Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Encyclopedia
Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term
Umbrella term
An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...

 for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British naval
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....

 off the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...

. With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles
History of the British Isles
The history of the British Isles has witnessed intermittent periods of competition and cooperation between the people that occupy the various parts of Great Britain, Ireland, and the smaller adjacent islands, which together make up the British Isles, as well as with France, Germany, the Low...

. It was later determined that the main cause of the disaster was the navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...

s' inability to accurately calculate their position
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...

s.

Background

In summer of 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

, a combined British, Austrian
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

 and Dutch
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 force under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...

 besieged and attempted to take the French port of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

. During this campaign
Battle of Toulon (1707)
The Battle of Toulon was fought from July 29 to August 21, 1707 at Toulon, France during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the battle, a French and Spanish force defeated one from Austria, the Dutch Republic, Savoy and Great Britain....

, which was fought from 29 July to 21 August, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 dispatched a fleet to provide naval support. Led by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleets
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....

, Sir Cloudesley Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...

, the ships sailed to the Mediterranean, attacked Toulon and also managed to inflict damage on the French fleet caught in the siege. The overall campaign was nevertheless unsuccessful and the alliance was ultimately defeated by Franco
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...

-Spanish units. The British fleet was subsequently ordered to return home, and set sail from Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 in late October. The force under Shovell's command consisted of fifteen ships of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 .gif", event)' onMouseout='HidePop("34362")' href="/topics/HMS_St_Andrew_(1670)">Royal Anne
HMS St Andrew (1670)
HMS St Andrew was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard by Christopher Pett until his death in March 1668, and then completed by Jonas Shish, and launched in 1670....

, , St George
HMS Charles (1668)
HMS Charles was 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles,...

, , , , , , , , , , ) as well as four fireships , the sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

  and the yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...

 .

Loss of the ships

Shovell's fleet of twenty-one ships left Gibraltar on 29 September, with serving as his own flagship, HMS Royal Anne
HMS St Andrew (1670)
HMS St Andrew was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard by Christopher Pett until his death in March 1668, and then completed by Jonas Shish, and launched in 1670....

 as flagship of Vice-Admiral of the Blue Sir George Byng
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, KB PC was a British naval officer and statesman of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His career included service as First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George II.-Naval career:Byng was born at Wrotham, Kent, England...

 and as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris. The passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squall
Squall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed which is usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to an increase in the sustained winds over a short time interval, as there may be higher gusts during a squall event...

s and gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...

s. As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic, passing the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

 on their way to England, the weather worsened and storms gradually pushed the ships off their planned course. Finally, on the night of 22 October 1707 (Old Style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...

, 2 November 1707 by the modern calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

), the squadron entered the mouth of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 and Shovell's sailing masters
Master (naval)
The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...

 believed that they were on the last leg of their journey. The fleet was thought to be sailing safely west of Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...

, an island outpost off the coast of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

. However, due to a combination of the bad weather and the mariners' inability to accurately calculate their longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

, the fleet was unaware that it was off course and closing in on the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...

 instead. Before their mistake could be corrected, the fleet struck rocks and four ships were lost:
, a 90-gun second-rate
Second-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...

 ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 commanded by Captain Edmund Loades, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock (see image) off Scilly’s Western Rocks
Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
Western Rocks is a group of uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.They are located south-west of St Mary's, with Annet and St Agnes immediately to their north-east and Bishop Rock to their west. The larger islands in this archipelago are, from north to south: Great Crebwethan,...

 at 8 p.m. and sank, drowning her entire crew of about 800 men and Admiral Shovell himself. Following behind the Association was St George
HMS Charles (1668)
HMS Charles was 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles,...

, whose crew saw the flagship go down in three or four minutes. St George also struck rocks and suffered damage but eventually managed to get off, as did which ran ashore between Tresco and St Martin's
St Martin's, Isles of Scilly
St Martin's is the northernmost populated island of the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom. It has an area of .-Description:There are three main settlements on the island - Higher Town, Middle Town and Lower Town - in addition to a number of scattered farms and cottages, with a total population of...

 but could be kept seaworthy.
, a 70-gun third-rate
Third-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...

 ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Hancock, hit the Crim Rocks
Crim Rocks
Crim Rocks is a small group of uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, England, United Kingdom.They lie on the western fringe of the Isles of Scilly. They are about north of Bishop Rock, and about southwest of Zantman's Rock...

 and was lost with all hands on Tearing Ledge amongst the Western Rocks
Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
Western Rocks is a group of uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.They are located south-west of St Mary's, with Annet and St Agnes immediately to their north-east and Bishop Rock to their west. The larger islands in this archipelago are, from north to south: Great Crebwethan,...

. Sinking a few hundred metres away from Bishop Rock, her wreck lies in a depth of 130 feet.
, a 50-gun fourth-rate
Fourth-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...

 ship of the line commanded by Captain William Coney, hit Bishop Rock and went down with all but one of her crew. The sole survivor from the three largest ships was George Lawrence, who had worked as a butcher before joining the crew of Romney as quartermaster.
, a fireship commanded by Captain Francis Percy, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock like Association, but unlike the flagship she was lifted off by a huge wave. Percy managed to steer his badly damaged ship along the southern side of the Western Rocks
Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
Western Rocks is a group of uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.They are located south-west of St Mary's, with Annet and St Agnes immediately to their north-east and Bishop Rock to their west. The larger islands in this archipelago are, from north to south: Great Crebwethan,...

 between St Agnes
St. Agnes, Isles of Scilly
St Agnes is the southernmost populated island of the Isles of Scilly, England, United Kingdom.-Description:St. Agnes joins the island of Gugh by a tombolo, a kind of sandbar, called the Gugh Bar, which is exposed only at low tide...

 and Annet
Annet, Isles of Scilly
Annet is the second largest of the fifty or so uninhabited Isles of Scilly, one km west of St Agnes with a length of one km and approximately 22 ha in area. The low lying island is almost divided in two by a narrow neck of land at West Porth which can, at times, be covered by waves...

, but she foundered in Smith Sound, sinking close to Menglow Rock and losing 28 of her crew of 40.

The exact number of officers, sailors and marines who were killed in the sinking of the four ships is unknown. Statements vary between 1,400 and over 2,000, making it one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. For days afterward, bodies continued to wash onto the shores of the isles along with the smashed wreckage of the warships and personal effects. Many dead sailors from the wrecks were buried on the island of St Agnes.
Admiral Shovell's body, along with those of his two Narborough
John Narborough
Rear-Admiral Sir John Narborough or Narbrough was an English naval commander of the 17th century. He served with distinction during the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the Barbary Coast pirates.-Early life:...

 stepsons and his flag-captain, Edmund Loades, washed up on Porthellick Cove on St Mary's the following day, almost seven miles from where the Association was wrecked. A small memorial was later erected at this site. The circumstances under which the admiral's remains were found gave rise to stories (see below). Shovell was temporarily buried on the beach on St Mary's (see image). By order of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

 his body was later exhumed, embalmed and taken to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 where he was interred in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

. His large marble monument in the south choir aisle was sculpted by Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons was an English sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including St Paul's Cathedral, Blenheim Palace and Hampton Court Palace. He was born and educated in Holland where his father was a merchant...

. There is an impressive memorial depicting the sinking of the Association in the church at the Narboroughs' home of Knowlton
Knowlton, Kent
Knowlton was an eccesiastical and civil parish; the former was abolished in 1940 , the latter in 1935 , and the hamlet is now part of Goodnestone civil parish. It is located about 10 miles north of Dover in Kent, England. Knowlton Hall, set in of parkland, is located here.The Church of St Clement...

 near Dover.

