43rd Light Infantry aboard the HMS BIRKENHEAD

The Shipwreck That Began The Tradition Of "Women And Children First"
South Africa and the Wreck of the "Birkenhead"

The Captain of the sinking ship, HMS Birkenhead, shouted "every man for himself", but the troops stood on the doomed ship and calmly waited their fate as they knew that if they stormed the three serviceable lifeboats, the women and children in them would surely drown. They stood in their ranks even as the ship split in two. The ship then tilted and the soldiers were thrown overboard. Some drowned and others faced an even worse fate as the waters were infested with sharks. Of the 638 people who sailed on the HMS Birkenhead, only 193 survived. And that is where the saying "women and children first" comes from. Gold reputed to be worth in excess of 300,000 pounds went down with the ship, but to this day if any of it has been found, it has not been reported to the authorities.

The 43rd was sent to South Africa for the Kaffir Wars. They were shipwrecked off the Cape on 24th February 1852 and stood steady on parade on deck as the ship went down, to allow the women and children into the lifeboats.

Thank you to Colyn Brookes of Cape Town for this list of names.
Sunday, 27 November, 2005 17:25000ff">http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/2216

43rd Light Infantry (1st Battalion Oxford and 1 Lieutenant Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) 1 Sergeant 40 Men were on board.

ALLEN, Peter Rank: Private Number: 1582 Place Enlisted: Naas
Date Enlisted: 04-11-1839 Age Enlisted: Yrs 19 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 21 Day 226 Born: Millingar, Westmeath
Information: Saved. Discharged on the 18th of July 1861. Granted a pension of 8 pence a day for life.

AMBROSE, Edmund Rank: Private Number: 2707 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 27-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 298 Born: Newmarket, Cork
Information: Saved. Died on the 21st of August 1852

ANDERSON, John Rank: Private Number: 2706 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 20-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 04 Service To Date: Yrs Day 128 Born: Limerick
Information: Drowned

BRACKLEY, George Rank: Private Number: 2712 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 18-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 21 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 10 Day 12 Born: Aylesbury, Buckingham
Information: Saved. Discharged on the 31st of August 1861

BRENNAN, Daniel Rank: Private Number: 2582 Place Enlisted: Kilkenny
Date Enlisted: 10-11-1849 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 02 Day 106 Born: Kilkenny
Information: Drowned

BULLEN, William Rank: Single Number: 1557 Place Enlisted: Bury St. Edmund
Date Enlisted: 04-09-1839 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 06 Service To Date: Yrs 12 Day 173 Born: Bury St. Edmunds
Information: Drowned

BUNKER, Daniel Rank: Private Number: 2336 Place Enlisted: Oxford
Date Enlisted: 29-03-1846 Age Enlisted: Yrs 26 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 10 Day 360 Born: Oxford
Information: Saved. Died on the 25th of March 1857

BUTLER, John Rank: Private Number: 2620 Place Enlisted: Dublin
Date Enlisted: 16-05-1850 Age Enlisted: Yrs 22 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 01 Day 295 Born: Thurles, Tipperary
Information: Drowned

BYRNE, John Rank: Private Number: 960 Place Enlisted: Dublin
Date Enlisted: 20-10-1832 Age Enlisted: Yrs 19 Mth 04 Service To Date: Yrs 10 Day 009 Born: Red Cross, Wicklow
Information: Drowned

CAVE, Thomas Rank: Private Number: 1674 Place Enlisted: London
Date Enlisted: 20-04-1840 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 11 Service To Date: Yrs 11 Day 310 Born: Newport, Hants
Information: Drowned

COSGRAVE, John Rank: Private Number: 978 Place Enlisted: Dublin
Date Enlisted: 02-01-1833 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 18 Day 271 Born: Dublin
Information: Drowned

COZENS, Benjamin Rank: Corporal Number: 1121 Place Enlisted: Taunton
Date Enlisted: 07-11-1836 Age Enlisted: Yrs 23 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 15 Day 111 Born: Thurminster, Somerset
Information: Drowned

DeBANK, William Rank: Private Number: 1055 Place Enlisted: Wolverhampton
Date Enlisted: 29-05-1835 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 16 Day 270 Born: Witney, Oxford
Information: A transfer from the 48th Regiment on the 1st of September 1835. Drowned

DEWS, Thomas Rank: Private Number: 2736 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 15-12-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 22 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 072 Born: Bristol, Somerset
Information: Drowned

DONNELL, William Rank: Private Number: 1067 Place Enlisted: Clonmell
Date Enlisted: 02-02-1836 Age Enlisted: Yrs 19 Mth 03 Service To Date: Yrs 15 Day 328 Born: Caner, Tipperary
Information: Drowned

GILLHAM, George Rank: Private Number: 2703 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 03-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 11 Service To Date: Yrs Day 145 Born: Dartford, Kent
Information: Drowned

GINN, Francis Rank: Private Number: 2723 Place Enlisted: Sudbury
Date Enlisted: 12-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 11 Service To Date: Yrs 10 Day 152 Born: Sudbury, Suffolk
Information: Saved. Discharged on the 16th of April 1862. Granted a compassionate Campaign pension of 9 pence a day for life from 17th December 1903. He died on the 13th of January 1904.

