Good evening,
I've just found that my gt gt grandfather George Unwin of Liverpool (b1839 and a sailmaker) died in Montevideo after his ship Rotomahana caught fire and sank near Elephant Cay Rock in the Falklands on August 19 1884.
Launched just three years previously, the Rotomahana was an...
It took my attention at the time, and I have allways thought she was connected with the Graf Spee incident. Now I wonder she could be the little vessel alongside the panzershiff that appears in this photograph http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/50324/title/graf-spee-entering-m
This photo of the Calpean Star, ex Highland Chieftan was taken by me as we went into Montevideo on British Sergeant in 1960. She had had an engineroom problem and was run aground out of the channel a short while before to prevent her sinking. Note the Red Ensign still flying.
I dont know how long it took, but all the fires are out and she is settled on the bottom.
I have missed the previous 3 photo's in the collection as they are nearly the same.
An interesting point is that the locals took trips out to the Graff Spee and helped themselves to momentos, I remember my fath
Captain Langsdorf rather than let his ship be interned in Motevideo, chose to take her out 3Km and scuttle her with explosive charges. I take it this photo was taken shortly after the charges went off as she is not yet settled on the bottom.
Start to run out of suitable pictures and memorabilia as my ex misss systematically throw away or ripped apart anything that she considered unsuitable for me to keep. However here is a piece that somehow survived. (Probably because she never found it). I dont now how to present I, but I have with