Daily Event for April 26, 2009

While at anchor at Sandy Point, Punta Arenas, Chile on Apr. 26, 1881 waiting to take on coal, an explosion occurred on the new screw sloop HMS Doterel, half a minute later a second more powerful explosion destroyed the ship and sent her to the bottom. The entire episode took about three minuets, but it would take over a year to discover what had caused the loss.

When the few survivors returned to England they told of the explosions, but had no real explanation of the
cause. The captain had maintained that the first explosion had been a boiler explosion or that there had been
an explosion of coal gas in the bunker, this caused the explosion of the forward magazine and in turn the loss
of the ship.

Many questions about what caused the first explosion were raised, and one kept being brought up over and
over. O'Donovan Rossa, an Irish terrorist living in New York, claimed that the Doterel was blown up by his
group of dynamiters, a claim he made several times. He explained that the ship was sabotaged while at the
Chatham Dockyard where she was built and that two other unnamed ships had been similarly rigged. He claimed that a "dynamite torpedo" which was shaped to look like a piece of coal, had been planted into the bunker at the shipyard, and that when it was finally used it caused the first explosion. Because of the design of the ship the forward magazine exploded seconds later. Almost every high official discounted this claim and it does not appear that it was ever taken seriously by anyone except Rossa.

The inquiry which was held focused on the boiler and the possibility of a coal gas explosion, and finally in
Sept. 1881 determined that it was a coal gas explosion and that no blame could be attached to the crew for the loss. There were few crew to blame anyway as less than twenty of the one hundred and fifty-six man crew had actually survived. The result was in and no further questions would be asked, however a strange twist of fate was about to happen.

On Nov. 22, 1881 there was an explosion on the battleship HMS Triumph, a strange coincidence had her just
off the coast of Chile at the time of the blast, but several hundred miles from where Doterel had gone down.
A crewman opened a paint storage cabinet using a candle as light to find what he was looking for, the candle
ignited fumes from a new chemical, xerotine siccative, which caused a powerful explosion killing two men and burning several others, a third man died a few days later. This in itself was just another unfortunate shipboard accident and not much was thought of it.

The next day on board HMS Indus at Devonport Caulker's Mate Ford, a survivor from Doterel, was watching a
man paint a chest and noticed a distinct smell. He asked the painter what he was using and he was told "This
is xerotine siccative the stuff that caused the explosion on board the Triumph".
Xerotine siccative is a patent
drier used as an additive in paint which causes the oil to thicken and solidify (dry) quickly, in the new ironclad ships it was added to the paint used between the double bottom hulls to prevent corrosion, however the fumes from this chemical were highly explosive and did not dissipate in closed environments as later experiments would prove. His inquisition into the smell would bring out the truth of what happened to the Doterel.

He went to the authorities and explained to them that the night before Doterel exploded two seamen were sent down below to bring up two blocks, there they found a jar containing about eight gallons of a liquid which was unmarked and unknown to them. In the course of moving it the jar cracked and the liquid began leaking out. It gave off a distinct odor, the same odor Ford could smell on Indus.

Later in the evening a 1st Lieutenant could smell the odor seeping up from below and asked Ford to look into
what was escaping the following morning. It was then that he smelled the chemical for the first time. The next morning Ford sent two men below to locate and clean up what ever was escaping from below, the two men returned with an earthenware jar which was leaking this chemical. They put the contents into a can and threw the jar overboard and Ford was informed that the chemical had seeped into the bilges and had run under the forward magazine. He instructed them to go below and clean it up.

The two men went back below and appear to have broken a standing rule, no open flames below decks. Ford
said he did not see them take a naked flame below, but that it was not out of the question that they did, after all there was very little light below and they may have found the lanterns to be of little use in the areas they were working. A second witness Carpenter Baird testified that he had seen them take a candle below and he was sure this was the cause of the explosion.

