Fire on board the SS Sarah Sands - drama in the Indian Ocean, 1857
Listener's query
"The Sarah Sands was a steamer which caught fire while taking the 54th Regiment (now part of the Devon and Dorsets) to India during the Mutiny in 1857. According to the account by Rudyard Kipling, the sailors did not acquit themselves well during the fire, but the soldiers and the ship's master Captain Castles (with whom I may have a family link) dealt with the fire and managed to sail the ship to Calcutta. Captain Castles was fairly new to the ship, which had been used previously to take immigrants to America and Australia. I'd be delighted to find out more about him, if possible, and what happened in the incident."
Brief summary
The SS Sarah Sands (named after the wife of the Liverpool mayor) was at the marine cutting edge. She was only the second screw propeller driven steamship (after the Great Eastern) in the world. Built as a sailing ship, she had two coal-powered engines. She was chartered by the Royal Navy to take the 54th of Foot to India as reinforcements for fighting the so-called Indian Mutiny. On board were Royal Navy officers and sailors, with Captain Castles as the ship's master. There were also more than 700 soldiers under the command of Lt Colonel Bolam Moffatt and, crucially, a number of women and children, wives and partners, and the Colonel's family. The ship sailed via South Africa - there had been some trouble on board among the crew who had been arrested, put in irons and replaced in South Africa. Some of the new crewmen were thought not to be reliable.
On 11 November 1857, the Sarah Sands was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 800 miles from land, when fire broke out in the hold. The crew, fearing that the gunpowder on board would explode, abandoned ship. The soldiers of the 54th showed great bravery by throwing the gunpowder kegs overboard, and getting the women and children on board the lifeboats. The final act of courage came when it was realised that the regimental colours were still on board the burning ship: soldiers went back and rescued the colours and put out the fire. The badly damaged Sarah Sands arrived in Mauritius ten days later. The story soon got home and Queen Victoria commanded that a Special Order be read to every Regiment at that time.
The one unfortunate part of the episode was that Colonel Moffatt went on board a lifeboat to help his children settle. While there the boat moved off and he found himself in the lifeboat while his men tackled the blaze. When it came to awards for the action Colonel Moffatt and Captain Castles received the same award for bravery, which became something of an embarrassment once the story of the Sarah Sands became known back in the UK.
The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment celebrates 11 November every year with a March and Shoot competition. The Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess holds an annual Sarah Sands Ball in the evening. This year it will be at their present base in Catterick.
Further reading
Saul David, The Indian Mutiny: 1857 (Penguin Books, 2003)
John Harris, The Indian Mutiny (Wordsworth Editions, 2000)
Rudyard Kipling, Land and Sea Tales (House of Stratus, 2001; originally published 1923)
Place to visit
The Keep Military Museum
Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1RN
Tel: 01305 264066
Fax: 01305 250373
Email: info@keepmilitarymuseum.org
Website:
Regimental museum of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment.
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Vanessa has presentedÌýscience and current affairs programmes for ±«Óãtv, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for ±«Óãtv Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.Ìý