Legends of the disaster

It is said that a common sailor on Admiral Shovell's ship tried to warn the crew that they were off course, either because he was a native of the Scilly Isles and knew a distinct smell of the land, or he had been keeping his own log (which is a variant appearing in the late 19th century), but Shovell had him hanged at the yardarm for inciting mutiny. While it is not at all unlikely that a sailor might have debated the vessel's location and feared for its fate (such debates were common upon entering the English Channel as noted by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...

 in 1684), there is no evidence in contemporary documents that the man was hanged. Regardless, if this sailor did exist and was not hanged, he was equally dead by drowning with the rest of the crew of the Association a few hours later. Another story that is often told is that Shovell was alive, at least barely, when he reached the shore of Scilly at Porthellick Cove, but was murdered by a woman for the sake of his priceless emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...

 ring, which had been given to him by a close friend, Captain James Lord Dursley
James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley
Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley KG, PC was the son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley and the Hon. Elizabeth Noel. He was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Dursley prior to succeeding as Earl of Berkeley in 1710...

. At that time, the Scillies had a wild and lawless reputation. According to a letter written in 1709 by Edmund Herbert, who was sent to Scilly by Shovell's family to help locate and recover items belonging to the admiral, Sir Cloudesley's body was first found by two women "stript of his shirt" and "his ring was also lost off his hand, which however left ye impression on his finger." Shovell's widow, Elizabeth, had offered a large reward for the recovery of any family property. It is claimed that the murder only came to light some thirty years later when the woman, on her deathbed, produced the stolen ring and confessed to a clergyman that she had killed the admiral. The clergyman sent it back to the 3rd Earl of Berkeley
James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley
Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley KG, PC was the son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley and the Hon. Elizabeth Noel. He was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Dursley prior to succeeding as Earl of Berkeley in 1710...

.

Longitude

The disastrous wrecking of a Royal Navy fleet in home waters brought great consternation to the nation. An investigation later determined that the main cause of the catastrophe was the navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...

s' inability to accurately calculate their longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

. Clearly, something better than dead reckoning
Dead reckoning
In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating one's current position by using a previously determined position, or fix, and advancing that position based upon known or estimated speeds over elapsed time, and course...

 was needed to find the way in dangerous waters. As transoceanic travel grew in significance, so did the importance of reliable navigation. This eventually led to the Longitude Act
Longitude Act 1714
The Longitude Act was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in July 1714 during the reign of Queen Anne. It established the Board of Longitude and offered a monetary reward for anyone who could find a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's...

 in 1714, which established the Board of Longitude
Board of Longitude
The Board of Longitude was the popular name for the Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea. It was a British Government body formed in 1714 to administer a scheme of prizes intended to encourage innovators to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea.-Origins:Navigators and...

 and offered a large money prize
Longitude prize
The Longitude Prize was a reward offered by the British government for a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude...

 for anyone who could find a method of determining longitude accurately at sea. After many years, the consequence of the prize was that accurate marine chronometer
Marine chronometer
A marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation...

s were produced and the lunar distance method was developed, both of which became used throughout the world for navigation at sea.

It is not certain that the navigational error leading to the wrecking of Admiral Shovell's fleet was purely one of longitude, as was reported in the newspapers at the time. Some have argued that the disaster was in fact caused more by an error in latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

 than in longitude. According to contemporary reports, Shovell initially attempted to determine the fleet's position by astronomical observations and depth soundings before also consulting the sailing masters
Master (naval)
The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...

 of his other ships. Shovell's navigation officers believed that the fleet was at a position west of Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...

, except the sailing master of who judged they were nearer to the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...

. Ushant lies at a latitude of 48°27′29″N and a longitude of 5°05′44″W, while the Isles of Scilly lie at a latitude of 49°56′10″N and a longitude of 6°19′22″W.

William May points out that the position of the Isles of Scilly themselves was not known accurately in either longitude or latitude. In addition, his analysis of the 40 extant logbooks from the 21 ships in the fleet do not show the error in longitude to be a significant factor compared to latitude.

Discovery of the wrecks

The ships of Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet lay undisturbed on the seabed for almost 260 years, despite several salvage attempts in pursuit of the flagship's cargo of valuable coins, spoils of war
Spoils of War
Botín de guerra is a 2000 Argentine documentary film directed and written by David Blaustein with Luis Alberto Asurey. The film premiered on 11 April 2000 in Buenos Aires...

 from several battles, weapons, and personal effects. In June 1967, the Royal Navy minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

, , equipped with twelve divers under the command of Engineer-Lieutenant Roy Graham, sailed to the Isles of Scilly and dropped anchor off Gilstone Ledge, just to the south-east of Bishop Rock and close to the Western Rocks
Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
Western Rocks is a group of uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.They are located south-west of St Mary's, with Annet and St Agnes immediately to their north-east and Bishop Rock to their west. The larger islands in this archipelago are, from north to south: Great Crebwethan,...

