS ''Tamar'' in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
(1897 to 1997).
History
The 1863 incarnation of HMS ''Tamar'' was the fourth to bear that name, which is derived from the
River Tamar
The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities.
T ...
, in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, and the ship's crest is based on its coat of arms.
[ Built in ]Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...
in East London, she was launched in June 1863, and began her maiden voyage on 12 January 1864 as a troopship to the Cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
and China.[Eric Cavaliero]
Harbour bed holds memories
, '' The Standard'', 13 November 1997 On 13 December 1866, ''Tamar'' ran aground off Haulbowline
Haulbowline ( ga, Inis Sionnach; non, Ál-boling) is an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. The world's first yacht club was founded on Haulbowline in 1720. The western side of the island is the main naval base and headquarters f ...
, County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
. ''Tamar'' was refloated on 17 December. On 18 October 1869, she ran aground off Paul's Island
Paul's Island or Paul Island is an island off the coast of Labrador, near the town of Nain in Canada.
The island is the geological type area of the mineral labradorite, which is a plagioclase feldspar. Labradorite is the principal component ...
, Newfoundland Colony
Newfoundland Colony was an English and, later, British colony established in 1610 on the island of Newfoundland off the Atlantic coast of Canada, in what is now the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. That followed decades of sporadic English ...
. Repairs cost £62. One of her officers was blamed for the grounding.
''Tamar'' was dual-powered with masts and a steam engine, giving a speed of . She originally had two funnels
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...
, but she was re-equipped with a more advanced boiler and reduced to one funnel.[
In 1874, she formed part of the Naval Brigade that helped to defeat the Ashanti in West Africa, during the ]Ashanti War
The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victori ...
.[ On 7 April 1875, she ran aground whilst departing from Kingstown, County Dublin. She was refloated and resumed her voyage.] On 15 April, she ran aground at Chatham, Kent
Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham.
The town developed around Chatham ...
. She was refloated with assistance. On 7 November 1876, ''Tamar'' was driven ashore at St. Catherine's Point, Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
. She was on a voyage from an English port to Bermuda. Her troops were taken off. She was refloated 12 hours later. ''Tamar'' took part in the Zulu War in 1879 and off Egypt in 1882.
In 1879, The British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origina ...
reported a group of sailors aboard ''Tamar'' were poisoned by a bad pigeon pie
Pigeon pie is a savoury game pie made of pigeon meat and various other ingredients traditional to French cuisine and present in other European cuisines. It has been eaten at least as early as 1670 in French cuisine.
Similar dishes to pigeon pie e ...
which spawned an Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
investigation.
In 1897 ''Tamar'' was hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
ed as a base ship and relieved HMS ''Victor Emmanuel'' as the Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
receiving ship
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...
. She was used as a base ship until replaced by the shore station, which was named HMS ''Tamar'', after the ship.
''Tamar'' had been towed out to a buoy on 8 December during the Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...
during World War II. Amidst a curfew of darkness and bombardment by the Imperial Japanese
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
forces, the orders came at 2100 hours on 11 December to scuttle her. She was scuttled at the buoy on 12 December 1941 once it was clear that the advance could not be arrested, to avoid being used by the invading Japanese forces. As the ship's superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
became airlocked, the ship refused to sink for some time, until the Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
was called in to administer the ''coup de grâce
A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent.
...
''.[
Over the years, legends state that a mast from the ship was erected outside ]Murray House
Murray House is a Victorian-era building in Stanley, Hong Kong. Built in the present-day business district of Central in 1846 as officers' quarters of the Murray Barracks, the building was moved to the south of Hong Kong Island during the 2 ...
in Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
, and that wood planks salvaged from the ship were turned into the main doors of St. John's Cathedral in the city's Central district. The veracity of both legends, however, has been challenged.
In late 2014, during dredging work for the Central–Wan Chai Bypass
The Central–Wan Chai Bypass is a trunk road running between Sheung Wan and Fortress Hill on Hong Kong Island. The original design consists of a 2.3 km dual three-lane tunnel running under new reclamation areas provided by the Central and ...
, the remains of what strongly appears to be ''Tamar'' were discovered at the location of the old Wan Chai Ferry Pier where she is believed to have been scuttled. A government report, completed in September 2015 but released on the government's website in February 2017, finds strong evidence that the remains are those of ''Tamar''.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamar (1863)
Troop ships
Victorian-era naval ships of the United Kingdom
World War II auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom
Troop ships of the Royal Navy
1863 ships
Maritime incidents in December 1866
Maritime incidents in October 1869
Maritime incidents in April 1875
Maritime incidents in November 1876
World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea
Maritime incidents in December 1941
Ships built in Cubitt Town