The Orderly Death of the Birkenhead (1852)

The Birkenhead sank beneath the feet of men who knew it was doomed, but stayed anyway, inspiring a nation and artists alike. There were no more boats to launch, the shore was miles away and most of them did not know how to swim, but still, they waited as the small boat full of women and children pulled away to safety.  It gave a name to the act of allowing women and children to leave a sinking ship first, it would be known as the Birkenhead Drill Ship Name: HMS Birkenhead Launched: 1845 Nationality: English Ship Type: Wooden Steamship, Twin Paddlewheel Tonnage: 1400 Sank: 1852 Place Sank: Danger Point South Africa Reason For Sinking: Struck Rock Lives Lost: 444 Sources: https://passengers.history.sa.gov.au/node/921310 https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Women-Children-First/ https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/birkenhead-sinking http://www.suffolkregimentmuseum.co.uk/museum-object/the-birkenhead/ https://www.britannica.com/event/Cape-Frontier-Wars http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol124bd.html https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/author-details-horror/ https://books.google.com/books?id=LTMOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA89#v=onepage&q&f=false https://capeinfo.com/more/myths-legends-a-old-folks-stories/the-wreck-of-hm-steamer-qbirkenheadq-26-feb-1852 https://archive.org/details/annualregistero03unkngoog/page/472/mode/2up