After this stunning testimony several tests were carried out by the Admiralty and it was found that xerotine
siccative was a very explosive chemical and by late January 1882 it was removed from all ships as a dangerous explosive and its use was discontinued. The tests took until October of that year, but they confirmed that the explosion was caused by the chemical. If it were not for Mr. Ford's nose we may never have learned the true reason for the loss of Doterel.
© 2009 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com



Roll of Honour
In memory of those who lost their lives in
HMS Doterel
"As long as we embrace them in our memory, their spirit will always be with us"

Name
Rank / Rate
Notes
Adamson, William
Private (Royal Marines)
Served as Adams
Alder, Thomas C.
Engine Room Artificer
Aldridge, James
Stoker 2nd Class
Armitage, David
Gunner (Royal Marines)
Arnold, Philip C.
Able Seaman
Arthur, William D.
Blacksmith
Baigen, Frederick
Stoker
Baker, James
Stoker
Barnes, Thomas E.
Ward Room Steward
Barnicott, James J.
Ship's Corporal 1st Class
Barrett, William H.
Stoker
Bell, Jabez
Able Seaman
Berry, Andrew
Chief Engine Room Artificer
Biddington, John
Private (Royal Marines)
Bish, George
2nd Captain Main Top
Blackmore, George
Chief Boatswain's Mate
Blake, Henry
Ordinary Seaman
Bolt, Henry
Able Seaman
Bowmer, Henry
Stoker
Bramley, Robert
Leading Stoker
Bullivant, David
Stoker
Burgess, William
Leading Seaman
Burgoyne, Henry
Leading Seaman
Bush, John
Ordinary Seaman
Camp, George
Private (Royal Marines)
Charlo, Henry
Stoker 2nd Class
Clarke, Walter
Boy 1st Class
Age 17
Clayton, Charles
Captain's Steward
Collins, Michael
Drummer (Royal Marines)
Colville, Herbert
Private (Royal Marines)
Common, William B.
Able Seaman
Considine, Hugh
Captain's Cook
Cook, Abraham C.
Leading Seaman
Cook, William
Stoker
Creagh, Arthur R. McD.
Lieutenant
Daley, Daniel
Quartermaster
Damsell, Charles
Private (Royal Marines)
Davis, William
Sailmaker
Dean, Arthur
Private (Royal Marines)
Dine, Frederick
Ordinary Seaman
Driscoll, Jeremiah
Gunner (Petty Officer)
East, George
Ordinary Seaman
Elliott, William
Ordinary Seaman
Emmett, James
Private (Royal Marines)
Evans, John
Stoker
Evans, Septimus
Staff Surgeon
Exten, Thomas
Boy 1st Class
Farmer, John
Able Seaman
Faulkner, John
2nd Captain Foretop
Fisher, Ephraim
Private (Royal Marines)
Forrest, William C.
Lieutenant
Furness, William
Stoker 2nd Class
Gibbons, Luther
Ordinary Seaman
Gimber, George
Ward Room Servant
Godfrey, Joseph
Stoker 2nd Class
Goldfinch, Thomas H.
Stoker
Gowen, Samuel J.
Able Seaman
Green, Charles
Leading Stoker
Gurr, George
Ordinary Seaman
Hames, Charles
Ordinary Seaman
Hardy, Robert
2nd Captain Main Top
Harfield, Alfred R.
Ordinary Seaman
Harper, Samuel T.
Engine Room Artificer
Hawkes, Charles
Private (Royal Marines)
Hemers, Charles
Signalman 3rd Class
Hollis, Charles
Leading Seaman
Holton, William
Sailmate
Hosking, William
Able Seaman
Howard, Edmund
Able Seaman
Hull, James N.
2nd Captain Foretop
Irving, Charles M.
Clerk (Petty Officer)
Jarrett, George
Stoker
Jeffrey, Alfred
Boy 1st Class
Jenkins, Frederick
Ward Room Servant
John, Levi
Boy 1st Class
Age 17
Keating, Christopher
Stoker 2nd Class
King, Thomas
Engine Room Artificer
Kingsnorth, James H.
Engine Room Artificer
Lawrence, Job
Leading Seaman
Legget, David
2nd Captain Forecastle
Lloyd, John
Gunner (Royal Marines)
Lownds, James
Ordinary Seaman
Manuel, Fred P.
Engine Room Artificer
Marley, Willie F.
Private (Royal Marines)
Martin, Daniel
Stoker 2nd Class
Mathurist, Joseph
Able Seaman
May, James R.
Carpenter's Crew
McIver, Samuel A.
Able Seaman
Meredith, John
Plumber
Metcalf, William
Ordinary Seaman
Mills, Henry
Signalman 2nd Class
Mormen, John T.
Able Seaman
Myers, Henry
Boy 1st Class
Newell, James
Cook 2nd Class
Nicholls, William
Ordinary Seaman
Nixon, George
Private (Royal Marines)
Ord, William
Engineer (Petty Officer)
Palmer, Joseph
Bombardier (Royal Marines)
Parker, Thomas
Stoker
Payne, James
Stoker
Pearce, John
Ward Room Cook
Powell, W. T.
Private (Royal Marines)
Pratten, Frank
Gunner (Royal Marines)
Pridham, William
Armourer
Priest, William H.
Ordinary Seaman
Prior, Edwin A.
Leading Stoker
Pugsley, John
Colour Sergeant (Royal Marines)
Quinnear, George C.
Able Seaman
Ranger, John
Boy 1st Class
Read, William
Chief Engineer
Roberts, Thomas
Private (Royal Marines)
Robinson, Richard F.
Ship's Steward Assistant
Rowe, William
Stoker 2nd Class
Rudd, Frederick
Cooper
Ryder, George
Stoker
Schofield, Joe
Boy 1st Class
Scott, Ernest
Ordinary Seaman
Selwood, Henry
Stoker 2nd Class
Silvester, Alfred T.
Ship's Steward 3rd Class
Simpson, Edward
Ward Room Servant
Sisk, Patrick
Boy 1st Class
Age 17
Skinner, Henry C.
Able Seaman
Slack, Edwin
Ordinary Seaman
Smith, Charles
Ordinary Seaman
Smith, Henry
2nd Captain Quarterdeck
Stamp, William C.
Boy 1st Class
Age 16
Taylor, Frederick
Stoker 1st Class
Taylor, Henry
Signalman
Taylor, William M.
Boatswain (Petty Officer)
Tilbury, George J.
Able Seaman
Toomey, James J.
Able Seaman
Travis, John
Private (Royal Marines)
Walch, Stephen
Stoker 2nd Class
Walters, Charles
Private (Royal Marines)
Watson, Henry
Carpenter's Crew
Welch, Joseph
Private (Royal Marines)
Whitehead, Thomas
Stoker
Williams, Ornard
Painter 2nd Class
Wilson, Francis
Captain Coxswain
Wilson, George R. G.
Ordinary Seaman
Wingett, Richard
Able Seaman
Winter, William
Quartermaster
Wright, William
Warrant Officer's Cook
       