. The year before, Graham and other specialists from the Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club
Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club
The Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club is an organisation within the Royal Navy that oversees sports and technical diving training activities for naval aviation and fleet units. Today it has branches at RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Yeovilton . Both bases provide training, and club members regularly dive...

 had dived in this area on a first attempt to find the Association. He recalled some years later: "The weather was so bad, all we achieved was the sight of a blur of seaweed, seals and white water as we were swept through the Gilstone Reef and fortunately out the other side." On their second attempt in summer 1967, using the minesweeper and supported by the Royal Navy Auxiliary Service
Royal Navy Auxiliary Service
The Royal Naval Auxiliary Service was formed in 1963 from the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Minewatching Service and the Admiralty Ferry Crews Association, in response to the nuclear threat to British ports. The service was disbanded on 31 March 1994 due to defence cuts...

, Graham and his men finally managed to locate the remains of Admiral Shovell's flagship on the Gilstone Ledge. Parts of the wreck are in 30 feet while others can be found at between 90 and 120 feet as the sea floor falls away from the reef. The divers first discovered a cannon, and on the third dive, silver and gold coins were spotted underneath that cannon. The Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 initially suppressed news of the discovery for fear of attracting treasure hunter
Treasure hunting
Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure which has been a notable human activity for millennia. -In modern times:In recent times, the early stages of the development of archaeology included a significant aspect of treasure hunt; Heinrich Schliemann's excavations at Troy, and later at...

s, but word was soon out and excited huge national interest. As the Isles of Scilly are traditionally administered as part of the duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...

, the Duke of Cornwall
Duke of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in the peerage of England.The present Duke of Cornwall is The Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning British monarch .-History:...

 also has right of wreck on all ships wrecked on the Scilly archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

. More than 2,000 coins and other artefacts were finally recovered from the wreck site and auctioned by Sotheby's in July 1969. A further sale at Sotheby's in January 1970, by order of the Isles of Scilly Wrecks Receiver
Receiver of Wreck
The Receiver of Wreck is an official who administers law dealing with wreck and salvage in some countries having a British administrative heritage.-Countries having a Receiver of Wreck:...

, made £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 10,175. Among the goods sold was Shovell's chamber pot
Chamber pot
A chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...

 for £270. A battered dining plate, which had been discovered during a dive in 1968, made £2,100. The rediscovery of the Association by naval divers and the finding of so many historical artefacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...

 in her wreck also led to more government legislation, notably the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks. Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or artistic value. Section 2 provides for designation of...

, passed in an attempt to preserve British historic wreck sites as part of the maritime heritage.

The wreck of Firebrand was discovered in 1982, and several items were recovered, including guns and anchors, a wooden nocturne
Nocturnal (instrument)
A nocturnal is an instrument used to determine the time based on the position of a certain star in the night sky. Sometimes called a "horologium nocturnum" or nocturlabe , it is closely related to the sun dial. A nocturnal is typically a navigational instrument...

 (for the time at night), a bell and carved cherubs.

Today photos of the original diving expedition are on display at the Old Wesleyan Chapel in St. Mary's, of the team leader Lt Graham and a naval doctor examining human bones from the wreck of the Association, alongside the ship's bell of the Firebrand with "1692" engraved on it, and many more artefacts. In 2007, the three-hundredth anniversary of the disaster and its consequences were commemorated on the Isles of Scilly with a series of special events, organised by the Council of the Isles of Scilly in partnership with the local AONB
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

 office, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

, the Isles of Scilly Museum and Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...

.

Depiction in film

The disaster is featured at the start of the 2000 television drama Longitude, which is based on the book of the same name.

See also


External links

Scilly History – HMS Association
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