ROYAL CHARTER victims recorded by Rev Hughes

Description

Some readers may find this item distressing, but it is included in the Great Storm of 1859 collection as an example of the newspaper reporting of the wreck of the ROYAL CHARTER.

Identifying the bodies of the victims from the wreck was no easy task given the loss of all onboard official documentation and the death toll amongst its crew. It was not known exactly how many people had been on the ship, nor necessarily who they were. Some had boarded but disembarked before leaving Australia and others had disembarked in Ireland. Bodies had been so badly damaged in the storm, battered by the waves onto the rocks of the coastline, or crushed by debris from the ship that they could not be identified. Other bodies that were washed ashore in the following weeks had decomposed too much for identification to be made.

Relatives flocked to Moelfre and searched the beaches alongside officials. So many were the appeals for information from those who were desperate to determine the fate of friends and loved ones, that the newspapers took to printing details of any distinguishing features and belongings found on the victims themselves to assist with the identification process - one husband wrote asking if there had been any initials engraved upon a ring that had been found in the hope of locating his wife.

Many bodies were brought to the church in Llangallo near to the wreck site as a temporary mortuary. A barrel of tar was kept burning so as to disinfect the air. Every possible detail and piece of information about each body was made so as to assist in the identification process. Features such as hair and eye colour were made a note of where it was still possible to do so, as were other distinguishing marks like tattoos and scars. What items of clothing that they had been wearing, with names or initials were also recorded, as were any items in their possessions - a silver ring with initials T.B., a gold ring with F.S a gold pencil case marked J.W., a pocket of keys, and a tattoo of an anchor were often the only clues they had.
However the process was not always an easy one. Some relatives wrote seeking news but giving information that was of little help in determining a body's identity. Charles Dickens who visited the area and interviewed witnesses recorded some of the letters in his book the Uncommercial Traveller. One woman wrote 'My dearest brother had bright grey eyes and a pleasant smile'.

The confusion and haste in which people dressed aboard the wrecked ship made relying upon their clothes to give clues as to who they were quite difficult, for the names and marks upon their clothes were all mixed up. One woman was found with one stocking marked Lewis and the other Robinson. Others had purchased generic clothing and outfits while in Australia and so were often dressed very much alike.

Reverend Stephen Roose Hughes to save people the distress of seeing so much death after potentially identifying a body himself first would bring the friend or relative blindfolded to the spot where the body lay for confirmation.

The information gathered soon began to appear in Australian newspapers (the image shown here is from Sydney Herald, 10 February 1860) in the hope that the details might prompt an Australian relative or friend to come forward.

The tally of the dead was reported widely in UK and Australian newspapers and is both gruesome and deeply moving to read. It is undoubtedly one of the reasons why the loss of the ROYAL CHARTER is still remembered and commemorated today.


The UK now has a Missing Persons Bureau which acts as a point of contact for all missing person and unidentified body investigations.
http://www.missingpersons.police.uk

But which other charities working in the UK provide a service to both relatives seeking missing relatives and those reported missing who want to send a message home? Which ones can trace their origin back to the Victorian period?

To find more reporting of the ROYAL CHARTER shipwreck in Australian newspapers, follow this link:
http://trove.nla.gov.au

• http://trove.nla.gov.au/ (link opens in new window)