Hoxne, Suffolk (near Diss, Norfolk)
(This memorial not listed by David Saunders; the information kindly provided by Andy Field)
The “History and Guide to St Peter and St Paul Hoxne” church includes the following -
“Recalling the loss of HMS Captain - Memorial tablets
commemorate the sad loss of H.M.S. Captain, the first naval ship to combine wind and steam power, which capsized in a storm in the
Bay of Biscay on the night of September 6, 1870, with the loss of all but 18 of her 600
crew. She was commanded by Captain Burgoyne VC, son-in-law of Admiral Sir Baldwin Wake Walker, of the
Depperhaugh, Hoxne. Two flags from the ship, recovered from the sea after the disaster, (given to the church by Evelyn Burgoyne, Captain Burgoyne’s widow) hung for some years above the tablets, but are now no longer exhibited because of
their age and fragility. A window by the pulpit is in memory of Captain Burgoyne and the son of Admiral Wake Walker.
Further information is provided by Hugh Moffat in an article originally published in
“Mariners Mirror” - “The local newspaper carried an obituary notice for Charles Walker, the Admiral’s twenty-one-year-old second son, who was also lost on the ship. There was no mention of him
being in the navy and the news report said that he `had gone on a cruise with his relative’ “.
Hugh goes on to say “I had the good fortune to meet the vicar, the Rev.
A.R. Lowe, who told me that the flags were taken down some years ago due to their poor state, but they are still extant and he kindly showed them to me. They are rolled round their staffs, each blackened roll being about 12 feet long, which may approximate to the length of the diagonal of the flags. One appears to have a diagonal stripe extending to the corner of the fly: I suppose they were signal flags, washed out of the locker as the ship turned over.”
David Evans, of Hoxne, states that the flags are, in
fact, naval code flags for letter `P' and number `1'. There was a move a
few years ago to have them seriously conserved, and the National Trust
central fabric centre at Blickling Hall in Norfolk were approached. Also
the National Maritime Museum were involved and at that time expressed
great interest in the flags - their conservation and their custody. At
that time, however, the matter was not pursued.
Later note - David Evans
provided the information from the Hoxne "Village Voice"
for February-March 2008, which reported that time and tide had taken
their toll and the flags had begun to disintegrate beyond repair.
Attempts were made to restore them, but it was all too late even for the
National Maritime Museum. The flags were cremated, and the ashes were
committed to the deep in January by the Royal Navy's carrier HMS
Illustrious. Bishop Nigel Stock responded to a request to
re-dedicate the related plaques.
"THESE FLAGS WHICH BELONGED TO HMS CAPTAIN WERE PICKED UP AT SEA OFF CAPE FINISTERRE BY HMS AGINCOURT AND PRESENTED TO HOXNE CHURCH BY EVELYN BURGOYNE"
"HMS CAPTAIN 7 SEPR 1870"
HMS Captain
1870
