THE CORDELIA EXPLOSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 165, 14 July 1891, Page 5

THE CORDELIA EXPLOSION.

_ TERRIBLE ACCIDENT ON A WAR c SHIP. i FIVE MEN AND A BOY KILLED. t c THIRTEEN MEN INJURED. y y ("SYDNEY TELEGRAPH.") - The surprise which the appoarancoof H.M.e. 3 Cordelia in the harbour created yesterday morning deepened into excitement when it . became known that her unexpected return to this port was due to the f acb that a ter- . Irible accident had happened on board the ' y \ vessel while on her way to relieve H.M.s. i Rapid at Noumea. The accident happened " B \ otv -vvne ■_<_*-_, w\n\e tV__ \'-s&e.\ -was eu roxite 3 / from Fiji to Noumea. Quarterly firing was J being practised when tho third gun on the . I port side, which was under the charge of , I Lieutenant Gordon, burst almost to atoms, ' I killing rive men, mortally wounding a , I sixth, and inflicting injuries mote or less , severe on thirteen others. ■ THE CAPTAIN'S STATEMENT. I Captain Grenfell, who was standing on I tha port side of tho bridge, and actually ' I looking at tho gun ab tho tiroo of tho accident, describes it thus:—"Tiie gun was a 6-inch breechloading gun, by Armstrong,' ' mark U. It had had six rounds tired from 1 it and was loaded when it burst, with a ; full charge of 341b of powder and a : common shell, bursting-charge 7Mb, and was fitted with a, direct fiction fuse. | ilt bad been examined along with ' tho others by the armorer at Spectacle . Island and Lieutonant Hillyar on the 20th of last December, at:d pronounced tit for , service. Tho crew were marines and in ' charge of Lieutenant Gordon. Two rounds had been fired by this crew at the target, and when No. 3 fired its seventh round thero wasattremendousoxplosion which shook the vessoL Pieces of iron wore flying in all directions, and all the men who had been in the vicinity of the gun wero lying on the t deck. A great portion of the broken gun . fell overboard of course, but the pieces did , a great deal of harm on board. The star- , board fore-topgallant lift and the royal sheet were cub clean through, so that tho . pieces were sent out from tho explosion at a tremendous force, for the yard was ■ ABOUT 200 ft. AWAY FROM THE ■ GUN. " The breech-block and carrier wont right across tho deck and landed in the starboard gangway ; the right trunnion went forward and the left aft, striking tho poop and . falling on the quarter-deck. Nearly all outside the trunnions went overboard. Tho , explosion burst from the upper deck and some of tiie breakage \va_ blown down on to tho main deck, where ib severely wounded bwo men. From tho appearance ' of the ship's sido the explosion seems to have been moat strongly inboard, for though I saw fragments falling into the sea over the starboard bow and beam, a hundred yards off, most of the fragmonbs wenb forward. Tho debris, of course, was lying nil over the ship, and ib gave ono the idea of a gun i that bad been burst intentionally by an euormous charge of some nitrous compound, and had been broken into small pieces liko i cast iron or glass. All tho officers and , men round the gun wero killed, and three i midshipmen who were standing near had a • marvellous escape, for a great piece of iron • wenb "WITHIN AN INCH OR TWO OF THEIR HEADS." [ "I cannob give any reason for bhis oxplo- , sion," the captain said in answer to a ques- . tion. " I saw it myself, and I have caused ■ all the other officers who witnessed it to write their impressions, but it is impossible for us to form any idea of the cause of the accident. The officers and men directly at the gun were killed or wounded, so that we cannot got uny information from those who wore concerned in loading tho gun, but I may tell you that ib was loaded fully five minutes before the accident." To which it may be added that the gun had only been used for 2CO rounds, and was guaranteed ' for 2,000. The appearance of the Cordelia's upper ' deck now is almost such as it would bo after a sharp engagement. On the port side, where the gun was fixed, its remains lie in the shape of 29 pieces of iron, broken off as \ though they had been composed of so much brittle glass, and near at hand is the broken carriage all disorganised and shattored. All over the ship's deck are marks of the force with which the fragments wero hurled out, and looking ab bheae indications one marvels thab MANY MORE MEN WERE NOT KILLED OR HURT. The cabin doors were all smashed or shaken cleanly off their hinges, tho topgallant bulwark was broken and battered in various places, a canvas screen over tho poop was pierced, and everywhere are to be seen great dents made by the pieces of iron hurled out with such enormous force. Tho machinery of tho engines was so choked with fragments of glass, etc., that work was ab a standstill for some little time after ' the explosion. Communication with the Cordelia was ' suspended yesterday morning in order that the-news of the accident might be cabled to the Admiralty. Tho Admiral visited the ' ship and acquainted himself with the results of the accident. He will, of course, be furnished with an official report by the captain. The lad Brown was sitting on the head.of tho galley steps, when a piece of iron struck and killed him. Lieutenant Hillyar was standing to the right, or the gun, and was also killed by a block of iron. Lieut. Hillyar joined the navy in July, 1876. He was then a naval cadet. Three 1 years lator he was midshipman, and on ; April 24th, 1383, received his appointment . as sub-lieutenant. His promotion to lieutenant dates from April 24th, .1885. Lieut. Gordon was on his first commis- ! 1 sion in connection with the sea service. I He was previously attached to the harbour service at Portsmouth, his last ship being the Duke of Wellington. Ho was born on ' : i July 313t, 1867, and was appointed lieutenant on December Ist, 1886, The gunner Langford had spent 16 years in the service and was looked upon as a most efficient officer. Darvill, the marine, i had been in the navy some seven or eight i years, but Hill and Brown were quite new '■ to the service. < The Killed. — The following is a list of the men who were killed ' - instantaneously : — Lieutenant William i Peal Hillyar, R.N.; Lieutenant George IM. Gordon, Royal Marine Lighb Infanbry ; Gunner William John Langford, Royal Marine Artillery; Herbert Hill, ordinary seaman; John Charles Brown, '• ship's steward boy. Private George Dar- - vill, Royal Marine Artillery, was severely ! wounded and died next day. Severely Injured.— Bombardier John . Healy and Bombardier Joseph Armitage, , Royal Marine Artillery; Sergeant J. M. ' . Barber, Royal Marine Light Infantry ; J. . ' H. I.ouks and G. F. Kinge, As. B.; James i Lee, ordinary seaman. Slightly Injured.— R. C. Lambert, P. j[ A. Bateman, — Champain and N. C. Moore, ,) midshipmen; Edmund Hastings, leading seaman; Edward Dicken, ordinary S9aman ; Edward Gullick, A.8.; and Privatte Walter Coombe, Royal Marine Light Infantry. In the list of the killed and woundedthere are only two married men, Sergeant 1 Barber and Seamen Louks. The five ■ first-named men who were killed were 1 buried ab sea on June 29th, a_ lt j Darvill's remains were committed to the sea on the.