 
List of survivors
Baird, William B.
Carpenter (Petty Officer)
Colborne, John N.
Paymaster (Petty Officer)
Evans, Richard
Captain
Commanding Officer
Ford, John
Caulker's Mate
Inglis, Charles S.
Assistant Clerk (Petty Officer)
Pengelly, George
Gunner's Mate
Smith, James W.
Ordinary Seaman
Stokes, John M.
Lieutenant
Summers, William C.
Marine (Royal Marines)
Trout, Joseph
Boatswain's Mate
Turner, Henry A.
Stoker 2nd Class
Walker, H. J.
Assistant Engineer
Walters, William
Shipwright


At the time of the loss of HMS Doterel the Admiralty announced that 143 men were killed and 13 men survived. The above list contains the names released by the Admiralty. The remains of those lost are now buried in the Municipal Cemetery at Punta Arenas and a memorial plaque listing their names has been erected. The plaque was commissioned by British Vice-Consul Tom P. Jones in Chile, but his source for the names on the plaque is unknown. After conducting extensive research on the men lost there are a number of discrepancies between the Admiralty list and the names on the memorial plaque. The plaque and other information on HMS Doterel can be found on Duncan Campbell's website www.patbrit.org.

While I have made every attempt to verify the names on this list, it can not be understood to be completely accurate. Most names have been verified through official sources, however the most common names proved to be too difficult to confirm. If you can provide any further information on any of the men please email the webmaster.
 
To submit a photo, biographical information or correction please email the webmaster.


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