HARNETT, Michael Rank: Private Number: 2718 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 15-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 06 Service To Date: Yrs 05 Day 357 Born: Askeaton, Limerick
Information: Saved. Died on the 8th of May 1858

HARRISON, Joseph Rank: Corporal Number: 1037 Place Enlisted: London
Date Enlisted: 30-10-1833 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 16 Day 256 Born: Cambridge
Information: A transfer from the 46th Regiment on the 1st of July 1834. Drowned

HARRISON, Michael Rank: Private Number: 930 Place Enlisted: Leeds
Date Enlisted: 29-02-1832 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 05 Service To Date: Yrs 22 Day 034 Born: Doncaster, Yorkshire
Information: Saved. Died on the 4th of April 1854

HEALY, Michael Rank: Private Number: 2715 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 04-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 06 Day 351 Born: Fermey, Cork
Information:

HEATH, John Rank: Private Number: 2714 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 04-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 05 Day 136 Born: Drumcolloher, Limerick
Information: Saved. Died 22nd of March 1857.

HICKS, William Rank: Sergeant Number: 1195 Place Enlisted: Plymouth
Date Enlisted: 06-08-1837 Age Enlisted: Yrs 14 Mth 09 Service To Date: Yrs 11 Day 103 Born: Nuneaton, Warwick
Information: Drowned

LYONS, George Rank: Private Number: 2688 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 21-07-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 09 Service To Date: Yrs 17 Day 139 Born: Sutton, Bedford
Information: Saved. Discharged on the 8th of March 1864

McPARKLIN, Lackey Rank: Private Number: 1969 Place Enlisted: Enniskillin
Date Enlisted: 01-12-1842 Age Enlisted: Yrs 19 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 09 Day 086 Born: Black Lion, Fermough
Information: Drowned

McQUAID, John Rank: Private Number: 1029 Place Enlisted: Omagh
Date Enlisted: 08-08-1833 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 18 Day 201 Born: Clougher, Tyrone
Information: Drowned

OUTING, Edward Rank: Private Number: 2724 Place Enlisted: Sudbury
Date Enlisted: 12-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 105 Born: Sudbury, Suffolk
Information: Drowned

PENNING, Joseph Rank: Private Number: 1063 Place Enlisted: Bury St Edmunds
Date Enlisted: 08-12-1835 Age Enlisted: Yrs 19 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 16 Day 079 Born: Coventry, Cambridge
Information: Drowned

PETERS, George Rank: Private Number: 1965 Place Enlisted: Royston
Date Enlisted: 01-11-1842 Age Enlisted: Yrs 19 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 16 Day 047 Born: Linton, Cambridge
Information: Saved. Died on the 19th of December 1858

QUINN, Edward Rank: Private Number: 2710 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 30-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 118 Born: Killinnan, Limerick
Information: Drowned

RANSHAW, Charles Rank: Private Number: 2705 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 08-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 08 Service To Date: Yrs Day 140 Born: London, Middlesex
Information:

RIORDAN, Daniel Rank: Private Number: 2716 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 12-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 18 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 105 Born: Ruthcale, Limerick
Information:

SHEEHAN, Timothy Rank: Private Number: 2611 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 10-02-1847 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 04 Day 015 Born: Donerail, Cork
Information: A transfer from the 6th Regiment on the 1st of April 1850. Drowned

SHEPPARD, George Rank: Private Number: 2720 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 06-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 11 Service To Date: Yrs Day 111 Born: Melksham, Wiltshire
Information: Drowned

SULLIVAN, Timothy Rank: Private Number: 2721 Place Enlisted: Buttevant
Date Enlisted: 18-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 11 Service To Date: Yrs Day 098 Born: Kanturk, Cork
Information: Drowned

TUCKER, Henry Rank: Private Number: 2296 Place Enlisted: Oxford
Date Enlisted: 15-02-1846 Age Enlisted: Yrs 17 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs 06 Day 009 Born: Oxford
Information: Drowned

VICKERY, Edward Rank: Private Number: 2719 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 04-11-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 20 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 113 Born: Newbury, Hants
Information:

WALSH, Morris Rank: Private Number: 2713 Place Enlisted: Westminster
Date Enlisted: 22-10-1851 Age Enlisted: Yrs 16 Mth 00 Service To Date: Yrs Day 125 Born: London, Middl