following day. Early yesterday afternoon five of the most seriously Injured men were brought «*nd sont on t0 St. Vincent's Hosgut.ftlt J° Dn Healy, the sixth, having been

lefb at the Little Bay Coast Hospital, ery.ipelaß having been developed in his case. Tho live men now ab Sb. Vincent's Hospital are afllicted as follows :—George Kinge, fracture of the right thigh bone, considerable bruising, and a probable fracture of_ tho pelvis; J. H. Louks, general contusions and concussions, symptoms ab presonb indefinite ; James Lee, compound fracburo of bhe righb humerus near the shoulder, severe bruises and scalp wounds ; J. M. Barber, compound fracture of bho right thigh bone and injury to wrist; J. Armitage, compound fracture of the loft leg, both bones, contusions on tho loft foot and ankle. Some of these men are apparently in a critical condition, especially Kinge. At present, however, they are all so shaken and so upset mentally that an accurate opinion cannot Vie formed of the extent of their injuries.

A PETTY OFFICER'S ACCOUNT

" There was a terrific report when the e;un burst," said one of the potty officer., " and £or a moment it waß thought the magazine had exploded. Tho mon below made a general rush on deck, and there was a lob of excitement, bub only for a short whilo. As soon a3 thoso on dock hud recovered from tho. shock — for ib musb bo understood many oi us were knocked down by tho concussion — wo went to the assistance of our shipmates. Thoy wore lying in different parts of bhe deck, and a «lance showed that many of them wore inorbally wonndod. Lieub. Gordon, poor follow, was lying quite closo to mo, and I went to his aid, but he said, 'Don't trouble about me; I am all right. Look after the other fellows,' ab the same time moving away. A fow minutes after we heard that the gallant officer had passed away, a pieco of the gun wreckage having, ib is supposed, pierced the lungs. This was a great shock to all hands, but when a few minutes later word was passed round that

LIEUTENANT HILLYAR WAS DEAD you can'hardly imagine how we felt tho blow. Lieutenant Hillyar was ono of the most popular officers in the ship, and had done much to promote sociability on board - He was ab tho head of our dramatic company, and had taken the leading part in all our entertainments, both here and at ports of call. Only a couple of days previous to tho accident, wliilo tho .ship was ab Suva, Lieutenant Hillyar was anions those who gave an entertainmonb on shore for the benefib of some of the charities. Then there was poor Kill, an ordinary seaman. Ho was coming up the companion way from tho magazine when tho gun burst. Tho compressor lover of the gun struck him and nearly eovored the head from the body. He was picked up quito dead with tho lever firmly clenched in his hand. Gunner Landlord's injuries were of such a terrible nature thab lip must havo died almost instantaneously. Too ship's steward's boy was on the lower deck just before the explosion took place, bub feeling unwell he was advised to go on the upper deck in the fresh air. The poor littlo follow had just reached tho hatchway and was in tho act of sitting down when tho gun burst. Ho was struck in the abdomen by a huge pieco of tho wreckage and cub almost in two, death quickly relieving his sufferings, l'oor Darvill lingered until the following day and then passed

away. "Captain Grenfell was on tho bridge," continued tho narrator, " and was visibly aU'ected by the terrible disaster, lie, however, did all that was possible to relieve the sufferings of the wounded, giving up his oivn cabin and placing his private store at their disposal. Wo were over 300 miles from Noumea, at the time, and the captain having consulted the engineer determined to push on to Sydney with all speed and land tho wounded people. Without waiting to pick up the target the Cordelia was headed for Sydney, stopping only on two occasions to bury tho dead.''