HC Deb 08 March 1915 vol 70 cc1160-1W
Commander BELLAIRS

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will state the name and class of the fifteen ships which were lost in twenty-five years of the, last century, and in the case of which there were survivors, but no court-martial was held; and if he will state the date of the loss in each case, together with the information as to whether the ships were wrecked, sunk, burned, or captured?

Mr. CHURCHILL

The ships whose names are included in the following list are mentioned in the Return of ships lost otherwise than in action from 1815 to 1840, dated 4th August, 1891. An exhaustive search made in the Record Office has failed to disclose the minutes of any court-martial in their cases:—

Ship. Date when lest.
"Sylph" Sloop January 17th, 1815 Wrecked.
"Dominica" Schooner August 15th, 1815 Wrecked.
"Comus" ? November 4th, 1816 Wrecked.
"Bermuda" Sloop March, 1821 Foundered.
"Confiance" Sloop April 21st, 1822 Totally lost.
"Arab" Sloop December 12th, 1823 Wrecked.
"Delight" Sloop February 23rd, 1824 Lost in cyclone.
"Par[...]ridge" Sloop November 27th, 1825 Stranded.
†"Algerine" Sloop January 9th, 1826 Upset in squall.
†"Redwing" Sloop 1827 (date unknown) Supposed foundered
"Acorn" Sloop April 4th, 1828
"Contest" Gunboat April 14th, 1828
"Success" Frigate November 28th, 1829 Wrecked.
*"Kangaroo" Surv. schooner December 18th, 1829 Wrecked.
*"Wolf" Sloop March 10th, 1830 Stranded.
†"Recruit" Brig 1832 (date unknown) Totally lost.
†"Calypso" Packet 1833 (date unknown) Supposed foundered.
*"Pike" Schooner 1836
†"Pincher" Schooner March 6th, 1838 Capsized.
"Rapid" Brig April 12th, 1838 Wrecked.
†"Briseis" Packet 1838 (date unknown) Totally lost.
"Tribune" Sloop November 28th, 1839 Wrecked.

None of the above vessels were captured. Those marked † are noted as "known to have capsized or have never been heard of." In the case of those marked * the column in the Return headed "Result of Court of Inquiry or of Court-martial" contains a statement of a finding. This is consistent with there having been a court-martial of which the minutes have been lost, or with there having been, as suggested in the Return, a Court of Inquiry, but no court-martial. In the remaining cases mentioned in the above list there is no reason for supposing that there were no survivors. In the case of all the other ships mentioned in the Return dated 4th August, 1891, minutes of a court-martial were found.