Birkenhead, HMS

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Birkenhead, HMS, 1852. On 25 February 1852 at night the paddle-steamer Birkenhead taking 480 soldiers and 13 women and children for the Kaffir War struck a rock and sank off Cape Town. The troops were ordered to stand fast on deck to avoid swamping the women's boat and almost all perished in shark-infested waters. Hailed by the Victorians as a matchless example of courage, it has also been condemned as a needless sacrifice.

J. A. Cannon

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